197 - Southerndown

Location: Bridgend, Wales

Rating: 8.2

Quite a unique experience! Southerndown is nestled inland from neighbouring courses of the likes of Royal Porthcrawl and Pyle & Kenfig and offers an entirely different challenge to the aforementioned courses. It is rather understated with a small little pro shop (please make some proper scorecards) and clubhouse and it’s rather charming little white fence which is there to keep the sheep in. Sheep?! Yes the course is inundated with them and by them grazing they actually provide a very cost effective solution (I think) to maintenance and keeping the grass at a reasonable level.

The first tee takes you directly uphill and from there it feels like you’re playing a links course in the sky only returning to ground on the 18th. The second, third & fourth are all blind tee shots, probably worth running up the hill to have a look at where you’re hitting because a lot of fairways camber to the right and you could very well end up with an errant ball. The views from the second green overlooking the surrounding areas are spectacular! The 5th is a really cool par 3 hitting over a dip, short and you’re right at the bottom of the hill and long leaves you in the gorse bushes. Be careful looking in them, you may find a wild sheep, not dangerous of course but quite a surprise when peering into a bush to find a sheep taking a break from its grazing duties. They are noisy customers as well and have little respect for you hitting yours shots in silence.

The final hole is an awesome test and an awesome design, a tiered fairway where the left hand side sits elevated from the right. Southerndown is a fantastic challenge, generous enough fairways but littered with gorse bushes if you get it wrong.

I would highly recommend stopping here if you are in the Swansea/Cardiff area, it is a challenging round but a fun round and with spectacular panoramic views.

Also shoutout to the members. We came in an hour or two after a member’s competition and they were so friendly and inquisitive as to our visit and we could’ve spent hours listening to them regale stories from years gone by.

They do have a driving range there with area to hit off the grass as well as a net and chipping and putting greens.