Affordable golf in Wales: the best value courses

Here is the case for Wales in one line: it has world-class links strung along a wild coastline, and it charges a fraction of what England or Ireland charge for the equivalent. Where a comparable links over the border might ask £150 or £250, the Welsh version often wants £30 to £100. Nobody is quite sure why Wales has stayed such a secret — the coast is spectacular and the courses are the real thing — but as long as it does, it is the smartest golf trip you can book.

The west coast is the value heartland. Cardigan (£32) is a big, rolling links with sea views from all eighteen, and Borth & Ynyslas (£45), the oldest course in Wales, is pure old-fashioned links running out along the dunes. In the north, Prestatyn (£35) and the rocky James Braid links at Holyhead (£45) on Anglesey are both remarkable, and inland Cradoc (£30) is a lovely parkland in the Brecon Beacons for the price of a bucket of range balls back home.

What makes Wales unique is that even its top courses stay cheap. Tenby (£100), the oldest club in Wales and a top-100 links, and Ashburnham (£85), a long, classic championship links near Llanelli, would both cost two or three times as much elsewhere. Pyle & Kenfig (£95) runs through enormous dunes, and Nefyn (£79), out on the Llŷn with holes on a headland above the sea (and a beach pub halfway round), is one of the most spectacular rounds in Britain at any price, let alone this one. Royal St David's (£70), beneath Harlech Castle, rounds off a list that would be unthinkable anywhere else.

Welsh fees are low to begin with and lower outside high summer — the mild, free-draining links play well nearly year-round, so April–May and September–October are cheaper, quieter and often better underfoot. Add twilight rates and midweek tickets and a Welsh golf week costs less than a couple of rounds elsewhere. See when to visit, what a trip costs, and our links golf guide. For bases, try Tenby for the southwest, Aberystwyth for the west coast, or Conwy for the north.