JOHN GRANT visits the top golf resort in South Wales which will stage the Ryder Cup this autumn

AS THE early morning mist started to lift off the River Usk and drift across the beautiful tree-lined valley, our big treat was about to become a reality.

My three golfing pals, Mark, Dai and Martin and I were outwardly full of bravado.

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We were all trying to give the impression this was going to be another of our regular Saturday morning golf games but we were all harbouring stomach-churning nerves.

We each selected our favourite club, picked up a ball and stepped on to the first tee of the sensational Ryder Cup course at the Celtic Manor Resort in South Wales. Then it hit us: Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy and all our other golfing heroes would be standing on exactly the same spot when they tee off in the Ryder Cup in a few weeks time.

We checked the official guide to the course. It said the 465-yard par 4 opening hole is "very challenging". So what, we thought as we clattered our drives 230 yards down the fairway. However, walking off the green 15 minutes later, only Martin had done himself justice. The rest of us just shook our heads in disbelief.

The monster 610-yard par 5 second, which runs along the side of the river, is described as "very demanding". You can say that again and you could say it about the third, the fourth, the fifth and the sixth.

After playing the seventh, our early bravado had vanished.

Our score cards were a total mess. Mark said he had seen more sand than in the Sahara.

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My game at least started to pick up and I managed to par the last four holes, described by European captain Colin Montgomery as "sensational, big impact holes". Unfortunately, there was nobody there to cheer me on but 50,000 spectators will be lining the fairways when the Europeans take on the US at the beginning of October.

The course and clubhouse have cost £20million. Anyone lucky enough to play the Twenty Ten Course can step into the oak-panelled splendour of the locker rooms which the world's top golfers will use. The clubhouse, perched high above the 18th green, has a distinctly Canadian feel, with open fires, exposed beams, hand-cut stone walls and panoramic views of the course below.

This was the final piece of a jigsaw which includes the 330-bedroom, five-star The Resort Hotel, the historic 19th-century The Manor House Hotel and the 200-year-old inn, The Newbridge on Usk. There are two other championship golf courses and two luxury spas and health clubs.

The £140million investment is the brainchild of self-made Welsh billionaire Sir Terry Matthews, who was determined to bring the Ryder Cup to his home nation. His dream started 30 years ago when he bought the nursing home where he was born.

He believed the countryside around the old manor house, just five miles on the Welsh side of the Severn Bridge, was an ideal location.

After he successfully led the bid for the 2010 Ryder Cup he set about building the Twenty Ten. No expense has been spared. More than 700 staff are on hand providing exemplary service. Wherever we went in the resort, guests were having fun: there is tennis, shooting, fishing, mountain biking and countless walking trails.

The health clubs and spas have a 20m pool and a children's pool, 16 treatment rooms offering therapies from Elemis and Clarins, a high-tech gym and an aerobic/ dance studio. When it comes to food, five extraordinary culinary experiences are on offer: a spectacular buffet, an Italian restaurant, a brasserie, a restaurant at the Twenty Ten clubhouse and, finally, The Crown, which hosts a fine-dining experience to satisfy the most demanding gourmet.

The rooms at The Resort Hotel were among the finest I'd ever stayed in with huge bathrooms, extra-large beds and fantastic views across the estuary or the golf courses.

It is quite simply a brilliant resort, no matter how frustrating your golf game turns out to be.

THE KNOWLEDGE:
Celtic Manor Resort (0845 467 2621/www.celtic-manor.com) offers The Twenty Ten one-night package from £172 (two sharing), B&B.

Price includes accommodation in The Resort Hotel, 18 holes on the Twenty Ten Course and full use of The Forum Health Club's facilities. Quote TTGOLF10 when booking.

Twenty Ten Course closed from September 6 until October 5 for the Ryder Cup. Resort and facilities open until September 24, reopening October 5.

Visit Wales: 0870 830 0306/www.visitwales.co.uk