M anyof us have go-to places to which we return time and again in life and in golf as they just ‘do it’ for us. I’ve been fortunate to have played a lot of golf over the last 40 years in many different countries, but I’m pretty sure my go-to golfing place is really now South Wales, to where I’ve been magnetically drawn at least a couple of times a year in recent times. I’ll often take three or four days away down there in January, typically staying in the dormy rooms at Royal Porthcawl, but sometimes at Tenby or Pyle & Kenfig.
Why South Wales? It’s a good question, but I somehow feel an affinity with the area unlike anywhere else in the country and Royal Porthcawl certainly plays a big role in that, though I will confess it wasn’t love at first sight for reasons I will come on to.
This part of the UK, just three hours from my Sussex home, played a pivotal role
