a Best-kept secret of British golf destinations.

LENGTH & PAR: 
    Blue Tees:                    Par 69, 6,571 yards
    White Tees:                  Par 69, 6,428 yards
    Yellow Tees:                 Par 69, 6,263 yards
    Red (Ladies) Tees:         Par 74, 5,787 yards

Greens Fees per ROUND:
    Weekdays: £45
    Weekends: £55

Greens Fees per DAY:
     Weekdays: £55
     Weekends: £65

Credit Cards Accepted: VISA

Open and Playable Year Round
Reduced rates in winter months and after 4PM in the summer.
Half fees for Juniors.

Advance Booking of Tee-Times Required.

Visitors welcome every day.
Some weekends will be unavailable due to scheduled club events.

Handicap Certificates & Club Membership Required:
   • All players must provide handicap certificates.
   • Maximum Handicaps Permitted: Men–24, Ladies–36.
   • All players must hold memberships at a recognized golf club.

Bookings (from the USA):
    Phone the Secretary: +44 (0)1766 780361
    E-Mail:  secretary@royalstdavids.co.uk
    OR have Home At First book a tee-time for you as part of your
        Wales travel itinerary—this service is FREE!

Facilities:
      • Changing rooms for men and women
      • Pro Shop: fully-equipped
      • Practice area and putting green
      • Full bar and restaurant

Rentals:
      • Pull carts (trolleys): YES, £3/DAY
      • Golf carts (Buggies): YES, £20/round, £35/DAY

Special Rules and Regulations: 
      • DRESS: Smart casual wear is acceptable on the course and in the clubhouse.
      • SLOW PLAY: the MAXIMUM time for a three-ball is three and a half hours.
        Individual four-ball stroke play competitions are not permitted on the course.

LOCATION: Just west of Harlech town center on A496 coast road. Directions from nearest Home At First lodging: Harlech is on the A496, approximately 25 miles southwest across Snowdonia from Betws-y-Coed.

Address:  Royal St. David's Golf Club, Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales.

Nearest HOME AT FIRST lodgings:
• Northwest Wales: Near Betws-y-Coed, Snowdonia, Northwest Wales,
      25 miles drive from Harlech.
      More about HOME AT FIRST's NORTHWESTERN WALES travel program.
• Mid-Wales: HOME AT FIRST lodgings are 100 road miles (2.5 hours)
      southeast of Harlech.
        More information about HOME AT FIRST's MID-WALES travel program.

THE HISTORY: Laid out in 1894 by the unlikely pair of local non-golfer William Henry More, and aristocratic adventurer/sportsman Harold Finch-Hatton who suggested the site for golf after playing there with a boomerang he brought home with him following 8 years in Australia. Royal St. David’s is among the oldest golf club in Wales. The course is named after the national patron saint, as are Royal St. George’s in England and St. Andrews in Scotland. Its "Royal" had already been granted before the Prince of Wales—later King Edward VII, the abdicator who became the Duke of Windsor—was named the club captain in 1935. Royal St. David’s has been the site of over fifty secondary-level championships for Wales, Britain, and beyond, such as the men’s and women’s Home Internationals.

THE COURSE & SOME NOTABLE HOLES: An indication of the level of difficulty of this par-69 championship links course is its standard scratch score (SSS) of 73. Perhaps the greatest challenges are its succession of long par-4 holes and its large putting surfaces. After a rather benign front (a par-33, with the course’s two par-5 holes, numbers 7 and 8), the back nine catches many golfers off-guard. The last five holes are a sand dunes circuit which many consider among the best stretch of finishing holes in golf. Although the two par-5’s are not long (at 494 yards and 517 yards), there are seven par-4’s ranging from 428-468 yards that make the course a real test—especially in the wind. And, while the front lacks undulation, the back contends with a washboard of dunes. So hilly are the dunes in fact, that players do not see the ocean until they climb up to the 16^th tee.
        With all of this challenge it’s fair to qualify Royal St David’s as the best course in North Wales. But there’s more. Surrounding the links land is some dramatic scenery. The course rests on the sand dunes between the town and the sea. Just above—on some of the world’s oldest known rock—is 720-year-old Harlech Castle—looking as menacing as a solid medieval fortress can appear. To the north and east are the great Welsh mountains of Snowdonia—highest in Britain south of the Scottish Highlands.

THE REGION: Harlech Castle was built by nearly one thousand men from 1283 to1290 on orders of English King Edward I, who conquered Wales and named his son first Prince of Wales. Set high on the cliffs overlooking Tremadog Bay, Harlech Castle has been recognized as a World Heritage Inscribed site. The wild west coast offers empty beaches and a series of valleys climbing into the western mountains of Wales’s Snowdonia National Park. Visitors come here for the excellent walking, interesting geology, and several of the narrow gauge Great Little Trains of Wales. Best of all are the welcoming Welsh, living in cozy villages that are delights to explore. There’s hearty Welsh food to be sampled, too. That and a hot or cold drink at a local pub or back in your own Welsh cottage top off your memorable day of the country’s best golf and scenery.