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Borth & Ynyslas Golf Club

Borth, Ceredigion · Designed by Redesigned by Harry Colt (1947) · Est. 1885

Borth & Ynyslas, established in 1885, is the oldest golf course in Wales and a founder member of the Welsh Golfing Union. It runs along a narrow spit of genuine links land on the shore of Cardigan Bay, within the Dyfi National Nature Reserve — the only true links course in Ceredigion, and one of the most unspoilt anywhere in Britain.

Harry Colt redesigned the links in 1947 into the challenging par-70, 6,085-yard layout that remains a Welsh Golfing Union championship venue. It is classic out-and-back links golf, threading a ribbon of duneland between the beach and the Dyfi estuary, and fully exposed to the Cardigan Bay wind — a modest card that plays a good deal longer when the breeze is up.

The village of Borth, the estuary and the surrounding nature reserve give the place a wild, timeless feel, and — like so much of the Welsh coast — the links is reachable by the scenic Cambrian Coast railway.

Holes worth knowing

1The out-and-back links on the spit — the course threads a narrow ribbon of duneland between the beach and the estuary, fully open to the Cardigan Bay wind.
2The exposed turn holes — there is nowhere to hide from the wind out here; keep it low and let the ball run on the firm links turf rather than fighting the breeze in the air.

Highlights

The oldest golf course in Wales (1885)
Harry Colt redesign (1947); a WGU championship venue
The only true links in Ceredigion
Within the Dyfi National Nature Reserve

Good to know

→It is the oldest golf course in Wales (1885) and the only true links in Ceredigion — a genuine collector's round for anyone touring Welsh golf history.
→There is no shelter on the spit, so the Cardigan Bay wind is the whole defence: a modest card can play far longer, and the low, running shot is your friend.
→The links sits within the Dyfi National Nature Reserve, a UNESCO Biosphere; the Ynyslas dunes and the sunken "drowned forest" revealed at low tide on Borth beach are worth seeing.
→The Cambrian Coast railway stops at Borth and Ynyslas, so you can arrive by train; the eco Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth is a good family half-day inland.
→Pair it with Aberdovey, just across the Dyfi estuary, for a two-course Cardigan Bay day.