An intriguing commission has been awarded to DWGD by Nefyn & District Golf Club on the North Wales Coast, recently voted into Britain’s Top 100 courses, and also selected as one of the five most dramatic golf courses in Britain.

With eight of the holes on a very narrow headland, the Club currently has 26 holes in two loops of eight and one of ten. This unusual number was explained by David Williams ..”The course originally was 18 holes, nine holes on the headland and nine on the main body of the land, although three or four of these also were on the edge of the sea. However, the headland being extremely dramatic, is also very popular with walkers, with a public footpath right at the centre of the headland, leading to the National Trust hamlet of Porth Dinllaen with a very popular beachside pub, and was therefore very busy during the summer.

DWGD has noted an increase in short game practice facilities required by both long-established and newer golf clubs.

David Williams explains ..Many of our historic older courses have relatively little practice facilities available, and with many now being totally surrounded by housing, there is often little opportunity to create the full length facilities that modern golfers require. However, a short game practice area requiring only a few acres is something that many clubs and their members would benefit from.

Even those clubs with a full length practice ground often rarely have short game practice areas, and with most clubs prohibiting players from chipping to the practice green, there is often nowhere available to practice this vital element of the game.

As a consequence of this, the Club some 10-15 years ago built another loop of eight holes, reducing the headland loop also to eight, resulting in the current configuration. However, this unusual number is not without its problems. The Club, to reduce numbers playing on the headland, plays all its competitions off the ‘Front ten’ and the ‘New eight’, whilst 90% of visitors play a round consisting of the ‘Front ten’ and the ‘Old eight’ on the headland. As such, all players have to use the ‘Front ten’.

The brief to DWGD was to re-configure the layout in three groups of nine, with the major emphasis on increasing the safety, both to golfers and walkers on the headland section of the course. The brief also includes improving the safety to players on some of the more congested parts of the course, as well as ultimately the re-building of the majority of greens to modern USGA standards.

Generally consisting of a practice chipping green surrounded by bunkers and grassy hollows typical of the actual course itself, and often supplemented with practice tees and other target greens, David considers that the average members would benefit from more time on such a facility than merely hitting balls on a driving range or full length practice ground.

The practice has built one such facility in Wales at North Wales Golf Club in Llandudno, constructed by John Greasley Limited during winter 2001/2002 which opened for play in summer 2002. Situated close to the clubhouse, the practice area has dramatic views of the Irish Sea and to the Conwy Estuary, and distant views over the mountains of Snowdonia.

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