Conwy Golf Club in

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

was officially opened as

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

Golf Club in 1890. The

links course A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. Links courses are generally built on sandy coastland that offers a firmer playing surface than parkland and heathland courses. The word "links" comes via the Scots langu ...

on the Morfa Conwy peninsula was designed by Jack Morris (nephew of

Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died ...

). The championship course is long with a par of 72.

History

In 1869 a nine-hole course was set out by three Scottish gentlemen, which lays its claim to being the first golf course in Wales. A new nine hole course was laid out in 1875, when members of the

Royal Liverpool Golf Club The Royal Liverpool Golf Club is a golf club in Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1869 on what was then the racecourse of the Liverpool Hunt Club. It received the "Royal" designation in 1871 due to the patronage of Prince Arth ...

commissioned its design by their club professional, Jack Morris. Caernarfonshire Golf Club was formally established at

Conwy Guildhall Conwy Guildhall () is a municipal structure in Rose Hill Street, Conwy, Wales. The guildhall, which is the meeting place of Conwy Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first building on the site was a medieval hall complete ...

on 30 June 1890. In 1895 the course was extended to 18 holes and the club was a founding member of the Welsh Golfing Union. In 1899 the Welsh Amateur Golf Championships were held at the course, followed by the Welsh Professional Championship in 1905. The present clubhouse was built and opened on 1 June 1996, replacing the one built in 1934, which had become dilapidated. The original clubhouse from 1890 was a donated military mess hut from a nearby army camp. That was replaced in the early 1920s but that was destroyed by a fire during the summer of 1933. The course was commandeered for military use during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, which decimated the original links course. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the ninth green was lost as a result of the building of a military harbour on the Conwy Estuary. During the 1970s,

Frank Pennink John Jacob Frank Pennink (1913–1983) was a British amateur golfer, sports journalist, and golf course architect. Life John Jacob Frank Pennink was born in Delft, Netherlands, in 1913. His father had a strong interest in sports, which Pennink s ...

remodelled the front nine holes. In 1983 Brian Hugget and Neil Coles redesigned five of the holes on the back nine to accommodate the building of the A55 (North Wales Expressway).

Tournaments

The

Martini International The Martini International was a men's professional golf tournament that was held from 1961 to 1983. It was hosted by several different golf clubs in England, Scotland and Wales. It was part of the British PGA tournament circuit, which evolved int ...

tournament was held at Conwy Golf Club in 1970, when the title was shared by

Doug Sewell Douglas Norman Sewell (19 November 1929 – 9 September 2017) was an English professional golfer. Before turning professional he had a successful amateur career, playing in the Walker Cup in 1957 and 1959. Amateur career Sewell was a useful am ...

and Peter Thomson. The 41st

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

tournament was played at Conwy Golf Club on 26–28 August 2021. The club was originally hosting the event on 12–14 June 2020 but it was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

.{{cite web, date=1 April 2020, title=Curtis Cup postponed to 2021; British Ams rescheduled, url=https://www.golfchannel.com/news/curtis-cup-postponed-2021-british-amateur-championships-rescheduled, website=Golf Channel, accessdate=1 April 2020

References

Golf clubs and courses in Wales Conwy Curtis Cup venues