The Club
The golf course at St. Mellons, was designed by the world renowned / respected golf course architect Henry Shapland Colt, where he put together a superb parkland golf course which opened in 1937.
It’s an “easy” walking course and provides an excellent challenge for golfers of all ages and abilities. Boasting many of his trademark features he created a course known for its outline “cloverleaf” shape with 18 unique holes combined with good clubhouse facilities. The course is an exciting mixture of undulating fairways and tricky greens, with some surprisingly deep bunkers. Each of the holes has its own characteristics / nuances and is separated from its neighbouring holes by mixed woodland.
The golf club lies between the cities of Cardiff and Newport and St.Mellons Golf Club is set in the Monmouthshire / South Glamorgan countryside of South Wales.
Long views of the Bristol Channel and South Wales hills compliment the St. Mellons course which is highly regarded throughout South Wales and beyond.
Henry Cotton the great English golfer who won three Open Championships, had a particular fondness for the third hole of our course, so that these days it’s named ‘Cotton’s Choice’ in his honour.
Even experienced golfers will get a run for their money, because the course at St. Mellons’ offers plenty of challenges. Names like Lyle, Barnes, Torrance, James, Darcy and Garrido have all trod the greens here.
Henry Shapland “Harry” Colt (4 August 1869 – 21 November 1951) was a golf course architect of. Born in 1869 in Highgate, London, UK Harry Colt fell in love with golf on Malvern Common, and became a well-known golfer when he attended Cambridge University.
He was inspired to seek a career as a golf course architect when he helped design Rye Golf Course at the tender age of 25, and through his involvement in redesigning holes at Sunningdale Golf Course. Often referenced as ‘the greatest golf architect of the 20th century’. He worked predominantly with Charles Alison, John Morrison, and Alister MacKenzie, in 1928 forming Colt, Alison & Morrison Ltd.
He participated in the design, or redesign, of over 300 golf courses in all six inhabited continents, including those at Wentworth Club, Sunningdale, Muirfield, Royal Portrush, and Royal Liverpool. Colt and his colleagues had only a few simple rules. Firstly, that early holes should not be demanding. Secondly, that using every club in the bag throughout a round is ideal, and that thirdly, the routing of the course should be determined by the land. The number of pars determined for a course fell upon the layout of the land and not any solid rule.
Colt’s design principles were based on the natural aesthetics of the land. Any alterations had to blend in with the environment and not impose on it. Anything added to the natural landscape would grow to be a part of it. Colt would draw on the natural landscapes of the links and apply them to his inland courses so that they too would become a living and lasting record of his work.
Courses that favour the deep ‘pot’ bunker are most likely to be designed by Colt. He was keen on the small but deep hazards as getting out of them required both technique and plenty of skill. Where possible, his courses followed the flow of the land, in much the same way as links courses.
However, many of Colts inland layouts included the dogleg. That said, there was usually trouble in front of most tees too. Colt’s “punishments” were delivered to poor hitters – those that would top or miss hit, or strike a crooked shot. Layouts would also test the better player that would try to play distance in their aim to gain a shot, only to fall short and bunker giving a shot away to the lesser man.
Find out about becoming a member of St Mellons Golf Club.
Book a visitor round of golf on one of the best parkland courses in South Wales.
How to get to St Mellons Golf Club from Cardiff or Newport direction.
Please call the course condition hotline for up-to-date information 01633 680408 #1
