a Best-kept secret of British golf destinations.

MONMOUTHSHIRE GOLF CLUB

Venerable (1892) course from the talented hands
of James Braid on historic land by the River Usk.

MONMOUTHSHIRE GOLF CLUB
Near Abergavenny, Mid-Wales
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Monmouthshire Golf Club
Llanfoist, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire,
Wales NP7 9HE
Tel: +44 (0)1873 852606
Fax: +44 (0)1873 850470
e-mail: secretary@monmounthshire-g-c.sagehost.co.uk

LOOKING FOR A TYPICAL JAMES BRAID GOLF COURSE? Located in the hill and valley country along the River Usk in southeastern Mid-Wales, the Monmouthshire Golf Club is scenic, short, mature, challenging and historic. The course dates from 1892, ranking it among the oldest courses in Wales. The site—the Usk River valley just south of the handsome market town of Abergavenny, Wales—lies in old Monmouthshire county at the edge of the Black Mountains and near the entrance to the ruggedly beautiful Brecon Beacons National Park.
        The great James Braid designed the course. One hundred years ago, Hall of Famer Braid won the British Open Championship five times in a period of ten years. Along with the Tom Morrises, Alister Mackenzie, Harry Vardon, Willie Park, Donald Ross and one or two contemporaries, Braid is counted among modern golf’s Founding Fathers. Braid’s influence on golf continues today through the legacy of more than 200 courses—most located in the British Isles—of his design. Although some of Braid’s best designs were famed seaside linkses including Carnoustie in Scotland and Ballybunion in Ireland, many think his greatest contributions are on inland courses, including Rosemount (Blairgowrie) and Gleneagles in Scotland. Braid understood that inland courses (often sub-categorized as "parkland", "heathland", and "moorland") were inheritantly different than coastal links courses.
        Although his inland courses adhered to a similar length with linkses, their natural conditions—more trees and hills, and less wind, high grass rough, and sand—resulted in Braid’s adding two new challenges to inland golf: dog-legged fairways and pot bunkers. Braid’s designs became so popular that they became the game’s standard design for decades. Now, with the advent of long-drive technology and radically stylized courses in swamps, deserts, and virtually any environment from the equator to the polar circles, Braid’s once innovative courses seem to some golfers dull clichιs—too short, too predictable, too staid. To others, a James Braid course commands the respect due tradition and should be savored like a vintage wine.

LENGTH & PAR:
        White Tees: Par 70, 5,978 yards, SSS 70, (Par 37 Out; Par 33 In)
        Yellow Tees: Par 70, 5,806 yards (men visitors), SSS 69
        Red Tees: Par 72, 5,244 yards (ladies visitors), SSS 72

FACILITIES:
    Pull Cart (Trolley) Rental
    Club Rental
    Pro Shop
    Clubhouse with bar & restaurant
    Practice Area

GREENS FEES:
    Weekdays: £30
    Weekends/Holidays: £60

VISITORS welcome every day, with some restrictions when the club is having outings and competitions.

Handicap Certificate and Proof of Club Membership Required

RESERVATIONS: Advanced reservations recommended.
    Tel: +44 (0)1873 852606
    Fax: +44 (0)1873 850470
    e-mail: secretary@monmounthshire-g-c.sagehost.co.uk

Nearest Home at First Lodgings are located just minutes away, also just outside Abergavenny. Other lodgings are approximately 30 minutes away near Brecon and Hay-on-Wye.
More information on travel with Home at First to: MID-WALES

DIRECTIONS: Monmouthshire Golf Club is on the outskirts of Abergavenny between villages of Llanfoist and Llanellen. Three miles west of Abergavenny and two miles from the A465 on the Llanfoist to Llanellen Road (B4269).

LET HOME AT FIRST BOOK YOUR TEE-TIME AT MONMOUTHSHIRE as part of your Welsh travel plans. There is no service charge for making your booking.

THE COURSE & SOME MEMORABLE HOLES: Monmouthshire is neither a great course, nor an especially great Braid course. In this, playing Monmouthshire can be very instructive. Like most inland courses Braid took on, Monmouthshire is gorgeous, short, and, now after 100 years, mature. Mature, of course, means fairways lined with tall, spreading, trees that encroach upon the field of fair play and demand accuracy instead of length. Who is responsible for making scratch golf the province of young, strong, flexible men armed with the next generation Bigger Bertha? Not James Braid. Scoring on short, mature courses demands strategic planning and execution, not lobbing howitzer shots 315 yards down the interstate.
        That doesn’t mean that Monmouthshire is a par-3 pitch ‘n putt duffers’ delight. At almost 6,000 yards from the longest (white) tees, this venerable par-70 (SSS 70) track offers 4 par-5 holes—including holes 6, 7, and 8 on the front and 18 on the back. But it is the short back 9 (par-33 under 3,000 yards) with its 4 strong par-3’s that gives Monmouthshire its personality, making it a memorable test. And, for Americans who are used to riding, Monmouthshire—like almost every James Braid course—requires walking, an experience that forces golfers to pay attention to the landscape. And, with some outstanding views of the foothills of the Black Mountains and the Beacons, the landscape rewards you, even if your score does not.

MORE ON JAMES BRAID: When you play Monmouthshire you are not on hallowed ground. But you will see elements of genius that an inspired James Braid incorporated into 200+ golf courses throughout the British Isles during over the decades of the turn of the 19th century. You will see these elements again and again as you encounter Braid’s courses throughout Britain and Ireland: at the Taymouth Castle course at Kenmore, Central Scotland, Rosemount course at Blairgowrie, Central Scotland, King’s and Queen’s courses at Gleneagles, Central Scotland, and Brora and Golspie links courses in Northern Scotland, and Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
        Braid’s hand improved the fine inland course at Crieff, Central Scotland, the excellent links at Nairn in Northern Scotland and three legendary Scottish linkses that have hosted many British Opens over the years: Carnoustie in Central Scotland, and Royal Troon and Prestwick on the Ayrshire coast south of Glasgow.
        Owing to a fear of long-distance travel, Braid rarely left Britain. He did visit Ireland a few times, and is credited with helping make the ancient Ballybunion links on the Kerry Coast the toast of Irish golf. Other Welsh courses designed or improved by Braid include excellent coastal courses at Porthmadog and Pwllheli in northwestern Wales, and Rhyl on the northern coast.

JAMES BRAID 

THE REGION: There are some fine golf courses to play and lots more to do in Mid-Wales. There are excellent golf courses nearby at Celtic Manor, Builth Wells, and others. Within reach are two Shrines of Golf at Royal Porthcawl, Royal St. David's and other lesser links courses on both sides of the Wales/England border. Fishing, touring, exploring castles, strolling through charming villages, and shopping for Welsh woolens and other crafts are excellent in this region. Walkers & cyclists will enjoy getting out in the great scenery along the wild river valleys, and hiking/riding the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.

More information on travel to: MID-WALES

Want to learn about other courses throughout the British Isles
including some of the greatest tests of golf in the world?
See our SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ENGLAND, and WALES Course Guides for more information.