Rolls of Monmouth was the first course of our recent golf trip to the South Wales area and the first round of golf I had in the UK in over ten years.  What a place to come back to.  Well hidden, the course has a ton of history and unique backstory. Until I learned differently, I had no idea the mansion was the familial home of the Rolls family of Roll Royce fame and thought the name ‘Rolls’ came from the undulating nature of the local scenery. After a friendly welcome, along with a great bacon roll, the scene was set for a fantastic round of golf.

Starting with an under pressure duff off the tee on the first, followed by a miraculous recovery to put it on the green within makable distance the round didn’t start off too well for me, and to be honest didn’t get much better. The course is a challenging 6733 yards off the tees, par 72 with some great parkland holes including the most challenging on the course, the 443 yard 15th, which is SI1. Holing out from nearly 100 yards from the fairway like one of my playing partners makes the hole considerably easier!  For me, the two most spectacular holes on the course were the 9th and 18th, both holes that return to the beautiful mansion. The 9th, a short par 4, 343 yards from back tees offers a friendly finish to the first nine, while the 18th, a 224 yard par 3, with a long carry over a lake is a much greater challenge.

Overall, Rolls of Monmouth is a fantastic course that requires really great course management to successfully negotiate a number of very tricky holes. The views are spectacular and despite the weeks of dry weather the course was in amazing shape. Like so many of the other reviewers, I would definitely recommend taking the time to play at the Rolls of Monmouth. You will not be disappointed.