Wales' most prestigious links: Royal Porthcawl

Located on Wales' south coast near the capital city of Cardiff, Royal Porthcawl is this tiny country's most prestigious links. The golf course hosted the 1995 Walker Cup (when Tiger Woods competed) as well as numerous other top golf tournaments.

Porthcawl has an expansive look to it, overlooking the sea at every tee. The first three holes play right along the coast to the left, while other holes play through more inland, rolling land. Holes 14 and 15 are a spectacular one-two punch, both long, challenging par 4s. Its deep pot bunkers are penal and plentiful, especially on the par 3s.

Another unique aspect to Porthcawl is its imaginative routing. Unlike many other traditional links, each hole plays a different direction than the preceding one.