Welcome to UK-GolfGuide's page which contains feedback from site users who have played at Porthmadog Golf Club.

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Bernard Utner (Austria) 04/09/07

If you have played and liked Trallee you definitely like Porthmadog as well. As fellow reviewers already stated this is a course of two halves. I liked the holes 1,2 & 18 which are flat seaside holes very much. 3 to 9 are Parkland in layout and 10 to 17 are 8 of the most marvelous links holes you can imagine. Blind shots, giant dunes, deep bunkers what more will you ask for.

Hole #12 was a bit confusing because I think the fairway is closer to the teebox then denoted in the strokesaver, very fortunate that I mishit my 3 iron completely and remember to put your ball on a tee peg once you reached the fairway :)

Value for Money	9
Challenge	8
Off Course	8

Jeff Anderson (England) 04/07/07

We played Porthmadog as part of a 5 course tour, taking in Caernarfon, Neffyn, Abersoch and Harlech. This was the Weds course, and it did not get off to a good start after an argument with the Pro over wheteher or not our Hotel (The Royal Goat at Beddgelert - thouroughly reccommended), had paid our green fees, and we were who we said we were, eh !!.

Anyway on to the golf, the front nine was a typical parkland set up, the third and fourth fairways were a bit `tatty` but perfectly playable, the greens however were excellent and we enjoyed the outward. Then we hit the back nine, superb golf through high sand dunes, gorse, sandy fairways and unique challenging holes at every turn. You must play `Himalayas`, four perfectly hit drives, four lost balls, four provisionals, one ball found! The back nine alone,(along with the superb greens), made this our favourite course of the week, mind you the sun coming out for the first time helped also.

All in all a great day out, but one word of advice to the club committee, if you want visitors to come back, send your guy in the pro shop off on an interpersonal skills course !

Value for Money	8
Challenge	7
Off Course	8

lee dovey (England) 15/06/07

It's easy this course!! thats what i was thinking after i parred the first three holes. Little did i know!

A gentle potter round some pretty untaxing holes round the front nine to the turn and then hold on to your hats boys, things start to get a little bit mental.

It all starts getting a bit dodgy at the tenth, a bit of a lumpy links fairway leading to a nicely tucked in green. As your walking it you start to see other parts of the back nine and get a bit of a clue of the barminess to come.

Things really start kicking in at the twelfth though... its a slight dogleg left with the remarkable distinction of having no fairway at all. ( its even marked as rough on the course planner )

13 starts with an elevated tee off the tip of the mini peninsular to a blind green which leaves tricky club selection ( pete and I both picked the wrong clubs and paid dearly )

Hole 14 is ludicrous. Its called "sand hills" people who cant hit a high ball bring the game to an abrupt halt here as they plug the ball into the face of some pretty monstrous sand dunes. ( my dad played a shot here 30 yrs ago that hit near the top of the dune. he tried to climb it and retrieve his ball, but just kept slithering down loose sand. the ball is still there to this day ) I hit a perfect tee shot straight over the top of the marker pole and was rewarded with a dodgy bounce into the rough.

As for the 15th....... lumpiest fairway in the world!!!

I'll finish this by quoting my playing partner pete who said "that back nine has just taken my scorecard and chewed it up and spat it out in little pieces, and it didnt even say thanks"

Porthmadog is a unique golfing experience. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Value for Money	9
Challenge	10
Off Course	9

Young P (England) 13/07/05

The final day of North Wales 2005. For Baz, Boof and Young P, the week had been a crash course in Welsh golf: North Wales, Pwllheli, Royal St David's, Nefyn and now Porthmadog. 36 holes at each course, except Royal St David's - although the 18 there had actually felt like 180.

We were all pretty exhausted. So it wasn't the best start of the day to be greeted by a pro who acted like he'd just swallowed a wasp or ten. Thank heavens, though, for a more pleasant reception on the course where FOR ONCE the wind was beneath 30mph, in fact barely existent at all - eureka!

Porthmadog is even more of a course of two halves than Pwllheli, and that's saying something. By and large, the front nine is a flat, uninspiring – and in places even facile – parkland layout.

Halfway round and this was starting to look like a serious anticlimax to the week. However, the word on the street was that the back nine was an entirely different animal, and so it proved. Walking to the other half of the course was like emerging from a golfing desert into an oasis, as we were greeted with some lovely links terrain, gently rippling at first but which rapidly became lunar-like.

The 10th (377 yards, par 4) is a lovely start to the back nine, with an inviting, undulating fairway and the green nestling between dunes. And from there, the good holes just keep coming.

There's a great view from the tee of the short par 4 12th (only 275 yards off the yellows) and it's even better when you reach the tee of the semi-blind par 3 13th (202 yards). But it's not just about the scenery, far from it: this is challenging links golf. The tee shot on the 14th (387 yards, par 4) is completely blind over a small mountain of dunes and only the fields along the left hand side near the green detract from the hole's pure links feel.

The course loses impetus towards the end as it moves away from the dunes, although the 17th (489 yards) is a good dogleg par 5 with gorse on both sides and, at the end of it all, a green that's cleverly tucked away.

Overall, the back 9 puts the front half even more in the shade, although Boof was doing the damage all the way round as he shot his handicap.

It certainly wasn't an epic end to the week, in the way that Machrihanish was in Scotland 2002 – although arrangements were stymied by the 4-day Welsh Amateur Strokeplay taking place at Royal St David's.

But after 162 holes in five days, and some of the worst weather that nature could throw of us, we were just thinking of one thing: get thee to the curry house!

See you next year when, possibly, Ireland 2006 awaits...

7.25/10

'Young P'

Value for Money	7
Challenge	6
Off Course	7

Simon Vazquez (England) 10/06/05

Went on a North Wales golf trip (Caernarfon, Anglesey and Porthmadog golf courses) and this was definitely the best one. Comments below are all very accurate, except for the fact that the tees were clearly signalled, and we bought a course plan for £2.50 which meant it was easy to drive in the right direction.

A few absolutely beautiful views on the back 9, and a proper test I would say for 20 h'cap or lower. Thouroghly enjoyable.

Value for Money	8
Challenge	8
Off Course	7

Geoff Thomas (England) 15/11/02

I played this course during August (27 handicap). Perfectly manageable front nine albeit not particularly interesting. The back nine is pure links and very difficult for the high handicapper. Take lots of golf balls.

Not easy to find your way around the back nine. The club has a course planner. but what you need is a set of aerial photgraphs with "you are here" arrows on them.

Lovely clubhouse, super food and very pleasant people.