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Ashburnham Golf Club

Burry Port, Carmarthenshire · Designed by Founded 1894 · Est. 1894

Ashburnham was founded in 1894 by a group of men meeting in the Stepney Hotel in Llanelli, on land the Earl of Ashburnham let along the foreshore of the Burry estuary for a pound a year. It grew into one of the finest and most testing championship links in Britain, strung along the Carmarthenshire coast at Burry Port with the Gower peninsula across the water.

Its pedigree is serious. Harry Vardon, the six-time Open champion, declared that "the course I like best in Wales is Ashburnham," and the club has hosted important events since the early 1900s, serving in recent years as a final qualifying venue for the 2014 and 2017 Senior Open Championships. At par 72 and just over 6,600 yards, it is a proper links — big two-shot holes, real dunes, and the estuary wind always a factor.

For all that, Ashburnham is friendly and unpretentious, and remarkable value for a links of its stature. It sits beside the Pembrey coast, with one of the great beaches of Wales close at hand.

Holes worth knowing

1The homeward holes along the estuary — Ashburnham's finish runs hard by the Burry estuary, fully exposed to the wind off the Gower shore across the water.
2The big two-shot par 4s — the backbone of Ashburnham's championship reputation, demanding long, accurate driving into the coastal breeze.

Highlights

Harry Vardon's favourite course in Wales
Senior Open final-qualifying venue (2014 & 2017)
Championship links, par 72, since 1894
Outstanding value on the Carmarthenshire coast

Good to know

→Harry Vardon rated Ashburnham his favourite course in Wales — high praise from the finest player of his era, and a fair warning to respect the big two-shot holes.
→The homeward holes run hard by the Burry estuary, fully exposed; the estuary wind is the constant defence, so keep the ball down coming home.
→Nearby Pembrey Country Park has one of the great beaches of Wales — eight miles of sand at Cefn Sidan — plus a dry-ski slope and a motor-racing circuit, an easy family add-on.
→The WWT National Wetland Centre Wales at Llanelli, on the Millennium Coastal Path, is a fine spot for birdwatching and a walk; Llanelli and Burry Port make handy, low-key bases.
→It pairs naturally with Tenby, Pennard and Pyle & Kenfig for a West and South Wales links tour — championship golf at remarkable value.