Affordable golf in Wales: the best value courses

Wales is the great secret of British golf: a long, wild coastline strung with world-class links, at green fees that would be unthinkable across the water. Where a comparable links in England or Ireland might charge £150 or £250, the Welsh equivalent often asks £30 to £100 — and almost every course below carries our great-value mark. If you want the most golf for your money anywhere in Britain, this is where to come.

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

Even Wales's marquee links stay astonishingly 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) has some of the biggest dunes in the country, and Nefyn (£79), out on the Llŷn Peninsula with holes on a narrow headland above the sea, is one of the most spectacular — and best-value — rounds in Britain. Royal St David's (£70), beneath Harlech Castle, completes the list.

Welsh green fees are low to begin with, and lower still outside high summer — April–May and September–October are cheaper and quieter, and the mild, free-draining links play well nearly year-round. Twilight rates and midweek tee times cut the cost further, and many clubs offer excellent-value two- or three-round tickets for a short trip.

See when to visit Wales for golf, what a trip costs, and our links golf guide for how to play them.

Base yourself on the coast: browse hotels in Tenby for the southwest, Aberystwyth for the west or Conwy for the north, then build the whole trip — courses, bases and hotels — in one place.