St. Mellons Golf Club

This is a very enjoyable, attractive,golf course. Whilst not the longest, every hole has something to overcome be it deep bunkers (3, 5, 11 & 14), water (4,7 and 12), greens that run away from you and are tough to hold (9 & 16) and long testing par 4's (2, 6, 10, 17 & 18). Every green has a break to deal with and when I played were running quicky & true, though I have heard of some issues over the years. The course was in very good condition, with two tremendous finishing holes. I would rank St Mellons as in the top 3 courses in the Cardiff / Newport area.

Very water-logged, even on dry days. The good thing is that the course is now very quiet as a large number of members have resigned in recent months over a legal dispute regarding the removal of some trees. A good place to bring youngsters who want to swing a club or two without taking things too seriously.

Played there in a charity day last week. I found the course in very good condition. A lot of interesting holes, 5 very good par three's of varying difficulty. Some challenging par 5's and 3 great par 4's to finish. Must say I was'nt keen on the 10th hole par 4 about 450 yds and uphill at the start, too hard for me! Greens had a very true roll, maybe a touch slow, or maybe I did'nt hit them hard enough! Excellent food before the presentation, good weather, pity we did'nt win anything.

In respect to the comments of Mr Hewitt who played on a county card ONCE, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE MY VIEWS. I have been a member of St Mellons for 17 years,and as such do not believe it has been in better condition than that of 2005. There are many memorable holes,especially off the back tees which i would guess Mr Hewitt would not have played. Some holes that stand out, The 2nd is a hard hard hole from the back tees with the brave shot down the right to give a shot into the green (but ob on that line if drifted slightly right),a shot left has no alternative but to make the golfer take his bogey and go onto the next....... The 3rd par 3,is a very tricky hole with only the perfect tee shot guaranteed success onto the green,(already a card breaker). The 4th hole is a thinking golfers hole,with either a perfect drive or safe iron shot enabling the golfer to comfortably hit the green in 2. The 5th hole again a tricky par 3 and course knowledge comes in handy as it kicks left 90% time,a perfect hole for those who can draw the ball. 10th hole monster par 4,only a long drive of 250+ allows you to hit the green in two,a challenge to any start on the back nine if you have had a good front 9 11th protected by 2 monster bunkers,par 3, hit the green and you can sigh with relief.......as there are not many who consistently do. 12th on back tees,ob left,pond on right,sail a drive over ladies tees and success is assured,a leak either right or left forget it......... 16th par 4,green sloping away from you,in hot dry weather a tiger woods shot is all you can muster to stay on the green, Finally 17 and 18 2 MEMORABLE finishing holes, many a card has been wrecked here (i should know), both long par 4's straight down middle for both or only a magic putt will settle your par..... I believe after a few hard years St Mellons has come to fruition as one of the best courses in the surrounding area, i challenge anyone to find fault with it at the moment (august 2005) and wish people all the success in trying to conquer it.......... Richard Hughes.

Played this course on a County Card last Friday (16.07.2004) - it is a good parkland course, the greens being in very good condition. The course is very flat with many tree-lined fairways. Because of the flatness of the course it seemed to lack something, and even though there are several very long par-4s (420+ yards) it didn't strike me as being very difficult or memorable.