Milford Haven

Originally established as a 9-hole track back in 1913 by George Humble, the Llandrindod Wells professional, the course at Milford Haven Golf Club was expanded to an 18-hole layout in 1933. It’s recently benefitted from improvement work undertaken by Marc Westinborg, who often contracts for Hawtree Ltd.

In The Golfers Guide to Wales by John Pinner, the author has this to say about the course: “Members and visitors delight in the challenges of the rolling meadow-land course with its breathtaking panoramic views across the mighty waterway and beyond.

All the holes are delightfully and individually named to describe their characteristics, such as the ‘Valley’ and ‘Orchard’ holes, whilst the attractive clubhouse matches the quality of the course and visitors are assured a real warm and friendly Pembrokeshire welcome.”

Architect Marc Westinborg kindly supplied the following exclusive quote regarding the upgrade to the home hole:

The main reason for the work was to "spice up" the 18th. A while ago it was shortened to address health and safety conflicts created by new housing on the right and because of this, the hole had become a little on the boring/straight-forward side.

I believe the 18th should be a strong memorable finish so I added a lake in the valley on the right, constructed a new tee complex and adjusted the bunkering/shaping around the green complex. The combination of these additions has changed the hole into a much more strategically strong one, especially with regard to the tee shot.

No longer are golfers able to simply hit their tee shot without any risk; the pond now has to be carefully avoided; either carry it, lay up short or place the tee shot to its left. The difficulty of the tee shot the golfers takes on is directly linked to the difficulty of the approach shot – basic heroic/reward golf.