Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 1946 – 1999 (Page 3 of 10)

144. Lochend Craigentinny. 25 May 22.

August 14, 2022 /

Municipal courses like ‘The Tinny’ are at risk from green fee apps

Round £27.50. Par 67. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 64/108. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Edinburgh Leisure, runs 6 municipal golf courses across Edinburgh on behalf of the council, including Craigentinny, an 18 hole course on the east of the city between Leith and Portobello, just off the A199.

From left, Gordon, Frank, Brian and Moly at the 18th, with 40 mph winds to help put 3 OOB.

“The Tinny”, as it is known, is a decent little course at just over 5000 yards (yellow). It has no par 5s, and only one of the par 4s, the 10th, is over 400 yards. With wide open parkland, light rough and only a handful of fairway bunkers to speak of – there were signs of some bunkers having been filled in – the Slope Rating of 108 (yellow) lets you know this is ‘friendlyish’ golf.

Gordon driving at the 7th, a par 4 of 274 yards, with the social housing that surrounds “The Tinny”

Perhaps uniquely, the most difficult two holes are par 3s; the long 13th (234 yards) and 4th (216 yards), being stroke index 1 and 2 respectively. I have never come across this situation with a golf course before. The five par 3s are the best of this course.

Moly at the well bunkered 6th, supposedly the easiest hole.

The course was in good condition, with the small greens being the highlight. There was potential to move on to the wrong holes, with a few long walks between green to tee and no tee box marking. Referral to the scorecard map is essential, as its easy to get waylaid looking at the fine views of Arthur’s Seat from many of the holes.

Brian played a good bunker shot at the 6th green.

I played alongside my former Apex Scotland board members. The charity continues to do sterling work supporting people with convictions back into the workplace and society.

We had a competitive game, albeit we all (bar Brian who scored a fine 32 points) suffered from the very high winds that got up to about 40 mph, especially on the back 9. No matter how easy the course is, 40 mph is going to be penal!

Frank playing one of his “Links” shots into the 9th, with Arthur’s Seat in the background.

There are no specific council facilities at the course, other than a kiosk, toilet and a basic vending machine in the “pavilion” style ‘clubhouse’. There is however, a co-located clubhouse for the Lochend Golf Club, named after the nearby Lochend Loch, which play at “The Tinny”, hence the blog and course is called “Lochend Craigentinny”.

Lochend Golf Club does have a lengthy history, dating back to the 1700s, albeit they didn’t play at “The Tinny” till it opened in 1908, a few years after the Council banned golf at the then open Leith Links. The club costs an additional £177 for its annual fee, to get access to to the usual club benefits. The clubhouse was closed when we played, hence why the lack of Council provided facilities were brought into focus. Thankfully, nearby Newhaven, where we retired to afterwards, has arguably the best fish restaurant in Scotland!

The par four 10th, over 400 yards, is the longest hole and typical of “The Tinny”

An annual 7 day ticket for the 6 municipal courses costs £500, incredible value. An individual visitor green fee on any of the 18 hole courses is £27.50, again decent value, but this pricing is starting to look relatively expensive when set alongside the offers available through golf fee apps, led by Golfnow. On any given weekday, you can play much better nearby courses than Craigentinny, at significantly lower than £27.50; including Newbattle, Baberton, Turnhouse and Royal Mussleburgh. Some Scottish Councils (such as South Ayrshire and Aberdeen) are offering discount pricing through Golfnow, and I think Edinburgh Leisure would do well to consider that.

The Stroke Index 1 hole – the long par three 13th hole, at 234 yards.

Overall, I would say this is “an average Municipal course”, and will need to keep a keen eye on visitor income, which will be an increasing challenge from apps such as Golfnow.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 67 (0 par 5s, 13 par 4s,  5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5141 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 88

Moly’s 88 at “The Tinny”, with the back 9 explained by 40 mph wind.

139. Balbirnie Park. 19 May 22.

August 2, 2022 /

One of the top parkland courses in Fife

Round £50. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.3/126. Value (out of 5) – 4.0

Most people who live on the East Coast of Scotland, will know of Markinch as a railway station on the main Aberdeen to Edinburgh line. Like me, they may have passed through here hundreds of times, but never stopped.

Markinch actually had its own town sited golf course in the first half of the 20th century, but it closed just after the second world war due to disrepair; however, I understand that the “golf club” retained some sort of existence playing at other nearby courses.

The challenging par four 3rd hole. A dog leg right, of only 327 yards (yellow), yet the SI 6 comes from the hazardous green complex. Par is a very good score here.

During the 1960s the Glenrothes Development Corporation purchased Balbirnie Estate, located between Glenrothes and Markinch, which had been owned by the Balfour family for almost 300 years. They commissioned a golf course, which Markinch GC leases.

The former Balbirnie estate house is now also a 4-star hotel, which is close to, but separately managed from, the golf club.

A characteristic layout, here at the 13th at Balbirnie Park, a shortish dog-leg (left) yet one of the tougher holes, this time dominated by the tee shot.

The current 18 hole course opened in 1984, and is set in a substantial wooded area, in two loops of nine holes, at well over 6000 yards, this undulating course is a tough walk. It is a balanced layout, with trees almost always in play, other than some of the par 3s, with the front nine being slightly shorter mainly due to having only one par 5.

Fran driving at the uphill mid to long iron par three, the best of the short holes at Balbirnie Park.

It has been well designed by Fraser Middleton, a relatively unknown architect, who surprisingly has only 2 other courses I could find on his CV – West Lothian and Hounslow in West London, what an interesting threesome of courses?

The raised green at the par four 9th hole, a strong end to the front nine at Balbirnie Park. You come in from the right here, the left part of the picture is to the first green

The abiding architectural characteristic I picked up on, was that at least half of the holes had either dog legs or blind tee or approach shots – some all three. This necessitates a good appreciation of your yardages and access to a hole planner is useful. It was especially pleasurable, therefore, to play with the same ball, not a common occurrence. This contributed to my decent score of 91, net 75, for 4 over my handicap of 16. A very good score for me on a windy, but warm, day.

The tight tee shot at the long par four 12th hole, the SI 1 hole.

The course was in superb condition, the only note of criticism I could give was the fringes of the bunkering was a little tired. The teeing grounds were delicious.

The par three eleventh green, typical of the rather open par threes, the weakest part of the layout – as can be seen, make sure you play long here.

In a land of Links, Balbirnie Park golf course may arguably be the best parkland course in Fife; albeit the ‘best parkland’ list might also include The Dukes (at St Andrews), Aberdour and Dunfermline (Pitreavie), all great courses.

The rather austere clubhouse at the fine finishing hole at Balbirnie Park. Beware the blind second shot, as the burn in front of the green is reachable for even mid handicaps players. I luckily reached the tree, leaving a simple chip for a birdie chance (missed!)

Nevertheless, this is easily in the top 50 parkland courses in Scotland, and represents good value at £50, but using the great offers on Golfnow I managed to pay just £22, an almost 60% discount, so really 5 star value if you get one of those last minute rates.

Moly’s approach at the 16th, a difficult par four and SI 3.

I suspect the pricing is depressed a little due to the distance Glenrothes is from both the St Andrews area, and Edinburgh. This benefits greatly those going to play here.

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance: 5957 (yellow)

Moly’s Gross score: 91

Moly’s scorecard at Balbirnie Park – a 91 at one of the top parkland courses in Fife.

137. Dunnikier Park. 17 May 22.

June 28, 2022 /

Fife Golf Trust knocks it out the park with this brilliant value course.

Round £26. Par 72. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.9/128. Value (out of 5) – 5

Dunnikier Park golf course, in Kirkcaldy, in the very heart of Fife, is one of 7 courses managed by the Fife Golf Trust which was established in 2011 to take over Fife Council’s directly managed courses; the course is arguably their flagship.  The Dunnikier Park Golf Club is private, like many Scottish clubs associated with public courses.

The first, a par 4 of nearly 400 yards, at Dunnikier Park. A brilliant municipal golf course.

The course was established in 1963, build on land given by the Oswald family to the “people of Kirkcaldy” and was the local town council’s very first municipal course. And what a beauty it is. Designed by J E Strutt, It has generous fairways, is well bunkered and with many undulating holes, it is a tough walk at well over 6000 yards. The golf club website also contains a delightful history written to make the 50th anniversary of the course here.

The par five 9th green, with Dunnikier House hotel the former Oswald family residence.

Fife Golf trust offers incredible value golf. A “Fife Rover” season ticket to play all their seven courses is only £347. Many golfers will then choose to join one of the collocated golf clubs, for all the normal club social and competitive benefits, which for Dunnikier Park is only £120 per year.

The greens at Dunnikier are first class, here shown at the greenside of the long par three 3rd hole.

The course is very balanced, with each nine having two par 3s and 5s. A burn runs through the course and comes into play on about half the holes; it is often submerged in under fairway piping, but opened up and cuts into the fairways on each side, often at the typical amateur’s driving length. The best example of this being the par 5 “Lang Whang” 9th hole. It’s worth buying the course planner book, to check this unusual feature out, the book being another measure of the professionalism of Fife Golf Trust.



The 8th, a 350 yard par 4, at Dunnikier Park, typical of the course and showing its undulating nature.

The course was in excellent condition when I played, with bunker conditioning on a par with many of the top courses I’ve played. My only slight criticism is that the greens could have done with being mown – but that does not detract from the green consistency and quality.

The tough uphill par four 17th hole, stroke index 5. Many a match play will be settled here I suspect.

It I ever write a golf book it will be called “Golf, it’s a Fucking Mystery”. My round immediately prior to Dunnikier Park had many disasters and I had started to shank my irons and afterwards threatened to ‘give up golf’. My very next round is then at Dunnikier and my best ever blog game, shooting gross 84, for 40 points, with no blobs and a nice birdie on the par four 4th hole. Like I said, “A mystery”.

Of course, any golfing book I write will not be a game improvement book. Except with one exception perhaps, a story of encouragement. As a member of Monifieth GC for several years I played a number of times with and against “Hutch”; in our Seniors Winter league on the Ashludie course (par 68; SSS of 65), “Hutch” was allocated a handicap of plus 6, as he was after all in his mid 70s. When I mention this golfing handicap to others, a state of their disbelief descends upon me.

How delighted I was, therefore, to read in the history of Dunnikier Park, one of their own great golfers, Davie Gray, who won their club championship a dozen times and about every club open in Fife – an impressive CV. He was asked for the history about the best golfer he ever played with, he said:

“Without equal, Ian Hutcheon of Monifieth, and I’ve also played with, when they were top amateurs, Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomery, Andrew Oldcorn, Andrew Coltart and Stephen Gallacher”.

So it was at Dunnikier Park, I once more came across the legend of Ian “The Hutch” Hutcheon.

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance: 6116 (silver)

Moly’s Gross score: 84

Moly’s best blog score for a long time. Gross 84.

133. Gogarburn. 25 Mar 22.

May 8, 2022 /

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.

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