Staying Home Sucks, home
Beach below West Drive, Porthcawl
Golf. Photo: Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Golf

Surf spot · UK

Is it worth the trip?

23Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: too small (2 ft swell at 12 s), 3 hours of offshore wind

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 26 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
33kJ
Wind
NE 10 kn
Temp
11°C

Tue 3 · 16 out of 100

Swell
1 ft15 scrumbling
Energy
36kJ
Wind
ENE 14 kn
Temp
12°C

Wed 4 · 37 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 ssoft
Energy
73kJ
Wind
ENE 15 kn
Temp
11°C

Thu 5 · 26 out of 100

Swell
1 ft10 ssoft
Energy
34kJ
Wind
ENE 15 kn
Temp
10°C

Fri 6 · 13 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
13kJ
Wind
ENE 11 kn
Temp
11°C

Sat 7 · 11 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 ssoft
Energy
9kJ
Wind
ESE 8 kn
Temp
10°C

Sun 8 · 9 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 scrumbling
Energy
5kJ
Wind
S 1 kn
Temp
11°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 226, too small
  2. Tue 316, too small
  3. Wed 437, too small
  4. Thu 526, too small
  5. Fri 613, too small
  6. Sat 711, too small
  7. Sun 89, too small
  8. Mon 93, too small
  9. Tue 1022, too small
  10. Wed 1134, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–10 ftof swell
  • Water 13 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number

Golf does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Golf, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov26, too small2 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)33kJwind from the north-east, 10 knots, offshore11°C
Tue 3Nov16, too small1 ft15 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)36kJwind from the east-north-east, 14 knots, offshore12°C
Wed 4Nov37, too small2 ft12 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)73kJwind from the east-north-east, 15 knots, offshore11°C
Thu 5Nov26, too small1 ft10 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)34kJwind from the east-north-east, 15 knots, offshore10°C
Fri 6Nov13, too small1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)13kJwind from the east-north-east, 11 knots, offshore11°C
Sat 7Nov11, too small1 ft8 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)9kJwind from the east-south-east, 8 knots10°C
Sun 8Nov9, too small1 ft8 scrumbling1 ft at break (est.)5kJwind from the south, 1 knot11°C
Mon 9Nov3, too smallunder 1 ft9 s1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the east, 16 knots, offshore10°C
Tue 10Nov22, too small1 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)25kJwind from the east, 13 knots, offshore13°C
Wed 11Nov34, too small2 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)67kJwind from the east, 9 knots13°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovLow 05:15 −2.5 mHigh 11:44 +2.9 mLow 18:04 −2.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:27 +2.4 mLow 06:40 −2.3 mHigh 13:03 +2.7 mLow 19:33 −2.5 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 01:46 +2.5 mLow 08:06 −2.4 mHigh 14:17 +2.9 mLow 20:48 −2.8 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Golf

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces SW (224°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (44°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 900 m out (1 in 90). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 8°C in February, its coldest month (5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves), and 18°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Porthcawl, 0.8 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 5 surf spots and 1 climbing area.

Water about 13°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,230–US$2,290 each

about US$1,230–US$2,290 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to CWL, estimated from distance and season, changing at DUB, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$436–US$906
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$60–US$101
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$282–US$470
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$584
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$134–US$228
Totalabout US$1,230–US$2,290

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Porthcawl

about 5 min by car · 51 places to stay

about US$107/nightcountry average

See 51 places to stay in Porthcawl · Booking.com

About Porthcawl its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$107 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 16h 15m

About 16h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → CWL, changing at Dublin Airport (DUB), then 45 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

Saved: this link opens the same trip

Email itRemind me to book

The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.