May 2025 started off in glorious fashion, rounds at Malone and Royal Portrush back-to-back in Northern Ireland in perfect conditions. So naturally enough, I was not prepared for the weather in Wales three weeks later. The end of May was a period of time growing up that was often referred to as "exam" weather - meaning it was always stunning when you had to revise. Well, this was not the case in South Wales in late May 2025.

We began our Mizuno Pairs four day event at Ashburnham. A close school friend is a member at Machynys Peninsula so I had asked him about his thoughts beforehand: "Overrated" is never the response you want to hear before playing a new track for the first time. That being said, I prefer to make my own judgements. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were truly horrific. A total washout. Waterproofs on. No warm-up. The dodgiest sausage bap I have ever encountered at a golf club. A malfunctioning coffee machine. Then came the downhill par 3...

My old man chunked his first shot taking the divot of all divots out of the ground. The markers facial expression said a thousand words. Then came my hooked first tee shot out-of-bounds. However, a par with my second ball saved a point and we moved on. The 2nd hole, I later realised is parallel to the 17th on the other side. The reviews I had read typically stated that the first two and the last two holes aside, Ashburnham was a fantastic course from 3-16. I hope this was accurate because the openers did nothing to catch my imagination whatsoever.

The 3rd is a quirky short par 4, a nice birdie opportunity early in the round despite the horrific conditions. The 4th, is very open and a little bit basic. I questioned whether I had misread the reviews and actually they had meant the first 4 holes were poor then the course comes to life. At the 5th, the first par 5 appears. Under 500 yards, it is again a birdie hole. However, the wind was against in a strong way, so maybe it is more of a birdie hole on a "normal" day. The best hole so far arrived at the 6th, a truly brilliant par 3 where you are severely punished for missing the dance floor on both sides. The 7th was even better, a long iron required off the tee to navigate an extremely narrow fairway with out-of-bounds lurking to the right. The course certainly would not suit a right-handed slicer. The contours on the fairway were beautiful - even in the rain. The 8th is a beautiful par 5, with real character. Then suddenly the rain intensified. The 9th was a blur, as was the 10th.