What would an average golfer shoot at Royal Porthcawl? We played this year’s AIG Women’s Open’s host course

Royal Porthcawl is widely believed to be Wales’ finest golf course and it has been witness to many fantastic championships down the years.

Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington competed there in the 1995 Walker Cup, the linksland great Peter Thomson was victorious when it hosted the 1961 British Masters, and 1985 Open champion Sandy Lyle hinted at his seaside skills when winning the 1980 Coral Welsh Classic.

In more recent times Bernhard Langer has won the Senior Open there twice (in 2014 by 13 shots!) while Alex Cejka overcame Harrington in extra holes in the 2023 championship.

But, at the end of July, the course will host the AIG Women’s Open for the first time.

It’s a prospect that will thrill the 2018 winner Georgia Hall, who loves the linksland and is always a little miffed when the championship heads inland.

At the tournament’s media day last week her good friend Charley Hull admitted that while she loves playing links golf with friends she’s not so keen on playing with a scorecard in her hand.

But enough of two of England’s finest performers, how would an average golfer fare on this linksland classic?! Let’s find out.

Front nine

Arrival at Royal Porthcawl is pretty special. The clubhouse is not only perched on the edge of the Bristol Channel, it actually feels like the captain’s quarters of an old ship.

The first three holes are every bit as enjoyable as that entrance. All three are slight doglegs right to left, each hugging the coastline of Rest Bay, all calling for accurate drives and approaches to raised greens. It’s a glorious start but a tough one for a golfer who hasn’t played for three months with a dodgy shoulder. Plenty of decent shots but the short game needs to be precise and there’s rust in my game.

The layout then takes a right-hand turn and climbs away from the sea. It starts with the par-3 4th which has an enormous, four-tier green that finds me out. I recover on the par-5 5th, giving myself a three-foot look at a birdie but completely misread the putt. The par-4 6th completes the trio, a hole that opens up with a solid drive. Pity I hoicked mine into the left rough and made a meal of finding the green.

The final three holes of the front nine complete a loop on the high ground. It starts with the tiny par-3 7th which makes up for lack of length with a wonderfully bunker-surrounded green. “There’ll be a hole-in-one here in July,” said one playing partner. “And a few doubles as well,” added the other. I gave myself a 12-foot birdie putt and contrived to three-putt.

In better news, I found my driving swing on the 8th tee. The holes sweeps right-to-left and in that sense is absolutely typical of the front nine – every non-par-3 goes in that direction. The green is another huge one and, despite a good pitch, I yet again three-putt. The 9th would be a frightening prospect in high wind with gorse to the right and a huge drop to the left. Another three-putt ends a sloppy effort to the turn from me. I’ve used all of my 12-handicap.

The back nine

There’s a touch of Gullane about the drive from the 10th tee with the majority of the course down below from a high tee box. The green is narrow but long. A solid bogey from me after a wonky bounce kicks my approach off the green.

Shot of the day comes at the bunker-surrounded par-3 11th when I hit a 3-wood to 15 feet and the putt threatens the hole. Another good effort from the driver at the tough 12th sets up a solid bogey into the wind.

The next trio of holes takes us away from the clubhouse. The 13th tumbles down a hill, the par-3 14th is the last of a magnificent quartet of short holes, and the 15th tee might be the best view on the course. It feels a little like an Irish links course, bunkers everywhere, high grass, and a fairway out there somewhere. The short game has joined the driving party and the back nine revival continues. This is fun.

16 and 17 are playing into the wind, and they are tough. A par-4 with an approach up a steep hill, and a long par-5 that will play as the last in the Women’s Open. I negotiate both without damage but fail to take advantage of two long blows on 17.

18 plays downhill to a green that sits on the Bristol Channel. It’s a bit like a golfing version of a water slide. You can pitch the approach 70 yards short and watch it wander on and on and on and on, wondering if it will ever stop.

My back nine was a touch over my handicap so I tallied 92 shots against the par of 72. I was happy with that. A rusty game, that wonky shoulder, a strong breeze. It was my third crack at the course and I have managed an 84 but I was at my best that day. Most importantly is what a big grin the round put on our faces. The pint in the clubhouse afterwards was well earned.

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