Photo: Wikimedia CommonsSoutherndown Golf Club
Ogmore-by-Sea, Bridgend · Designed by Willie Fernie (1906); later Fowler, Willie Park Jr, Colt and Donald Steel · Est. 1905
Southerndown opened in 1905 as the Ogmore Down Golfing Society, and Willie Fernie laid out the course a year later. A remarkable roll-call of architects followed — Herbert Fowler, Willie Park Jr, Harry Colt and, in modern times, Donald Steel — each leaving a mark. It sits high on the downs above Ogmore-by-Sea, on a limestone plateau that rises more than 70 metres straight from the Bristol Channel.
What makes it special is the ground itself: a rare "limestone-heath," where springy, links-like turf sits over free-draining limestone and is clothed in heather, bracken and gorse. Centuries of wind-blown sand give the opening holes a distinctly links character, while sheep graze the fairways and keep the turf tight — only the gorse defeats them. The wind and that gorse are the course's defences.
The views are panoramic — across the Channel and along the Glamorgan Heritage Coast — and the golf is glorious, natural, walking golf. Because the limestone drains so freely, Southerndown plays firm and true when inland courses are waterlogged, making it a rare all-weather pleasure.
Holes worth knowing
- 1The opening downland holes — the first stretch plays over springy, sand-blown turf with the Bristol Channel spread out far below; heath golf with a links soul.
- 2The gorse-lined heights — the exposed clifftop stretch, where the wind and the blazing spring gorse are the defence and the sea fills the view.
Highlights
- Rare limestone-heath downland course
- Grazing sheep and huge Bristol Channel views
- Designed by Willie Fernie, refined by Fowler, Park, Colt and Steel
- Drains superbly — plays firm year-round
Good to know
- →Sheep have grazed these fairways for over a century — they keep the turf tight, and the gorse is about the only thing they won't nibble; you play around them.
- →The limestone plateau drains superbly, so Southerndown plays firm and fast when inland courses are soaked — one of the best wet-weather and winter rounds in Wales.
- →It is downland golf with a links soul: the ball runs for miles on the springy turf, so use the ground rather than the air, and don't be greedy at the gorse.
- →Below the course, Ogmore-by-Sea and the Glamorgan Heritage Coast are lovely; the stepping-stones by ruined Ogmore Castle and the huge dunes of Merthyr Mawr (a Lawrence of Arabia location) are a short detour.
- →Royal Porthcawl and Pyle & Kenfig are minutes away, so Southerndown slots easily into a three-links South Wales trip; Cardiff airport is 35 minutes.
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