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The Course Opens
From the beginning of December 1975, priority of work was given to the greens so that turfing could be finished before frost conditions arrived. Work continued and on 1 April 1976 the course was opened for play. It was a little ragged at first; some of the greens were not too good but it was a place where golf could be played.
The first card was produced and read:
Length 1691 yards Par 30
| Hole | Length | Par | SI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 149 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 | 281 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 | 158 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 161 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 175 | 3 | 1 |
| 6 | 269 | 4 | 6 |
| 7 | 86 | 3 | 7 |
| 8 | 269 | 4 | 4 |
| 9 | 133 | 3 | 9 |
On 6 June 1976, the course was officially opened by the Station Commander, Air Commodore J B Wellingham, who struck the first tee shot of the first competitive competition. The inaugural trophy was presented to the club by Mr Peter Davies of Llantwit
Major and was won by Mr M Morris who returned a score of 30 net.
Time to Expand
In August 1976, an application was made to the RAF authorities at St Athan for extra land to be made available to the golf club. This was land that had been in use as a rugby pitch and a cricket pitch. It was necessary to obtain the extra land in order to lengthen the course to bring the club to a standard whereby the club could be recognised by the Welsh Golfing Union. The Club was allowed the use of the land and the golf course was redesigned. Two greens were taken out of use and two new greens brought in. This increased the length of the course to 2436 yards for 9 holes and 4872 yards over 18 holes with a Standard Scratch Score of 64 and Par of 66. Application was made to the Welsh Golfing Union for membership on 23 April 1977 and the Club was duly elected. At this time the membership was 71 Servicemen, 45 Civilians and 14 Juniors. The photograph show how the course looked at its inception.
Below is the original first 2-tier green, the old 6th green, now just part of the 5th fairway. Note the 2 small trees just right of centre, which now feature in drives from the 5th tee.
The picture below shows the 4th green and on the right is the original 2nd tee. The work being carried out is the removal and covering of one of the hospital roads.
Shown below is an extended view of work in front of the 2“d tee to remove a road. On the right of the picture is a yellow farm trailer, one of several gifts bestowed on the club by the local community.