Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is a golf club in Wales in the United Kingdom, located north of Porthcawl and bordering the Bristol Channel.

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club

Royal Porthcawl in 2008
Club information
Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is located in the United Kingdom
Royal Porthcawl Golf Club
Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is located in Wales
Royal Porthcawl Golf Club
Coordinates51°29′31″N 3°43′34″W / 51.492°N 3.726°W / 51.492; -3.726
LocationPorthcawl, Wales, U.K.
Established1895 (1891)
TypePrivate
Total holes18
Events hostedSenior Open (2014, 2017, 2023)
The Amateur (7 times)
Walker Cup (1995)
Curtis Cup (1964)
British Masters (1961)
Welsh Golf Classic
University Golf Match
Websiteroyalporthcawl.com
Par72 (71 on 3 Senior Opens)
Length7,137 yards (6,526 m)
Course rating76.4

The club has hosted many prestigious tournaments including The Amateur Championship on six occasions, the Walker Cup in 1995, the Curtis Cup in 1964, the British Masters in 1961, and European Tour event, the Welsh Golf Classic in the early 1980s. In March 2010, it hosted the University Golf Match between Oxford and Cambridge universities, with Oxford winning 9–6. The Senior Open Championship has been played here three times, in 2014, 2017, and 2023.

History

Royal Porthcawl Clubhouse

The club was founded in 1891 by a group of businessmen from Cardiff, with the first nine-hole golf course being laid out on Lock's Common by Charles Gibson the following year. In 1895, the club moved to its present location with the addition of a further nine-hole course. Shortly after that, the new course was extended to eighteen holes, with the original course later being abandoned. Royal status was conferred on the club by Edward VII in 1909.[1]

The Senior Open Championship was played at Royal Porthcawl in 2014 and Bernhard Langer won by thirteen strokes over runner-up Colin Montgomerie;[2][3] it returned again in 2017, where Langer defeated Corey Pavin to win again.[4][5]

In 2015, The R&A championship committee chairman Peter Unsworth said that The R&A had "no intention" of hosting The Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl. He added that "We're happy with the number of courses on the rota, and we don't have any intention to go to Porthcawl". It is thought that the infrastructure around Royal Porthcawl does not meet requirements, with roads leading to the course being narrow and that public transport would not cope with the huge crowds in the Open Championships.[6]

Major tournaments hosted at Royal Porthcawl

Scott Gregory was the winner of The Amateur Championship in 2016 at Royal Porthcawl.
YearTournamentWinner
1951The Amateur Championship Dick Chapman
1961British Masters Peter Thomson
1964Curtis Cup United States
1965The Amateur Championship Michael Bonallack
1973The Amateur Championship Dick Siderowf
1980The Amateur Championship Duncan Evans
1988The Amateur Championship Cristian Härdin
1995Walker Cup  Great Britain &  Ireland
2002The Amateur Championship Alejandro Larrazábal
2014Senior Open Championship Bernhard Langer
2016The Amateur Championship Scott Gregory
2017Senior Open Championship Bernhard Langer
2023Senior Open Championship Alex Čejka

Future events

YearTournament
2025AIG Women's Open

See also

References