Cottrell Park Golf Club

I joined Cottrell Park around 5 months ago, on a student membership, which is made very affordable for the young golfer at only £25 a month. I thoroughly enjoy every round of golf that play, and i think the course isn't too harsh for a high handicap like myself. There's the two courses, the button, and the mac. Personally i like the mac better, it has longer holes, and for me, as a person who's been playing for only 10 months, i think that the wide fairways are a big help, as i dont have the most accurate of drives. The greens are ALWAYS in a fantastic condition. The service at reception and in the clubhouse is brilliant. The value for money as a member, as well as it would be for a visitor is second to none.

I recently played several courses in South Wales as part of a golf trip with my Father and played some great golf courses. However, the two courses that stood at the most were both at Cottrell Park near Cardiff. The condition of both courses was immaculate with some stunning views. Both courses have some generous holes and some testing holes to. After each round we had food at the bar in the clubhouse and then a had few frames of snooker in their snooker hall. An all-round superb golf and leisure facility!

Day 5 of our tour of S. Wales, we chose this 36 hole complex as it was on our way home, and previous write ups on here seemed favourable. There was a lot of refurbishment work going on in clubhouse and Pro shop. But were we made to feel welcome, and were told we should get off at our booked tee time. A long walk down to first tee of the Mackintosh course, no starter in evidence, but we went off behind some members and guests on time. The recent heavy rain made the course soft but playable; the greens looked in poor condition. Plenty of bare patches and very little depth of grass was in evidence when repairing pitch marks, and there were plenty of them, we gave up after 10/12 on each green, perhaps an indication of to many societies? Most tee boxes had huge divots taken out, even the par fives. Most bunkers lacked sand in any depth and few had been raked by previous players. The main entrance road is crossed several times, after playing to greens and moving on to the next tees, but in general the signposting was good, too many dog legs for my liking, often one had to walk to the top of a rise to see the green and check if it was clear to play. But indicator poles gave you chance to pick a good line on most holes. But we found the course boring, with no holes memorable, a couple of par threes were a test of accuracy but little else. We kept hoping something would improve, but I’m afraid it didn’t, even the views were very ordinary. Finally made the clubhouse, three pints, and three small sandwiches gave little change from £20.00, these were London prices!! Perhaps it taught us to stick to members clubs on our next trip back to Wales, as this was the only privately owned course we played in the week. We won’t be back.

My 'local' club of choice and both courses are great to play. The Button has a reputation for being tight and technical. As a high handicapper I've never felt this to be the case (try Real Bendinat in Mallorca for a tight course!) and usually post respectable scores. The Mac is more open than the Button but also features some tighter holes, the 7th in particular. The Button is regarded as the 'lesser' of the two courses - probably due to the championship status of the Mac - which tends to also make it the less busy of the two. The views afforded on both courses are incredible. Generally, the greens are in very good condition throughout the year, although this summer I've found the Button greens to be generally in better overall condition, perhaps due to the heavier use of the Mac? Presently, here are no winter mats which is great for those golfers who hate playing from them! Guides to both courses are available in the shop for a quid. They are extremely detailed and worthwhile getting for the blind holes, and let's face it, a quid isn't going to break the bank. The staff are attentive, friendly and helpful. The driving range is much more than the usual 'blast it into a field' affair, as it funnels nicely between trees towards the 300yd marker with numerous targets in-between. Personally, I have no preference over which course I play as both offer a great golfing experience, although you do need to play both to appreciate them fully.

Sixteen from our society played both courses last Saturday.Well organised; busy courses; starters with our tee times being adhered to and four hour rounds. Some hold ups but not serious. Very friendly and helpful staff.Play the subsidiary course, the Button first. New but well laid out and some good holes.Fairly tight so accuracy a help. Undulating,and some blind shots, so course planners a must on both courses. The older course, the Mackintosh, has wide fairways and some excellent holes. Not too difficult to get a good score with some careful thought prior to playing shots. Greens on both courses fast, fair and consistent but links style bounce and run up as the greens are not receptive.Very well presented and cared for, particularly considering the number of players catered for at the weekend. Good fun - we will return.