Celtic Manor (Montgomerie)

It is famed for its Twenty Ten course which recently staged the Ryder Cup, however, there are two other courses at this 5-star resort in South Wales.

Neither of these courses should be dismissed when booking a visit at this popular destination though.

The Montgomerie course, named after Colin Montgomerie OBE who designed the course which also opened in the same year as the TwentyTen is of similar ilk to the Roman Road in both style and substance.

The walk is more undulating than the Roman Road and at times can be a little gruelling if you are not using a buggy but the quality of the actual holes is pleasing.

The best holes on the course are the downhill par five 3rd that has impressive views from the summit of the fairway whilst the next hole, a par three of 181 yards from the back tees, is also a superb hole. The next doesn't disappoint either before a run of solid holes takes you to the turn.

The 10th was my favourite hole on the course because it allows you to decide how much of the downhill dog-leg you risk taking on in order to give yourself a better and shorter shot to a green fronted by water.

A series of good holes complete the inward half with the par three 15th the best looking of the lot with a green cut into the hillside that falls away sharply to the left.

The 16th is also an impressive hole and just one of many drives from elevated tees to sweeping fairways. The 17th offers up the chance of a birdie as it is a driveable par four but the final hole should be respected and is a potential card-wrecker for those biting off a little more than they can chew!

If you are playing and/or staying at Celtic Manor don't dismiss the Montgomerie course. It may well be it is not to the standard of the famed Twenty Ten course but there is enough interest throughout the round to make it worth adding an extra night stay onto your trip to play.

Read the review of Celtic Manor (Twenty Ten) here.

Read the review of Celtic Manor (Roman Road) here.