‘The 16th is a fantastic hole – it’s a short, drivable par 4 that I very almost made’
This is a well-maintained, historic and true links, but leave your ego at home when deciding which tees to play from – there’s a 500-yard difference from the back white tees to the yellows, so be realistic.
The tees themselves were in great nick and the greens were true and quite quick. The course conditioning overall was nearperfect and I really enjoyed the traditional links feel to it. It’s generally played on gently undulating ground, behind and between the dunes and railway line. It has a few holes like that – the 3rd and 12th swiftly spring to mind.
We played without the usual wind, so the chief challenge was dealing with sloping fairways and peculiar bounces. I loved the drivable 16th, a fantastic short par 4 where I almost made it, but for a small sandy complex of humps and hollows!
Practice-wise, I also loved the logical way of putting in front of the clubhouse, then moving to the chipping/bunker area before teeing it up on the 1st. The long game practice area runs parallel to the 1st, so is a bit out of the way.
Sadly, we played when Covid-19 was affecting the social side of golf, but the sandwiches and beer both went down well while the restaurant staff were exceptionally friendly and efficient during such a stressful time.
In my opinion, this has to be one of the best value-for-money courses in the UK and if I were to leave my club to join another, Aberdovey would be the first to get my letter of application!
The course is located on the edge of town, almost the furthest west players can travel in the principality. I loved the fact you walked from the car park across the railways lines to the terrace between pro shop and clubhouse.