DISTANCE FROM HOLIDAY COTTAGES: 19 miles
TYPE OF COURSE: Links
HOLES: 18
LENGTH: 7051 yds
WEBSITE: www.machynys.com

“The UK’s best new golf course”

Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club is the first Nicklaus-designed golf course in Wales. A modern links style layout overlooking Carmarthen Bay and the Gower Peninsula and already home to the European Tours 'Ladies Championship of Europe', Machynys has already earned itself an enviable reputation as the UK's best new golf course.

The UK's top golfing publications have recently written about Machynys Peninsula. Here is a small selection of what they said: 'We were blown away by its splendour, Machynys is the finest new course and a contender for the highest new entry in Golf Worlds top 100 courses in Britain and Ireland' - Golf World 2005 ‘Wales' newest links is blessed with some of the truest greens anywhere and a rosey future seems assured' - Golf Monthly 2006 (Awarded the Gold medal in 2005).

A modern links championship golf course, Machynys Peninsula has been designed to challenge the best players in championship conditions - and yet still be enjoyable for the higher handicapper, by utilising up to five tees per hole. The shaping of the £3.5m course layout has included the creation of 25 acres of new lakes - salt and fresh water - 12 miles of irrigation pipes and six miles of drainage pipes, to ensure the course is in top condition all year round.

Gary Nicklaus - who has been overseeing the project design on behalf of his father, the legendary Jack Nicklaus - has identified some of his favourite and most challenging holes as the 4th, 5th, 16th, and 18th. Naming the fourth, "the most unique, a short-ish par 4 but a very challenging and a difficult one nonetheless".

GOLF COURSES LOCAL TO OUR HOLIDAY COTTAGES

Allt Y Graban Golf Club - Parkland
Ashburnham Golf Club - Links
Clyne Golf Club - Moorland
Earlswood Golf Club - Natural Downland
Fairwood Park Golf Club - Flat Championship Parkland
Garnant Park Golf Club - Rolling Parkland
Glynneath Golf Club - Parkland/Woodland
Gower Golf Club - Parkland
INCO Golf Club - Flat Parkland
Lakeside Golf Club - Flat Parkland
Langland Bay Golf Club - Seaside Parkland
Machynys Golf Club - Nicklaus Designed Links
Morriston Golf Club - Parkland
Neath Golf Club - Parkland/Mountainous/Heathland
Palleg Golf Club - Meadowlands
Pennard Golf Club - Links
Pontardawe Golf Club - Mountainous
Swansea Bay Golf Club - Links

Swansea Valley Holiday Cottages are ideally placed to offer superb opportunities for a huge range of activities from birdwatching to mountain biking to surfing to sea fishing.

Brecon Beacons National Park and the Gower Coastline are both wonderful natural adventure activity playgrounds. Few places in Europe can boast a mountain wilderness and a coastline designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty within 30 miles of each other. In addition to a wide range of outdoor pursuits, the Swansea area boasts an extensive range of indoor leisure facilities for visitors.

Why not take advantage of some of the best surfing beaches in Europe for your activity package? The opportunity to try such varying activities as surfing and canyoning provides much excitiement and sets it apart from other traditional destinations to make it a memorable experience.