12 holes – Scotland Golf Bible

This 12 hole course next to Edinburgh airport feels like what you would build if you could afford your own golf course

Round £17.50. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 64.4/111. Value (out of 5) – 5

Gogarburn golf course is located very close to both Edinburgh airport and the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS was around the year 2000 the “largest bank in the world”, but infamously came tumbling down as part of the 2008 Global Banking Crisis, triggered by the ‘unknown’ amount of sub-prime mortgages held on its books. Iain Martin’s excellent book “Making it Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the Men Who Blew Up the British Economy” exposes the excesses of bankers which contributed to the crisis.

I mention this, because when I played Gogarburn, a quite delightful 12 hole course, it felt like it would be the sort of ‘spending excess’ that Fred Goodwin, the RBS CEO, would have built in his back garden. I was a bit disappointed to find it had never been owned by RBS, but I still strongly suspect that Fred must have tried to buy it at some point, as he was a great lover of golf and used the banks money to sponsor his golfing hero, Jack Nicklaus.

**The stunning second hole at Gogarburn, a delightful par 4. Short, at 273 yards, but full of danger.**

The golf course sits on the former 18th century Hanley Estate grounds, which had been in use as a hospital since 1948, and was actually created by some local hospital workers for their own leisure in 1977 with 9 holes, then extended in 1983 to the current 12 hole layout. So it wasn’t only bankers that overstepped their work boundaries!

**The par four 5th hole at Gogarburn, another hole where an iron or hybrid off the tee makes sense.**

The course is laid out in very mature and varied parkland, and has a clever layout, whereby 18 holes are played in competitions by using holes 6 through 8 once, and all the others twice. It would make for a lovely and easy walk for non playing partners.

Its not long, as the slope index would suggest, but it has some narrow channels to drive through, so don’t be fooled otherwise you’ll really rack up some big scores. Take hybrid or irons off the tee, or drive straight.

**The pretty green at Gogarburn’s 11th, a good par three of 166 yards**

Some of the short par 4s are technically drivable, but are cleverly protected by very narrow green entrances between bunkers. For example, the 259 yard, par four 3rd hole, has only nine yards between the greenside bunkers – although the ‘easiest’ hole, you need to take care. The greenside bunkering, with excellent sand, is one of the good features of this course.

**The finishing hole at Gogarburn, the longest hole at 379 yards, and stroke index 1.**

My round of 50, 7 over par, was made up of 5 pars and 7 bogies. I played very well and really enjoyed playing this course; not because of my score, but because of the all round condition and layout.

It’s brilliant value, especially at the discounted rate I paid of only £13 using the ClubV1 booking system; it’s still 5 star value at the £17.50 rack rate. A good place to practice your wedge game, but don’t get complacent. Overseas visitors might try and use it to overcome jet lag!

Course Type: Parkland

Par 43 (7 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance: 3031 (yellow)

Moly’s Gross score: 50

**Gogarburn card. Played well for 50, just 7 over gross.**

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

Category: 12 holes

133. Gogarburn. 25 Mar 22.

105. Shiskine. 15th Sep 2020

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