Made to Measure

Joy Evans of Priskilly Forest Country House and Golf Club in Pembrokeshire explains that ‘golf as it should be’ is all about the personal touch.

We’ve been running the guesthouse here since 1977 and were a working cattle farm until we added the golf course in 1992. Basically, the decision to build it came from the fact that the land really lent itself to golf. The course is surrounded by trees and rhododendrons, and it had that old parkland feel even before we started work on it.

We get a really mixed range of golfers coming here. We get low handicap players because the course can be testing, but we also get plenty of more ‘recreational’ players. People often think that’s it’s ‘just a nine-hole’, but it is a real challenge. The course is played in two laps as a full 18 holes. People always say that the second time round is very different from the first.

Those who come here generally do so for the total experience. We always try to give a warm welcome so every visitor feels that they’re part of the place the instant they arrive. I think the personal touch is essential if you’re going to make people want to come back again and again. If you feel truly welcome somewhere, you relax immediately and have a good time. That really matters to us, because word of mouth is as important as any other form of advertising. We’ve had people come here based on personal recommendations who have gone on to become regular visitors.

Despite the fact that we’re all competitors, we have a pretty good relationship with other golfing destinations in the area. If people do want to play elsewhere, we like to be able to give them good recommendations based on their abilities and requirements. When visitors come here we just want to show them the best in Pembrokeshire, so it’s about tailoring the experience to the individual guest.

Joy Evans and her husband Phil run five-star Priskilly Forest Country House and Golf Club near Haverfordwest, which received a Gold tourism award this year. For more information, please click here.