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145. The Royal Burgess Golfing Society. 26 May 22.

August 14, 2022 /

Golfing grandeur nestled out of sight – just like Augusta National – with azaleas and other mysteries thrown in.

Round £175. Par 68. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 67.4/113. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

As I played Royal Burgess, close by a busy traffic junction in Edinburgh, I had a nagging thought; this venue has parallels to Bobby Jones’ Augusta National, an oasis of golfing perfection just off a nondescript highway.

The humble Burgess entrance, belying the wonderful parkland beyond, had me musing of Augusta.

This is not a ‘Golf Club’ though, but the more grander ‘Golfing Society’, a term dating back to 1735, some 150 years before the creation of the current golf course at Barnton.

The difficult par 4, fourth hole, one of the best at Royal Burgess.

A ‘Burgess’ is a term used differently in different countries. In Scotland in 1735, the year of the Societies origin making it the oldest golf club in the world, ‘burgesses’ were city freemen with exclusive trading rights and members of trade guilds. In a sense, they were the Scottish Bourgeoisie. The men would also, probably without exception, have been Freemasons, as Scotland was the birthplace of post middle-age freemasonry. There is a very interesting article “How freemasons invented golf” in the www.scottishgolfhistory.org website which also covers how the Burgess Society was involved.

Ian Ponton plays from a typically well manicured bunker, here at the 2nd, a short par 4.

There is also a lovely Burgess history here on the clubs website, and covered in fine detail on the walls of the impressive 1897 “Arts and Crafts” clubhouse, which is well worth visiting when you play.

Moly’s tee shot at the 121 yard par three 8th hole, with a typically aesthetic surround.

The society originally played over 6 holes at Bruntsfield Links near Edinburgh Castle, then at Musselburgh from 1874 along with some rival societies (you may be able to guess them?). The Burgess finally came to its current location in 1895 on land that had been the private course of a wealthy businessman, Robert Clark. It was an ideal location in its day, with the current starters hut, adjacent the first tee, formerly being the ticket office for the Barnton railway station of the Caledonian line.

Bob Tait, demonstrating a full extension through the ball, at the 437 yard par four 6th hole. Royal Burgess is a good course to use in any debate for advocating different stroke indexes for each tee box.

Since 1895, no lesser than Old Tom Morris, Willie Park Jnr (main designer), James Braid and Philip MacKenzie Ross have developed the course – that’s quite an architectural pedigree.

The course sits in a beautifully manicured arboretum with a wide variety of trees and plants, including azaleas and rhododendron. Although not a long course and constrained by the tight parkland surrounding, the ‘yellow’ course feels longer than its 5700 yards, comprising several long par 4s and no yellow par 5s. There are many large and deceptive greens making three putts a constant hazard. An anomaly in yardages means that the 210 yard par three 18th, is stroke index 18, due to the championship tee designating it a par four. I imagine most matchplay games reaching the 18th, strongly favour a lower handicapper.

Jamie Snedon playing from the greenside bunker at the 15th, a tough par four.

The course was in great condition when I played, hosted by the affable Ian Ponton, owner of the Oz Bar in Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh, along with his great friends Bob Tait and Jamie Snedon. Jamie played by far the best golf on a very windy day, but thankfully we hadn’t made a wager as we started off in a bit of Scottish drizzle.

The 10th, a testing dog leg par four and a very characteristic Burgess hole

The wind didn’t hamper our enjoyment and one could really appreciate the course design, where many large fairway and greenside bunkers were of the highest order, with perfect sand. Many bunkers have been added over the years, some recently. The course sets up better for a fader of the ball (such as Jamie), with all bar one (the 14th) of the many dog leg holes being left to right.

The par threes were well bunkered albeit, other than the 18th, they were short to mid length iron shots for most players.

The approach at the 11th, the signature hole at The Burgess

I struggled to a score of 95, which can’t all be attributed to the wind and my recently developed fade was turned into a monstrous slice on several occasions. It’s important to avoid the bunkers to score well at Burgess, something I failed to do.

I can’t imagine anyone not liking Royal Burgess, a place of genuine history in the developing of the game. It’s beautiful condition, makes it a four for value at its current price.

The clubhouse is the backdrop to the 18th, with a plaque commemorating Henry Cotton’s visit to Royal Burgess, where I conveniently located my tee shot!

The “Royal” patronage was bestowed on the club in 1929, due to a friendship between Robert Boothby, a Burgess member, and the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII (he who abdicated). Boothby was knighted the same year the club became Royal Burgess.

Finally, lets return to my Augusta National ‘gut feeling’ comparison. In looking for a comparable Augusta picture to the Royal Burgess entrance photograph, I stumbled upon a quite remarkable thing. Directly opposite the unobtrusive entranceway to The Masters venue, is the headquarters of the Ancient Scottish Rite Freemasonry organisation. Dig only a little deeper and you find that none other than Augusta hero Brother Arnold Palmer was a Grand Great 33 degree Freemason of the Scottish Rite.

Augusta National entrance with inset of the building opposite – the HQ of Scottish Rite Freemasonry

Plenty of mystery and history to ponder in playing this recommended, but overly priced, course.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (0 par 5s, 14 par 4s,  4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5704 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 95

Moly’s Royal Burgess scorecard – 95 – dominated by up to 40 mph wind.

141. Thornton. 21 May 22.

August 5, 2022 /

Well presented course proves greenkeeping importance in competitive market

Round £30. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.4/119. Value (out of 5) – 4.0

Golf operates in an increasingly competitive market. When clubs come to trim budgets, the last to go should be good greenkeeping staff. Thornton has invested wisely.

The appealing opening tee shot at Thornton, typical of the first 6 holes.

Thornton is a fairly unmemorable village in Fife set between Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy. Nestled not far off the high street is a surprisingly well conditioned parkland course, well worth a visit.

Established in 1921, and seemingly ‘designed’ by the forming committee, this course of about 6000 yards presents a course of three distinct phases.

Holes 1 through 6, are of an “up and down’ nature and although fairly repeatable, and I could imagine some visitors bemoaning this part of the course, it had sufficient variations in length and subtlety to deserve your attention. Interestingly, a couple of members ‘jumped in’ in front of us at the seventh tee, which is close to the clubhouse.

The tough par three 3rd hole at about 200 yards, with a tree in the front of the green.

A number of more changes of direction ensue between 7 through 13. But the most interesting holes are from 14 through 17, dominated by the Lochty Burn.

Fran putts at the 10th, the only double green on the course. Great putting surface.

We played on a very nice May day and the course was in fabulous condition. In fact, it was the best condition of a course at its price point I had played in a while. You expect courses at £50+ to guarantee good playing conditions, but at £30 or under, you never quite know what to expect. Clearly you’re not going to get Open Qualifying conditions.

Moly sets up for his second at the par five 13th hole. The quality of the fairway in clear evidence.

The greenkeepers at Thornton had done a magnificent job. Tees, fairways, bunkers, greens – all were first class. Rough was very appropriately managed as well. Although we didn’t try the clubhouse (we played late on a Sunday, it was closed), it looked an impressive set up.

The 14th “Burn”, a hard par 3. SI 3 tells the story, especially with the hard right to left wind!

The club pro, Jamie McLearly, who was a former touring pro, was really friendly explaining the course before our round – this is also important as it’s not always usual to get such a warm and genuine welcome. Clubs are also a business and visitor income is a crucial part of the business model. You could do worse than copying Thornton’s all round professionalism,

As mentioned, the best part of the course starts from the 14th, a very difficult hole. However, I don’t really need to be too explanatory, as there is an excellent set of hole videos on the website here.

The lovely “risk reward” short par four 16th hole.

I played well, scoring 84, net 1 under par, despite taking an 8 on the par five 6th. My highlight was parring three of the four par 3s; of most note was my par on the long par three 3rd hole, with a tree in front of the green. However, I “couldn’t hole a putt for toffee”. Never mind.

I really enjoyed Thornton, not because I played well, but because it was in such great condition. In a competitive market, this is what will keep it in business.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (2 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 5859 (yellow)

Moly’s Gross score: 84

Moly’s Thornton scorecard – 84

104. Dalbeattie. 14th Sep 2020.

July 6, 2021 /

A delightful and great value “crowd funded” course

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

I was glad to meet the greenkeeper half way round my game at Dalbeattie, as I’d called him several unrepeatable names since the 2nd green, where I had hit two great shots to the green and walked off with a 9. I didn’t technically 7 putt, since I had putted off the green at least twice.

“These pin positions are a joke, they are ridiculous!”. “Yes, I agree”, said the very affable greenkeeper, “we held a charity texas scramble yesterday and were told to make the pins impossible”. “Ah, well, they certainly are that!”.

So my 50 for 9 holes, or 16 over par, at least has a decent excuse for once.

Difficult short opening hole at Dalbeattie – which had the first of many impossible pin positions.

In addition to the ‘difficult’ pin positions, the drive into the car park, had also not boded well. The sat nav took us through a small wood on a dirt track, which without our 4 wheel drive we may not have made it. Apparently the locals park on the streets surrounding the 9th green.

Beautifully contoured 5th fairway at Dalbeattie

Having got my grumbles out of the way, lets get to the point. This is about as good value golf you can buy and also a good data point in the history of golf development in Scotland. The club was founded in 1894, around the time when golf was becoming accessible to holiday makers due to the expansion of the railways. The club has a delightful, albeit short, history page on its web site here. In summary, the elder fathers of the area raised money through a bizarre to ensure Dalbeattie golf club was an attractive venue; in effect it was “crowd funded”.

Shorts aren’t always the order of the day in September at Dalbeattie – Moly shown here driving at the short par four 6th hole

Despite some excellent information on the club’s web site, there is no detail of the designer of this 9 hole layout. I suspect it was an experienced golf course architect as there is some lovely design, very both pleasing on the eye; the views are wide ranging along the Urr valley and south to the Lake district.

The 7th at Dalbeattie, the nicest framed hole on this course in Moly’s opinion

In particular, there is great framing on many of the holes, with the 5th and 7th holes vying for the signature hole. The 4th, a par 4 dog leg right hole, is also very difficult, with the window to drive intoquite narrow.

The course was in lovely condition when we played on a beautiful September “Indian Summer” day. Just the tonic, before heading off the day after towards the mystical golfing island of Arran.

Very worth playing at Dalbeattie.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34 (7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance: 2,733

Moly’s Gross score: 50

Moly’s Dalbeattie scorecard – a pretty poor 50 on this nice course

101. Forres. 21st July 2020.

August 13, 2020 /

This course worth playing takes the biscuit, despite the nearby witches!

Round £60. Par 70. Value (out of 5) – 4

The town of Forres sits on the mouth of the Findhorn river about 25 miles north east of Inverness; located on the main A96 Inverness to Aberdeen trunk route, this is an easily accessed course, except for the narrow lanes up to the clubhouse and car park – please don’t try and take a caravan there!

The club, formed in 1889, originally played nearer Findhorn. It moved to playing the current course site, laid out by James Braid, in 1904, and was called Muiryshade Golf Course. It was extended to 18 holes in 1912 by Willie Park, then became Forres CG when, in 1944, the land was bought and gifted to the people of Forres, by Sir Robert McVitie Grant of Logie. Sir Robert made his money by creating the McVitie Digestive biscuit, so it was fitting those that ate the biscuits ended up with the course!

The short par 4 first looking up towards the pro shop. An easy start except for the wild slice!


This is a well maintained parkland/highland course at around 6300 yards off white tees and just under 6000 yards from yellow. It is quite undulating, with a number of semi blind and narrow tee shots, especially on the front nine. The course is rather imbalanced with the front nine par of 36 and back nine of 34, but both of similar length. The course has hosted Scottish national competitions, the best measure of its all round standard.

The aesthetically pleasing par four 4th, where a good drive can set up an easy approach shot.

Playing with Fran in excellent sunny conditions the course played shorter than normal with the ball running on its hard fairways. The greens were in great condition and well watered.

There are some really nice holes on the course. The first, a very short par 4 downhill, will temp the longer hitters, but played conservatively should offer a par start even for high handicappers.

Following three further short par 4s, the par 3 fifth hole, “Wee Birkie”, is a cunning par 3, where club selection is all important – miss the green and it’s really difficult to get par – aim for the dead centre of the green here.

Views of the mouth of the river Findhorn in the background of the 9th green at Forres. The pine trees give a real highland feel to this course.

After the easier front nine, the 10th hole is a long par 3, with deep slopes to the right of the green and trees to the left and starts the toughest stretch of the course through to the par 4 15th hole. To do well overall, playing bogie golf through this stretch is good for all other than the single figure players. The signature par 4 16th hole, looks more difficult than it is – a decent 200 yard drive takes you to safe territory, leaving a short approach.

The signature view at Forres from the 16th ‘Pond’ tee – a dangerous card wrecker – but a good drive leaves a short approach

This course was actually the site of one of my best competitive rounds ever more than 25 years ago – an 80 in an RAF Scotland golf competition, including being level par for the front 9. It was very fitting therefore that I shot my best round in a long while – an 84, despite hitting my first shot out of bounds!

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the title – the course sits on a wood reputed to be where ‘the three witches’ from Shakespeare’s Macbeth lived – the 7th hole aptly called “Witch Tree”!

Facts:

Course Type: Highland/Heathland

Par 70 (2 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 5906

Moly’s Gross score: 84

Moly’s best for a while, gross 84, on a track with fond scoring memories
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