Category: Parkland (Page 22 of 25)

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

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

September 15, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Lovely Parkland & Links Course! – worth playing just for the 15th Tee shot!

Round £20. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 4

Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club lies on the west bank of the mouth of the River Spey, which comes into play only on the 15th, but still probably eats up a great deal of golf balls – more later.

2nd tee – Garmouth & Kingston

The course was founded in 1932, and at a little over 5000 yards presents, in theory, a reasonably straight forward test of golf, with several short par 3s and par 4s. Its a very interesting layout, with a parkland front 9 and a links back 9 – it is literally 2 different golf courses.

5th Green at Garmouth & Kingston – course is in beautiful condition

It’s also very flat and an easy walk, with some good views, especially of the Moray Firth on the links side – its a really great course for a round whilst on holiday, with many local attractions for the non golfer.

13th green with the Moray Firth in the distance.

The course was in perfect condition when I played, with beautiful fairways and greens. At only £20 for a round it is great value golf.

There are a number of nice holes, with most of the par 3s quite short, but they are well guarded so club selection is important, and I suspect difficult if any wind gets up.

The frightening 15th tee – pray for a left to right wind.

The highlight of the course is the par 3 15th played alongside the River Spey – a right to left wind would make this hole a nightmare, and must destroy many a medal round. I played badly, except for the 15th where an 8 iron to only 7 feet left me my first birdie for a while – highly enjoyable.

Worth playing just for the 15th! Lovely little course and great value.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland & Links

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

Distance (yellow) 5046 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 99

Stableford 29

Moly’s Garmouth & Kingston Scorecard – 99

28. Brechin. 22nd Aug 2015

August 23, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Weak link in the Braid Association?

Round £40 (variable). Par 72. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Green at the par 3 third at Brechin

This 6162 yard, 18 hole parkland course, was founded in 1893 and is part of the Braid Association – a group of courses designed by James Braid, which gives golf playing discounts to members of courses within the association. On closer examination, some of the association’s courses have fairly tenuous links to Braid – in Brechin’s case, it’s website claims:

“By 1926 the famous James Braid was invited to play the course. J.P Gellatly, the Club’s Captain at the time, generously offered to pay his fee. Braid was so impressed he suggested suitable sites for sand bunkers in the Limefield section (holes 10-17) of the course.”

The tricky and fun par 4 8th at Brechin

It’s clear that holes 10-17 are the best part of the course, with holes 13 and 14 being the toughest in my book – the greens are also measurably better in the section and some of the best in the area. However stand on the first tee and you’ll realise this is a weak addition to the Braid association.

12th green at Brechin with views of the Angus Hills

Moreover, several of the holes are new editions in the 1990s, and fairly bland additions at that. These new holes are on either side of the Brechin A90 bypass and designed by John Farrell.

The 8th deserves a mention, which is a shortish par 4, with a very small gap in a line of trees – the only tactic I could see was take driver and try and clear the trees – there is an ironically placed wishing well to the front right of the green – I enjoyed this humour from the Members:)

Brechin is nevertheless in a nice setting, with good views of the Angus Glens, and is easily accessible and close to the main Dundee-Aberdeen road – coupled with some good clubhouse facilities it would make an excellent venue for a society golf day. However, the amount of road noise is significant.

Brechin’s 17th green

It’s a well kept course, with nice fairways and greens, but the £40 per round is a bit over priced in my opinion, hence the value for money score of 2.5.

I played well on the front 9, but 3 “blobs” on the back meant I ended up with a 97, for 31 stableford points.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 72 (4 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (white) 6162 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 97

Moly’s Brechin Scorecard – 97

27. Letham Grange Old. 19 Aug 2015. CLOSED

August 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

8th at Letham – “Augusta of Angus”

10th tee with water in front of green in distance

Scottish Enigma with great Golfing Architecture

Round £30 ( any day). Par 73. Value (out of 5) – 4

18th tee towards Letham Grange

Letham Grange, on the outskirts of Arbroath, has likely had more written about it in court proceedings than in golfing magazines! It is one of the failed attempts in Scotland to create an American style Golf & Country Club Estate similar to Gleneagles, or Wentworth in Surrey. Opened in 1987 as a full resort, the hotel and many facilities are long since closed.

The club members, several living in the many fine houses which still adorn the fairways, now do a great job at keeping the Old course and the smaller Glens course open.

The Old Course is a par 73 Championship American-style parkland layout, designed by the renowned Donald Steel, and which twice held the Scottish Open in its heyday.

There is great variety on this course, presenting a variety of challenges. It has, in particular, some memorable water hazards on the par 3 8th hole, and par 4 10th hole – indeed the 8th through 10th feel like an “Amen Corner” of Angus – the 9th, the stroke index 1 hole, is a long and very difficult par 5, with a demanding drive.

12th tee Letham

The highlight of this course is now in the architecture, and it’s probably not surprising to find the quality level of greens, fairways and tees less than in it’s prime – the bunkers were the most disappointing when I played, being filled with very stony sand. However, the lessor quality is more than compensated for in the relatively low price of £30 per round. I was able to play on the Carnoustie Country offer, and paid only £15.

I had a reasonable round with 33 stableford points, but again two 9s on the par 5s, put paid to a decent medal score.

18th Green at Letham with the Grange

It’s well worth playing Letham Grange Old course, and just imagining the fine old building behind the 18th green in full use. Now empty, it provides a rather forlorn backdrop.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (white) 6348 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 97

Moly’s Letham Grange Old Scorecard- 97

Category: Parkland (Page 22 of 25)

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

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

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

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

28. Brechin. 22nd Aug 2015

Par 72 (4 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

27. Letham Grange Old. 19 Aug 2015. CLOSED

Par 70 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

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