The Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor

Overview of The Twenty-Ten Course

The Twenty-Ten course was the first-ever golf course purposely built for a Ryder Cup. Overnight, Golf Breaks in Wales became a serious golf holiday destination. Designed by Ross McMurray and located in the Usk Valley, The Twenty Ten course perfectly balances risk, reward, and strategic play while still having the length for individual professional tour tournaments at under 7,500 yards. The Twenty Ten course is a must for anyone staying at the Celtic Manor Golf Resort.

Our Visit to Celtic Manor and What We Thought of the Course

We highly recommend the 2010 experience, including a full breakfast in the Twenty Ten clubhouse, adorned with Ryder Cup memorabilia from the iconic event. In 2010, Colin Montogmorie’s European team took Correy Paven’s USA Team to the last match. Then head down to the locker rooms and change into the same rooms that still have the lockers from some of the game's greatest golfers before heading to the remarkable twenty-ten practice facilities for a bucket of balls. You are then energised and warmed up for the thrill of the first tee of the Twenty Ten golf course.

Step onto the First Hole on the Twenty-Ten Golf Course

The first hole opens up with a classic risk-and-reward tee shot; the best line is straight over the bunkers on the left-hand side of the fairway, which have been positioned perfectly. Finding the left-hand side of the fairway will give you the most straightforward approach to the green with huge steep swales surrounding it. The right-hand side of the fairway is the safest option but will leave a tricky second shot to a tough putting surface; par is always a great score on the 1st.

The risk and reward theme will flow over the following holes, and calculating your risks is essential if you are to score well on the Twenty Ten.

Our Favourite Golf Hole on the Celtic Manor Twenty-Ten Course

Although there are no less than six signature holes that feature over the 18 holes, our personal favourite is the 14th Par 4. The choice is to take the risk and hit blind over the trees to green only 260 yards away or play safe by finding the fairway before turning the dogleg at almost 90 degrees right. An easy birdie opportunity, but make the wrong decision, and you can rack the numbers up. The course is a technical course built with the modern golfer in mind and, many years ago, would have been considered and named an “American Style” golf course. Today there are plenty of these courses around, and the common theme includes long, lots of sand, and lots of water as well as large sloping greens. The Twenty-Ten may be American in style. However, it was built to give an advantage to Team Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup.

The Twenty-Ten Golf Course and the Ryder Cup

The Europeans had a healthy 3-point lead going into the last day of the singles. Still, a solid previous day from the Americans meant that the decisive point had to be secured from the very final match of Graeme Mcdowell and Hunter Mahan, where Mcdowell secured the win on the 17th green with a five-foot putt to secure the 14 ½ vs 13 ½ win.

When booking your next weekend golf break deal to Celtic Manor, include the Twenty Ten on your itinerary.