Beautiful Bridgend

Matt Cooper travels to Bridgend and discovers one of the United Kingdom's hidden golf gems.

"What do you make of our part of the world, then?" a jogger asked me on the final evening of my visit, as we watched the sun set over the Bristol Channel outside my hotel on the Porthcawl coast. "Can I be honest?" I asked. "Of course." "When I first got an email asking if I wanted to go to Bridgend to play golf for five days, my first thought was 'not really'." "And what do you think now?" he laughed. I smiled. "One of the best golf trips I've ever had," I said. "Really - I've loved every minute of it." Coed Y Mwstwr I'd arrived in Bridgend, South Wales five days earlier, to spend my first night at the Coed Y Mwstwr Hotel. The name means "whispering woods" in Welsh and it was about right in beautiful autumnal weather, with the golden leaves falling from the trees on the breeze. After a quick lunch I headed a few hundred yards down the road to play the Coed Y Mwstwr GC (same name, no connection, but preferential rates available for guests). Just like its namesake. the parkland course was looking spectacular in seasonal yellows and browns. A short, but teasing and undulating course with views of wooded valleys, the front nine has the wonderful backdrop of a 19th century walled garden. The brisk round made for a perfect warm-up for the trip to come, allowing me to iron out a few swing flaws. That night, back in the hotel, I opted for local food - roasted wood pigeon followed by Breconshire venison. The building was once a Victorian gentleman's club and I think the members would have been shocked by the modern presentation, but well satisfied by the taste. Next morning, after working off my excess in one of the best appointed gyms ever (a beautiful wooden hut in the hotel gardens), it was time to head up into the valleys. Maesteg The wider Bridgend region is mostly south of the M4 between Cardiff and Swansea, but it also stretches up the valley into what was once mining country and is now popular mountain biking terrain. From the fairways and greens of Maesteg GC you can see the forests that the bikers adore, stretching up the hillside in all directions. But it doesn't quite distract you from the wonderful hilltop course which comes with all the classic James Braid challenges: sneaky short par-fours, tricky par-threes, uphill lies, downhill lies, sidehill lies and the odd blind shot too. I was unprepared to enjoy this layout as much as I did. The only bigger surprise was the welcome: the clubhouse staff and members went out of their way to make me feel completely at home on a course they clearly feel passionately about and I understand why because it's a little gem. That evening I headed back nearer the coast, stopping for the first of two nights at The Great House in Laleston. After another wonderful meal (mackerel pate followed by Thai fish cake) I moved into the cosy bar and fell into discussion about running with the owner Steve Bond. Next thing I knew I had committed to a late breakfast and an early run amongst the locally famous Merthyr Mawr sand dunes. Popular with athletes and rugby teams for training purposes they are not only spectacular enough to pass for the middle east in the film Lawrence of Arabia, but include some of Europe biggest sand hills. The Grove At dawn next morning I ran amongst the Merthyr Mawr dunes in awe. How had I never heard of them before? When I finally ran/jogged/stumbled to the top of the biggest I couldn't stand with awe