In the early part of 1891 a group of Cardiff business men, involved in shipping and coal exporting, and all keen golfing enthusiasts decided to form a golf club at Porthcawl.
The following April the members were granted the right to cut holes for a nine hole golf course on Lock's Common. The rest of that year was spent clearing the common of a dense, tangled covering of gorse and bracken, and in February 1892 Charles Gibson, the Westward Ho.! professional, was invited to Porthcawl where he stayed and laid out the nine hole course.
Today the club has acquired a large practice area and further improvements have been made to the course, developments which keep Royal Porthcawl firmly among the world's top golf courses. The status of the course is sustained by the many prestigious professional and amateur events held at the club over the years.
When playing the course, wind is a constant factor here due to the fact that there are no high dunes or trees that might form some sort of defence - it's just you against the elements.
With the closing hole playing towards the sea and into the wind, there is perhaps not a single course in British golf that can produce as finer, more dramatic finish. The sea is visible from every hole here and, while the first three holes run alongside the beach, many of the others climb high above sea level to afford panoramic views of the Bristol Channel and across to Exmoor.