Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: Heathland (Page 3 of 6)

152. Forfar. 9 July 22.

November 8, 2022 /

Incredible and possibly unique golf course.

Round £50. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 67.2/119. Value (out of 5) – 5

Forfar is an incredible golf course. Although I’m a native Dundonian and played football in nearby Forfar many times, I had never actually played the golf course – I had no idea what I’d been missing all those years. Whenever I’ve mentioned Forfar to my non-Scots friends, I always get “Forfar four, East Fife five!”. It should be famous for its golf course.

The 4th, ‘Cat Law, a tough par four, with Forfar’s terrain on show.

Having read many reviews of Forfar golf course, I was struck by the number of writers commenting on the unusual terrain – “it’s an ‘inland links'” said many.

The majestically bunkered 17th hole – this is typical of the views playing Forfar.

The geology is very marked. It has hummocks and undulations with so much similarity to a links. Look at the fairways, and it could be Scotscraig, near St Andrews. Look at the numerous Scots Pine, with the hilly surrounds, and it could be Boat of Garten in the Highlands. The wonderful heather and bunkered green surrounds, would make their way easily onto Lanark, Edzell or any number of the great heathland courses.

The blind tee shot at the par four 2nd hole.

I’ve played over 200 golf courses throughout the world, from the Monteray Peninsular, through the championship layouts of South Africa and Australia. Ryder Cup parkland courses and Open Championship links. Asian tour venues. Forfar is both like none of them and yet like all of them, simultaneously.

The green complex at the fifth, a challenging long par 3.

On land influenced by the remnant boulders of the last ice age, Forfar sits only 15 miles north of Carnoustie and 15 miles south of Glen Clova in the Angus Glens. The golf course has a lengthy history, claiming to be “the 4th oldest 18 hole course in the world and is the very first Club to have an 18 hole course from inception and inauguration”.  This latter comment is carefully contructed, since there are many earlier 18 hole courses, for example the Lundin/Leven Links (blog here) 18 holes dates to 1868, 3 years before the creation of Forfar.

The approach to the seventh, the par four, ‘Quarry’, SI 2 hole. Play long and right, if you can hit the green in 2.

The course was designed by Old Tom Morris, at a time when no major earth moving was done in course construction. So all that you walk on is natural. The green surrounds are at times genius, which makes sense since James Braid carried out a redesign in 1926, but the majority of the holes remained the same. Overall, its a beautiful golfing challenge.

The tricky 18th green to find from a blind approach shot. I was lucky to choose the right club, to get my 3rd birdie of the day. Very unusual for me!

Despite having a few weaker holes, notably the par three ninth, there are many that are memorable. When we played on a calm, July day, the course was in great condition. The fairways were dry and fast running, the turf was firm, the greens slick, the bunkers consistently first class and the teeing grounds all excellent.

The wonderful 12th hole, the SI 1 hole on the course. A par four of 422 yards (yellow).

Value for money is undoubtedly 5 star, at the £50 mid-week rate; we paid only £20 through a Golfnow ‘hot deal’ for a Saturday twilight time. In fact, unbeatable golfing value.

The 10th, a mid length par 4, where storms had left their mark with a loss of trees.

If I had to select only 10 courses that collectively represented the range of golf in Scotland, Forfar might just be be my number one pick, it is that unique. As to its overall ranking, it regularly appears in the “Top 100” Scotland courses, typically around 70th place. This doesn’t do it justice for me, I think it’s easy to justify a top 50 placing.

I can’t recommend Forfar high enough.

Facts:

Course Type: “Inland Links?”

Par 67  (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5754 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 84

Moly’s Forfar scorecard – a commendable 84. 3 birdies and 3 triple bogies!

147. Edzell West Water. 4 Jul 22.

October 5, 2022 /

Good nine hole course to sit alongside its wonderful big brother

Round £15. Par 32. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 60.8/99. Value (out of 5) – 3

The main course at Edzell is a well established heathland course and my blog from 2016 is here. This nine hole course, called “Edzell West Water”, was designed by the prolific Scottish golf course architect, Graeme J Webster, of Team Niblick of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. The course has excellent views of nearby Fettercairn and was opened in 2001, following the period of buoyant economic activity in the 1990s.

Moly on the 9th fairway at the picturesque Edzell West Water

The course is an ideal adjunct to its big brother, albeit it is accessed via a separate road to the main club, and like many people, I suspect, we were directed to the course from the main clubhouse. We got the impression, the staff were fed up re-directing people!

Nonetheless, the welcome from the starter at the small hut serving the West Water course could not have been friendlier.

The tough 3rd hole at “West Water”, a par 3 of 157 yards.

The course is short, but certainly not easy, with several challenging holes. The first has a two tier green that will likely need 3 putts if you don’t reach the right level. Having secured a decent par, I then had a disaster at the par 5 second, including two air shots, trying a miracle shot from the heather to the left of the fairway!

Comprising five par threes, this is a course where good iron or hybrid play is needed to score well. The par four 5th hole, SI 1, is also an excellent hole.

Fran ponders the line on the 6th green, one of the shorter par 3s at Edzell West Water.

The course, which has great ‘heathland’ turf, was in good condition, with green complexes worthy of ‘bigger’ courses, albeit the greens were a little mossy in places, giving some variability in pace. The greenside bunkering is very good.

The entrance to the par four 5th green, the worthy SI 1 hole.

The green fee of £15 was actually for the whole day, which is a real pity if you want to only play 9 holes. That deflates the ’round’ value a lot. There is a good offer of a return fee of only £10, which I think they would do well to charge it someone only wanted to play 9 holes.

The 4th at Edzell West Water, one of only three par 4s.

There is also collocated driving range, which does present an OOB hazard, especially at the par for 7th hole, ‘Wirren’, where you need to keep your tee shot well left off the tee. I didn’t!

The 7th and 8th run alongside the “west water”, hence the name of this course, which is worth playing, but only if you want to play more than 9 holes in my opinion or perhaps combine with the main track.

Facts:

Course Type: Heathland

Par 32 (1 par 5s, 3 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (white): 2057 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 46

Moly’s Edzell West Water card – high winds didn’t really explain this poor round of 8 over net

146. Auchterarder. 3 July 22.

September 14, 2022 /

Stroll the Gleneagles landscape at 20% of the cost.

Round £50. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 65.7/114. Value (out of 5) – 5

Wonderful Perthshire views. Firm heathland turf. Magnificent greens and teeing grounds. It really could be Gleneagles. But whereas playing the PGA Centenary Course will set you back £250, next door Auchterarder will be £50 for a mid week summer round; I paid only £35 for a weekend twilight for a beautiful early evening game, representing incredible value.

Moly tees off at the 10th at Auchterarder, with the Gleneagles PGA course, venue of the 2014 Ryder Cup, in the background.

Having previously been brutally exposed on the Gleneagles Ryder Cup layout, I continually wonder why ordinary golfers like me are willing to pay huge fees for golf courses that just highlight their golfing deficiencies. I can well imagine the humour value for the Auchterarder members, who pay £670 for annual membership, looking across at the well heeled swings next door.

Challenging first hole, ‘Deils Dyke’, at Auchterarder – 360 yards from the yellow tees played into the prevailing wind.

Auchterarder was designed as a 9 hole course by the legendary Ben Sayers in 1913, some 6 years before The Kings Course at Gleneagles was laid out, making Auchterarder the senior member of the local golf courses. The course went through plenty of disruption around WW2, but was subsequently reconstructed and then extended to an 18 hole course in 1979, partly through the demand created by the Gleneagles Hotel establishing its reputation as one of the world’s great golfing resorts.

The brilliant golfing entrepreneur Ben Sayers, the designer of Auchterarder, here depicted in his younger and older self.

The current course is an absolute cracker. Short, at 5357 from the yellow tees most visitors will use, this course gives you a chance to play to your handicap, making it an attractive amateur open venue, especially given its highly rated kitchen.

The 16th, ‘Gulley Brae’, a long and challenging par three, needing driver for most.

Surrounded by hills the course itself is an easy walk, amidst well maintained pines and other trees that frame many holes but don’t overly narrow the generous fairways.

The typically picturesque short par three 8th hole at Auchterarder.

The course is very well maintained and was in immaculate condition, the bunker sand in particular being in perfect order. The greens were firm, but gave good purchase for well struck irons. Beware the rough though, which was very whispy and will wrap the club for most players.

The brilliant green at the par 4 seventh hole, one of Moly’s disasters.

My only misgiving with Auchterarder was that it is set on a fairly small parcel of land, which means there is some ‘criss-crossing’ of holes, with some slightly reverse walks between greens to tees, to facilitate the yardage. A few times I came across ‘lost’ balls in the fairway which could have come from one of two adjacent holes. I can imagine many balls being ‘found’ that were actually ‘in play’ for others. These comments are perhaps a little over critical.

Fran at the short par four 13th, ‘Ochil View’, with the Gleneagles backdrop in the distance.

I played really well for my 83, especially my back nine of 38. My 14 over par, included two triple bogie 7s; one of those was on the very aptly named ‘Dinnae Stray’ seventh hole, where having hit two good shots onto the front of the very large green , I proceeded to take 5 shots to get down and they were not all putts!

Auchterarder is 5 star value golf. Take note of the clever hole names, which are a delight.

Facts:

Course Type: Heathland

Par 69 (3 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5357 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 83

Moly’s very solid 83 at Auchterarder

134. Fereneze. 27 Mar 22.

June 9, 2022 /

What a great surprise to find this course, so close to Glasgow

Round £30. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 67.7/123. Value (out of 5) – 4.5

“Go and play Fer-En-Eeze”, said the helpful professional at Gailes Links in Irvine, when I told him my mission of playing all golf courses. “I’m talking about Scottish golf courses”, said I, thinking his suggestion sounded more Italian than Scottish. “It’s in Barrhead” he said. That, of course, didn’t make it any easier to understand the name.

The first, but by no means the last, magnificent view towards Glasgow. Here at the second, looking back towards the tee. A difficult short hole at 140 yards, playing at least 1-2 clubs longer.

Fereneze has been, to date, the most wonderful surprise of courses I’ve played. A quite remarkable heathland setting with exceptional views over Glasgow and the Clyde valley. Set only a few hundred feet above the tough town of Barrhead, a place more known for products most peed on by UK residents – i.e. Armitage Shanks porcelain!

The start of the moorland holes, the par five third, is also the most difficult hole at Fereneze. Keep your drive left to avoid finding the gorse at this left to right sloping hole (bottom right quadrant highlights).

The ‘rough’ town claim is well justified; when searching for information on Fereneze Golf Club you keep finding stories like local youths setting fire to the heathland or the greenkeepers spending much of their time cleaning up the cans and bottles from heathland parties. None of that, however, should put you off playing at Fereneze, which provides excellent value.

The lovely par three 7th at Fereneze at 148 yards.

As to the the origin of Fereneze golf club, little is really documented other than on its crest showing it was established in 1904. The club sadly no longer operates a web site. The course is situated on The Fereneze Hills and the origin of the name is reportedly from a Gaelic name “Fernieneese” as it is spelled in some old records—meaning, fern, or alder [reference: A History of the Parish of Neilston].

The drivable par four 9th at Fereneze, where Moly 4 putted from just off the front of the green….ouch!

Back to the golf course. The Gailes Links professional, was spot on. Fereneze is well worth a visit. After a severely uphill par four opening hole, followed by a tricky par three, your walk to the third tee leaves you in no doubt what you are then facing. A magnificent piece of moorland; dry fairways, gorse and broom in abundance. Thankfully, I played on an exceptionally dry and unseasonably warm March day. I can imagine this being a windswept landscape that takes no golfing prisoners.

A more successful hole for Moly, here just missing a birdie at the 320 yard par four 11th hole.

The course is a par 71, but relatively short at 5676 yards. Most of the variety is in the front nine, with the back nine having only one par three (the 14th) and the rest being par fours. That makes for a fairly imbalanced layout; with the last few holes being the most disinteresting. But there is still plenty of variety in the use of blind shots and dog legs, to retain your interest. The course was in excellent condition and playing like a June day, not a March one. For example, I nearly reached the green at the par four 9th (300 yards) and actually reached the green at the 377 yard 18th which was both downhill and downwind.

The severely downhill par four 18th hole at Fereneze, Moly 3 putted for par after driving the green. That typified the day really.

The greens were very fast and the sand excellent. Although generous off the tee, finding the rough or gorse tended to mean double bogie. Stay on the fairway, even if that means taking iron from the tees. I shot 92 for 30 stableford points, and felt I played more solidly than my score suggests.

The shop staff were a little cold, and not particularly helpful towards my wife in seeking where the ladies toilets were. It was the only downside of an otherwise memorable golfing day.

Course Type: Heathland

Par 71 (3 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 5676 (yellow)

Moly’s Gross score: 90

Moly’s 90 at Fereneze, a course well worth playing.

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