Round £50. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.5/126. Value (out of 5) – 4.5
If I were to list 5 courses, of varying price points and quality, to encapsulate Scottish golf, Powfoot might fit the bill for ‘great course taken for granted’. It would never make the cut of the top 50 Scottish Courses, perhaps even the top 100 courses; however, in many ways, playing Powfoot at under £50, using the typical offers abounding, makes you realise what great value golf exists in Scotland.
The brilliant par three 7th hole at Powfoot, with 9 greenside bunkers!
Powfoot, which takes the name from the village, sits on the north of the Solway Firth, in Dumfries & Galloway, not far from Annan. Overshadowed by the nearby Southerness course, I suspect a great many golfers bypass Powfoot – that would be a mistake in my opinion.
The blind tee shot at Powfoot’s tricky 8th hole, a tough and typical links hole.
Founded in 1903 with 9 holes, it was extended to 18 holes in 1911, then improved on by James Braid in 1923. At over 6200 yards from the white tees, it is a good challenge, especially I suspect when the wind gets up.
It plays and feels like a traditional links course; firm turf, good bunkering, aesthetically framed holes and greens, surrounded by thick gorse bushes. However, the last few holes are really parkland holes, with more trees bordering and sheltering the holes and on arable land.
The well framed 12th hole, a devilish par 3, showing the gorse that abounds on this course. Pay short to be safe. I didn’t and the wheels came off, with a quadruple bogie:(
Dominated by a range of good par 4s (13 of them), there are only 2 par 5s and 3 par 3s. There are quite a few memorable holes. The stroke index par 4 third hole is the first great hole; called ‘shore’ it plays south towards the firth and would be very difficult to reach in 2 shots when the prevailing south westerly wind blows. The seventh is a short par 3 that has nine greenside bunkers – aim for dead centre of the green here. The 8th, a tough par 4, has a blind tee shot and a sloping green that could be approached using the full array of links shots. Likewise the short par four 11th hole demands respect where shots need to be played cautiously to avoid being wrong sided on the right of the fairway and green.
The 17th green, with the copse in the background, on the parkland part of the course.
Despite being in the pandemic the green keepers had presented the course in excellent condition when I played. The bunkers were particularly good and well maintained.
The golfing gods decided to give me a reminder on the cruelty of the game. Playing incredibly well, I was level par for the front 9 and only 1 over after 11 holes. I then played the last 7 holes in 13 over par! Ouch! Nevertheless, it was only the second time in my life I had been level par after 9 holes on a ‘proper’ golf course!
WWII created an unusual hazard at the 9th – with the course guide showing the crater made by a German bomb.
Go out of your way to play Powfoot, highly recommended
Facts:
Course Type:Links
Par 71 (2 par 5, 13 par 4s, 3 par 3s)
Distance: 5990
Moly’s Gross score: 85
The cruel game of golf – level par front 9, 14 over on back 9.
Don’t make the same mistake as Walter Hagen – this is not worth playing
Round £15. Par 33. Slope (yellow) 100. Value (out of 5) – 1
Machrie Bay, is on the west of the island of Arran, not far from the majestic Shiskine. What a big disappointment – unless you’re chalking up all the courses on Arran, I would give this nine hole course a miss. At £15 for nine holes, this was very poor value when compared with the similar prices on offer on the island.
The very poor first tee at Machrie Bay, not an impressive start.
The world was in the middle of the Covid Pandemic when I played, but in looking closely at the poor course condition it was clear that the pandemic was not the reason – the course was suffering years of neglect. The teeing grounds were bad and many of the greens were covered in moss.
The moss covered 1st green at Machrie Bay.
There’s not much to say about the course. It had many very plain holes, little more than fields with a tee at one end and a green at the other. It did have 2 holes worth noting, both which play over the road that circles the island. The 2nd, played from the white tees was a difficult par 3, and the 9th hole, a fairly short par 4, with a very dangerous blind second shot over the road, for which distance control is critical – I played a good shot and never found my ball again!
The tough par 3 second hole at Machrie Bay – pictured from the white tee.
On the day I struck the ball well and scored 40, for 19 stableford points.
The par four 6th hole – the typical bland hole at Machrie Bay
Finally to Walter Hagen. There is a delightful newspaper clipping on the Machrie Bay website here. Enticed to play “The Machrie” course, a beautiful course on Islay, Hagen turned up in Arran to play Machrie Bay. Don’t make the same mistake – but then again doing something the same as Hagen might not be too bad!
Facts:
Course Type:Parkland
Par 33 (0 par 5, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)
Distance: 2154
Moly’s Gross score: 40
Moly’s Machrie Bay scorecard – gross 40, with triple bogie at the last
One explanation makes sense – this is perhaps God’s home course.
Round £26 (12 holes). Par 42. Value (out of 5) – 5
Shiskine is probably the greatest 12 hole golf course in the world, but that hardly does the course justice.
The Isle of Arran sits off the North Ayrshire coast, accessible all year round by regular ferry crossings from the Port of Ardrossan or, during Summer, from the Kintyre peninsular.
Moly putting for birdie at the 4th “The Shelf” hole at Shiskine, in benign conditions.
Several areas of Scotland self proclaim the title of best destination for golf, with the East Neuk of Fife and the North Berwick coastline being the headline events. But when it comes to the best value destination for golf (worldwide?) Arran sits comfortably at the top of any list – in my humble opinion. This island of 432km2 has a population of 5,000, with a majority of the people working in the hospitality sector. Arran has 7 golf courses, which all sit on the periphery of the island and are easily accessed; none of them has a weekly green fee greater than £30. With many hotels, B&Bs and campsites, Arran is a must visit golfing destination.
Shiskine, set on the west of the island, is the jewel in Arran’s crown.
The par 3 ‘Craws Nest’, 3rd, with views over the beautiful Shiskine layout.
It is said you should never meet your heroes as it can be so disappointing. It was with a similar sentiment I embarked for Arran with nightmares about losing all my balls into the sea from Shiskine’s formidable first tee. Such was my desperation to play that immediately after pitching our caravan and with pristinely tranquil conditions, I psychologically ran to the course to grab a twilight round at only £21. Without a pre-shot routine, and with a vice like will to keep my head over the ball, I drove a low running drive over 200 yards up the fairway – hallelujah! Entering a trance like state, I then proceeded to play the 12 holes in 47, or 5 over par – not quite the best round of my life, but I cannot remember smiling so much to myself during a round of golf.
The terrifying par 4 “Road Hole” first at Shiskine, with OOB left all the way to the hole.
Perhaps by ‘divine’ intervention, a feasibility study in the late 1800s rejected building a deep water pier on the current golf course site to serve the local port of Blackwaterfoot. Sometime thereafter, Willie Fernie of Troon (who also designed Turnberry’s Ailsa course), laid out the original 9 hole course, which opened in 1896, although only the current 5th and 9th holes survive from then.
The difficult stroke index1 second hole at Shiskine, a tough par 4 with a burn in front of the green capturing many of the blind second shots into the green. Take enough club.Atop Drumadoon Hill in the background was where 6 holes returned to waste during the first world war
The course was extended to 18 holes just before the first world war using land above the current ‘shelf’ area of the 3rd green, but fell into disrepair during that war. Several attempts during the decades after failed to reestablish an 18 hole course.
Willie Park (Sunningdale and the North Course at Olympic Park, Chicago) then designed the current 12 holes between 1925-28. 18 holes play is reserved for member only competitions with the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 12th replayed with a further hole using a unique “15th” tee into the 4th green.
The course is not long, at just under 3000 yards from the white tees for the 12 holes, and 4,878 for the 18 hole layout; its slope rating is only 99 and disappointingly has no red ‘ladies’ tee boxes. It has 7 par 3s, 1 par 5 and 4 par 4s. Despite its short length, this is really fun golf, with very many blind tee or approach shots. I would strongly recommend reading the course guide, there is, for example, a bale out area to the right of the blind 3rd green, so aiming right of the flag is imperative. It’s rather hard to adequately describe the course other than saying it’s magical. It’s not perfect though, with the 12th a rather underwhelming short finishing hole. Nevertheless, it actually made me feel like I was playing my part in a Michael Murphy (Golf in the Kingdom) style mystical adventure with Shivas Irons as a playing partner. Perhaps I exaggerate. I can conclude by saying that I doubt you’d find anything like this course other than in Scotland and it’s a must play destination.
The 4th at Shiskine, a collage of dreams.
I’ve often pondered what golf handicap God might have? I’ve concluded that it would make sense if he or she were to have the exact average Scottish men’s or women’s handicap. God’s preferred course would be majestic, but not too difficult. For example, it wouldn’t have par 4s or par 3s that are really disguised par 5s or 4s respectively. It wouldn’t have any carries off the tee that effectively disenfranchise most higher handicap players. It would be set amid a beautiful landscape. It would offer a mix of guile and strategy. Some of the shots would be frightening. The greens, tees, fairways and all round conditions would be perfect. The weather or elements would play a significant part of the experience. Play would have to be fast – so he/she decided 12 holes was the best length. In the right conditions, it would bring you close to it’s maker.
Perhaps God did design Shiskine after all. Please go and play.
Facts:
Course Type:Links
Par 42 (1 par 5, 4 par 4s, 7 par 3s)
Distance: 2770
Moly’s Gross score: 47
Moly’s life affirming 5 over for the 12 wonderful holes at Shiskine
This incredibly fun 9 hole course is like playing in Gordon’s Dream
Round £10. Par 31. Value (out of 5) – 5
Covesea, pronounced “Cowsea” by the locals, is a wonderful surprise. Built by Gordon Clarke in 2010 pretty much on his own and still maintained by him, Covesea costs £10 for 9 holes or £15 for the day. It used to have a cafe called the Tee Shack, which unfortunately burnt down in 2014. Overall, it feels like playing in someone’s dream.
The 5th green with the wonderful view back towards the Covesea Skerries Lighthouse
The course sits on the Moray coastline between the towns of Lossiemouth and Hopeman, set in a cove just west of the Covesea Skerries lighthouse. It is a magnificent setting for a golf course and my first thought on seeing it, was why had this piece of land never been developed as a course during the heyday of Victorian golf course building – unfortunately I wasn’t able to track down an answer, but there must be one! For those familiar with Scottish golf, Covesea has many resemblances with Cullen (1908), Anstruther (1890) and Shiskine (1896).
The dramatic and difficult tee shot at the 8th, with the sandstone structures enveloping the hole.
With it being basically a “one man band” operation, Gordon’s green keeping duties concentrate on the greens and their surrounds; this means the tees and fairways are, in places, very poor. However, if you can see past that, the condition of the greens are really good and must be the best in Scotland with a fee of “up to £10”.
The course comprises 5 par 3s and 4 par 4s, and several of these are very challenging holes.
The 2nd at Covesea, with a “Good, Bad and Ugly” feel – a very difficult pin to find.
In particular, the 5th through 8th, are dominated by the craggy rock formations and offer a lovely stretch of golf, with spectacular views from the 5th green and 6th tee.
The 8th green, clearly showing the variance between the fantastic greens and less well kept surrounds.
Overall, this is a brilliant “Value for Money”, and what a legacy for Gordon to have built. With good tees and fairways, I just wonder what the fees could be?
I played really well, other than a mess on the 2nd where I took 5 shots to get down from the left hand bunker – the resulting 7 dominating my overall score of 38, seven over par.
