Machynys Peninsula - West Wales - Wales

The opening of Machynys Peninsula to a blaze of publicity in 2005 hasn’t quite changed the golfing landscape in South Wales but it has certainly provided something different to the Establishment.

This Nicklaus designed 7,121-yard layout has already hosted eight championships, including a couple of R&A events and four Ryder Cup Wales LET Championships of Europe. My visit here was for the Welsh Mid-Amateur Strokeplay Championship and it was a fitting choice of venue.

There’s a lot of good things going on here and overall I came away impressed with the course and any negatives were certainly outweighed by the many positives. At just over a decade old the imitation-links is settling down well and will only continue to improve as it reaches its teenage years.

This modern design has the de rigeur par 72 with four shorties and a quartet of par fives. It loops back to the clubhouse after nine-holes, has multiple teeing grounds and a few long walks from green-to-tee. It doesn’t have a soul but it asks enough good questions of the golfer to at least have a personality.

Water comes into play on at least a dozen holes, maybe more if you’re having a bad day, but you are never once asked to carry it heroically; bite of as much as you dare. And I think this is a real shame. There is just the excellent short 11th where you may need to decide how much of the water you carry and that’s only if the pin is located on the left of the green. Many of the water hazards run down the side of the holes, so straight driving is a necessity, and add to this some brutal rough – at times waist-high - that flanks a number of the fairways and there really are some no-go areas. Maybe it isn’t a surprise that the SSS is 76 (four over par) from the back tees.

But don’t let the semi-penal nature of the course put you off because there are some wonderful holes and Machynys provides an excellent, varied and enjoyable test of golf.

The entire set-up with its modern clubhouse, bar, brasserie, spa and excellent practice facilities make it a superb venue for a multi-day tournament but at the same time if one is spending any length of time on the south coast of Wales, perhaps playing some of the more notorious links, I would certainly suggest building in a round at Machynys.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

Very well designed and maintained new course.

Clever bunkering which - to the first timer as we were - provides several optical illusions.... one where we all thought we had carried it and yet were 150 yards short and a few where they look as if they are at the front edge of the green so you stress about carrying them and have acres of space to land the ball.

Good use of water and great variety of holes.

Well worth a visit

Sept 2016 and my first visit to Machynys. Unrelated to the course review but undoubtedly affecting it, we arrived for the mixed betterball open only to find it had been changed to foursomes without letting us know (not great after a two hour drive). Breakfast not good either but in fairness they did give us our money back. The course itself was in excellent condition, no doubt helped that they were setting up for a Seniors home international event. Greens were big and very good, fringes and semi-rough nicely graded and all other areas well prepared. There were a lot of drainage gullies on the fairways. Huge run-off areas around the greens were quite a feature. A very modern style links course with generous fairways and numerous water hazards, which did sometimes appear to be for show; some of the holes reminded me a bit of Bowood (Wilts) with bunkers right in front of the greens, and some of the holes did seem to have the modern style of blandness (oh for some fairway pot bunkers !). There were however some very good holes including 2nr par 3's over water. I particularly liked the par 4 (stroke index 1?) 4th and the shorter par 4 5th which was a nice dogleg with a ditch guarding the front of the green. Hole 8 also worthy of mention and holes 14 and 17 by the estuary provided excellent views across to Gower. Not a great course like Royal Porthcawl, not with the views of somewhere like Cardigan, not with the variety of holes of somewhere like Pennard and perhaps lacking the soul of a traditional links course, but none the less a good course

Machynys is a great course. It was our first course played in Wales August 2015. We went here kinda as our opener figuring it would be more player friendly to a pond hopping lot of gents. Well that was a miss…Ha. This is a true championship track. It lies against the bay but has more water hazards than the other 6 courses we played…combined. The conditioning is fabulous. The greens are so true. Just a wonderful place, very welcoming and not to miss. The value of playing in Wales is just unbelievable. This course might very well be the one you would choose to play over and over again. So very glad we went off the chart so to speak to visit this great place.

Played June 2014Great course, not as tough as some make out, but can see how it can be slow for some - we were 4.5 - 5 hrs each round.Greens true but not super quick, fantastic bar area in nice clubhouse

I played this course at the end of September.I have to say I was amazed at how this course has developed. i played here back in 2006 when it first opened, it was quality then and since then it has only got better.The facilities are second to none to any other golf course in the area. Our partners loved the spa and we both enjoyed our lunch from the fantastic club house. I have played other courses in the area and bearing in mind this course is cheaper and represents so much better value I question whay people would play elsewhere.The course was presented in superb condition, which was amazin considering the weather we have had this year!I highly recommend playing this course if you have never played here before, or have not plaayed for a few years, you will be amazed at how much it has developed!

Just played this last week and what a gem! Lovely design and lovely condition even considering the wettest summer on record. Not a poor hole on the course, even the backdrop on some holes of industry the creativity of the holes take your full attention. Make the journey you won't be disappointed !!! Preferred this by far to St Pierre and Ashburnham.

I played this on Tuesday 28th of June 2011 and was blown away by the sheer scale of this development, the condition and the all round playability of this Links Like layout. It offers a very modern test of golf that is both engaging and challenging. I would put it up there with St Mellion and highly recommend you play it as soon as possible. It is in perfect condition and each hole offers a superb challenge. JCB LAY

Played this one in the middle of a tour of 8 courses in Wales--unfortunately, toward the bottom of our list. Yes, modern. Conditions were "OK", but were very wet--the wettest course we played (doesnt say much for modern irrigation and drainage when a course like this is very wet compared to nearby Porthcawl played in the morning, and was firm and fast). Nothing special here--if you're from the US, you could play this course anywhere in North Carolina or Georgia. One last thing--pace of play was horribly slow---the worst on our tour. And the forward groups were not even close to interested in letting faster groups play through.

What a difference a year makes! We played Machynys in June 2009 for the first time. After hearing such great reviews about the course I felt a little let down by service and the quality of the set up. My society was invited back to play again this year and I have just returned home from our visit. To say the quality of the course has improved ten fold is an understatement. We played Ashburnham and Pyle and Kenfig, which were true links setups and clearly great courses but they didnt have the same feeling of warmth and enjoyment when playing. We were speaking to the young club secretary on the putting green who was telling us that they have taken on more staff to improve the quality of the course - the proof is clearly in the pudding. We experienced a warm welcome from the golf manager who seemed genuinely interested in where we were from and where we planned our trip. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. We will be going back there next year and I may look to go back before the 2010 season is done! 5* from me, go and try it for your self, you wont be disappointed. p.s. pick a day when the sun is shining - it really helps this course. Dave Andrews Played Wednesday 5th May 2010