Southerndown Golf Club

Overview: Southerndown is an 18-hole course on the elevated Ogmore Down in South Wales, where a limestone base, heathland vegetation and windblown sand create an unusual blend of inland and links characteristics. The outcrop rises above the sea and gives wide views, while the springy front eight and natural drainage help the course play differently from a conventional parkland layout.

History: Willie Fernie designed the first course, with a temporary five-hole layout played from autumn 1905 while construction continued. The course then evolved through Herbert Fowler's 1907 to 1908 alterations, Willie Park's 1913 to 1914 work and Harry Colt's 1919 to 1920 alterations. Donald Steel is among the later designers whose work also helped shape the course seen today.

Did You Know? Southerndown was established on common land with long-standing grazing rights, so the course's open-down character reflects a shared landscape as well as a golf design. The club's own description of the site links its heather, bracken, gorse and sand to the underlying limestone and prevailing westerly winds.