Author: Moly McMillan (Page 37 of 45)

Moly McMillan lives in Somerset. He is a business management consultant helping businesses scale and also devotes time to playing all of Scotland's golf courses, assessing their value for money.

35. Milnathort. 20th Oct 2015.

October 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Well kept and subtlety challenging course with Lomond Hills view.

Round (9 holes) £10. Par 34. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Milnathort golf course is in the village of the same name in Kinross-shire, close to the M90, with very easy access from Edinburgh or Perth. It was founded in 1910 and laid out by W. Binnie the professional from Kinghorn, the small Fife links course.

1st at Milnathort looking back to clubhouse from the green.

It is basically a “9 hole” course, but with 2 adjacent greens for the long 6th and 15th played from the same tees and fairway, and different tees on the 4th and 13th to the same green. On the day I played the “front 9” card off the yellow, which is par 34 versus the white par 35, due to the 6th played as a very long par 4 of 467 yards.

Moly on the 6th tee at Milnathort – need to get the hips out of the way! Lomond Hills in the distance.

Its a really nice course, which was in great condition due I’m sure to the Indian Summer of September that had just gone. There are some very tough holes, with the first being a demanding opening 400 yard par 4 with a tight tee shot then played uphill slightly to a large double green shared with the 5th. After that things get more straight forward, until the long 6th, the signature hole, with views of the Lomond Hills, then the long par 4 7th, “The Spire”, played back towards the village.

7th approach at Milnathort – “The Spire”

The fairways in particular were a pleasure to play and walk on, and the trees were in full Autumn colour when I played. The greens are generally large and very true.

I played the best I’d done for a while, carding a 42 versus the par 34, including a lost ball at the 2nd, which was one of those shots that occasionally get lost inexplicably – I shot a 5 with the provisional ball.

6th approach at Milnathort

Lovely course, nice little clubhouse, easily accessible, with limited hazards – well worth a visit.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34 (“front” nine) (0 par 5s, 7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2834 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 42

Stableford 20

Moly’s Milnathort Scorecard – 42

34. Scoonie. 15th Oct 2015.

October 19, 2015 / Moly McMillan

An easy walking course with good views and subtle greens

Round £18. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Scoonie is a short and straight forward parkland golf course located on the eastern side of Leven on the Fife coast and has good views out to the Forth Estuary and across to the North Berwick coastline.

The long par 4 6th tee at Scoonie

It is one of 7 courses managed by the Fife Golf Trust which was established in 2011 to take over Fife Council’s directly managed courses. This is becoming a common practice by Local Authorities in Scotland to manage golf courses. The actual Scoonie Golf Club was formed in 1951, and welcomes visitors to their catering and bar facilities.

View through the “forgiving” trees at the 6th.

Originally a 9 hole course it was extended in 1936 with James Braid doing the re-design, albeit it’s unclear what Braid’s exact design changes were, since the course lacks sophisticated course architecture one normally expects from a Braid course in my opinion. Parts of the course in fact seem quite immature with small trees aside wide open fairways, and therefore feels much younger.

The 12th at Scoonie – the subtle and often large greens provide a good challenge

Having said that, there is still sufficient to keep one interested at Scoonie. The greens are subtle and true, with a few of them being very large. I suspect not many visitors, of any standard, will fail to 3 putt at least once during a round.

The approach at the long par 4 15th hole, bathed in Autumn colour.

The course is a little imbalanced with an outward par of 35 with only one par 3, and inward par of 32 including 4 par 3s. There are no par 5s on the course.

My favourite holes were the short par 4 2nd, which had a steep upward incline to the green, where it is better being long on the approach, the short uphill par 3 13th and the final hole which has a lovely green and well positioned front bunker.

The lovely 18th green at Scoonie

On the day, I played poorly on a course which is relatively easy, with a SSS of 64 versus the card of 67 off the yellow, scoring 31 points.

Scoonie is ideal if you’re looking for a fairly easy walking course, with no major hazards coming into play.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 67 (0 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (green!) 5133 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 92

Stableford 31

Moly’s Scoonie scorecard – 92

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

September 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

A Driver’s paradise with some prayers needed around the turn!

Round £25. Par 73. Value (out of 5) – 4

Drumoig golf course is a substantial par 73 golf course, designed by Dave Thomas, set in a resort style estate, with housing and a hotel, situated between Dundee and St Andrews. It is a parkland layout and sufficiently undulating to make for a tiring walk on this 7000 yard course.

The difficult 9th hole with water on both sides of the fairway.

It is well set within the surrounding arable land with some far reaching views, notable across to Broughty Ferry, Monifieth and Carnoustie, on the other side of the Tay Estuary.

Surrounded by the classic links on this north Fife coastline, Drumoig would make a nice contrast for touring golfers, who may be finding the local links fairways a bit tight.

The “cliff side” green at the 5th – the long signature hole at Dromoig

My main impression of Drumoig, was the width of the fairways, especially on the five par 5s; you can really open your shoulders whilst driving here, that is all bar the 9th, 10th and 11th, where all three holes are set around a large lake, making up its own Amen Corner. These holes at the turn were the highlight for me, particularly the 10th, where I took a bogie 5, having taken 3 from the tee!

The 11th green at Drumoig

There are other interesting features, with a 25-foot quarry wall sitting immediately behind the 5th hole, a long par 5, and the 13th. The 18th, is also a very nicely architected hole, with carefully laid water hazards, where the safe play is a medium iron or hybrid from the tee, leaving a short iron to the green.

13th at Drumoig with the quarry wall behind.

The course is a little unbalanced in my opinion with only 1 par 3 (the 2nd) and 2 par 5s on the front 9 of 37, but 3 par 3s, 3 par 4s and 3 par 5s on the back 9. The course was in nice condition when I played, although the bunkers were a little stony and greens much slower that the nearby links courses. That aside, its a good course which is well worth playing and good value.

The greenside bunker at the left of 14th, a natural target with OOB all down the right.

I had a fairly good day for me, shooting 96, with 46 on back 9.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 73 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (green!) 6472 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 96

Stableford 33

Moly’s Drumoig Scorecard – 96

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

September 16, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Great Fun Highland Golf – but overpriced for just 9 holes.

Round £25 (£18 for 9). Par 33. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

I was a member of Abernethy golf club for many years and the course is my favourite place on earth! I have had no greater golfing pleasure than playing on my own on a late June evening with the course completely to myself – I have felt the spirit of Shivas Irons.

The war memorial hazard on the long par 3 8th hole.

Abernethy GC is in the village of Nethy Bridge, near Grantown on Spey in the Cairngorms National Park. Founded in 1893, it is a quintessential Highland 9-hole course – small “tea room” style clubhouse, open to visitors of all standards, lovely views from natural heathland with majestic trees, and terrifying heather in places. There is also an abundance of wildlife, so a good course for non-playing partners to accompany golfers around this lovely walk, which, if not busy, will take comfortably less than 1 hours 30 mins to play 9 holes.

Beware cars on the short par 3 2nd hole.

Abernethy is one of those courses where all golfers will feel they should break their handicap; its short, with many inviting tee shots, and “feels easy”. However, there are some key reasons why most people won’t break their handicap; the fairways become very tight over 220 yards, the excellent greens are small with many having difficult slopes, plus 3 of the holes – the long par 3s at the 5th and 8th, and the par 4 7th – are amongst the toughest holes in the Highlands. Off the back tee on the 7th, all bar the longest hitters would be advised to play this hole as a par 5 – the white tee carry being around 250 yards to a dog leg!

The mighty carry of the 7th drive at Abernethy GC

The course has got great variety and the small green keeping staff do a good job keeping the course in fantastic condition, with the greens being some of the best in the area. It’s a great course to play, especially for those on holiday wanting to play a quick and casual game.

The beautiful view of the 6th tee at “nethy”

However, in my opinion, the pricing is really a shame and is discouraging anyone wanting to play just a quick 9 holes. It is £18 for 9 holes, but only £25 for the whole day, with no 18 hole price, hence I’m forced to conclude its not particularly good value – my recommendation would be £13 for 9 and £18 for 18.

On the day, I got a 5 on the 7th:) – which always makes me happy!

Some Facts

Course Type: Highland

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2297 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 44

Stableford 17

Moly’s Abernethy Scorecard – 44 for 17 stableford points

Author: Moly McMillan (Page 37 of 45)

35. Milnathort. 20th Oct 2015.

Par 34 (“front” nine) (0 par 5s, 7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

34. Scoonie. 15th Oct 2015.

Par 67 (0 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

Par 73 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

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