Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 1946 – 1999 (Page 5 of 9)

96. Craigieknowes. 19th June 2019.

March 23, 2020 /

Playing 150 years ago might have felt like this

Round £7.   Par 27.  Value (out of 5) – 3

This course is really worth playing, but its assessed ‘value’ of 3 does not necessarily mean this course is good or even average quality; it’s not. Craigieknowes is cheap at less than £10. The greens were terrible when I played – little more than well mowed lawn. The teeing grounds don’t actually exist, they are just areas of the fairway with a tee marker. There are no bunkers – or if there were I can’t remember any.

Craigieknowes Facebook Page focuses on the real attraction – Cake!

Craigieknowes golf course, near Kippford in Dumfries and Galloway, is really worth playing, for no other reason than it is what I imagine golf would have been like in the late Victorian era, when golf courses were sprouting up all over Scotland.

Fran on the 3rd green – she played much better than me on the day.

It’s a 9 hole par 3 ‘highland’ course against the beautiful and peaceful backdrop of South West Scotland which still exists I suspect from the income generated during the Summer months in this holiday park of Scotland. The golf course seems to be secondary to the delightful tea room, which is the centrepiece of the facebook page of the course. The fact that Craigieknowes doesn’t even have its own proper website is also a measure of its status.

Unfortunately, despite some research I couldn’t find any meaningful history of the course.

The difficult 4th, take at least one club longer, for the 156 yard hole

Although being in poor condition, there are some meaty holes to overcome here. In particular the 4th, played uphill to a plateaued green, requiring more club that it looks to the eye, and the 166 yard 6th, again uphill, with OOB to the left of the green. On the 6th I lost a ball near the OOB wall, despite at least a 5 minute search – no-one was behind us!

The 6th – a challenge with OOB on the left.

On the day, we had lovely weather, and it was really good fun. Nevertheless, I couldn’t par any of the holes in my score of 43, which I’ll put down to the greens;)

If you are in the area this is fun to play, and the tea and cakes were really yummie!

Facts:

Course Type: Highland

Par 27 (9 par 3s)

Distance: 1391

Moly’s Gross score: 43

Moly’s 43 at the par 27 Craigieknowes GC

93. Strathmore Rannaleroch. 18 May 2019.

August 2, 2019 /

Ideal Golfing Society venue with a challenging course     

Round £36.   Par 71.  Value (out of 5) – 4

“A Challenging course for golfers of all abilities”. How often do you read that on golf course websites? I suspect it really means “please come and play no matter what standard you are, we could do with the money?”. The wealthier clubs, in much less need of visitors, rarely say it.

The nice par three 6th, one of the few holes with water in play

So, if a “for all abilities” layout does really exist, I propose the Rannaleroch course at the Strathmore Golf Centre, near Alyth in Perthshire, might be the closest I’ve found. But the more you think about it, the more obscure the statement is. Firstly, how can any one player know? I have played many times with low handicap players and I regularly play with my mid to high 20s handicap peers. Neither group has sufficient empathy, I suggest, of what constitutes a comparable challenge for the other group! Again, one of the many “unsolvable” debates golfers love.

The first green at Rannaleroch, a good example of the greens and surrounds at this main Stranthmore Golf Centre course.

Strathmore Golf Centre, near Alyth in Perthshire, was opened in 1996, and also has a 9 hole course, Leiftie Links, which I blogged in 2016. The Rannaleroch course was designed by former R&A Captain, John Salveson, now deceased; John turned to golf course design later in life after retiring as a farmer, mainly in conjunction with Donald Steel.

The 17th, the last of the nice par threes at Rannaleroch

The par 72 main course (although 70 off the yellow tees I used) is very picturesque, amongst rolling countryside, with mature trees, and the wide fairways means you can afford to use driver on all the longer holes. It’s an excellent architecture job.

The greens are large and I suggest you spend sometime on the practice greens to avoid several 3 putts; I putted very well on the front 9, then lost it on the back.

There are some really memorable holes, but I think the par 3s are the star here, with the 4th and the 17th both needing long irons. The short 6th over water is also a nice hole.

The difficult long iron par three 4th hole, with trouble left and right

The course was in excellent condition when I played along with Fran, despite the very wet weather that had prevailed the previous month. The tees, fairways and greens were all very good, albeit the bunkers were a little in need of raking and a bit of maintenance. Having said that, the course represented really good value. It would be a great course to add to a Blairgowrie centered golfing break. It also has a very good reputation for food, and I would recommend booking, as the restaurant is popular amongst local non golfers.

It’s really worth going out of your way to play Rannaleroch.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (2 par 5, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5848

Moly’s Gross score: 97

Moly’s 97 at Strathmore Rannaleroch, not helped by the rain making it play long!

88. Murrayshall. 16 Sep 2018

October 30, 2018 /

Murrayshall is a nice parkland course, but its hotel partner course (Lynedoch) is much better value.

Round  £50 ( variable on-line).   Par 70.  Value (out of 5) – 3

The Murrayshall estate, first built in 1664, was established as a commercially successful Country House hotel in the early 1970s, following the sale of the estate by the Norrie-Millar family, of whom Francis Norrie-Millar was one of the key instrumentalists in building the General Accident insurance company in nearby Perth, only 3 miles to the west of Murrayshall.

Fran plays at the par 5 9th at Murrayshall

The esteemed golf architect Hamilton J Strutt (grandson of James Braid’s foreman) designed this Championship course in the 70s, and returned to design the Lynedoch course which opened in 2000.   The Murrayshall course is indeed a fine example of Strutt crafting a course amidst mature parkland, leaving an impression that the course has been there for a hundred years.  This is almost completely true except for the bland and exposed par 4 13th hole, which was oddly the SI1 hole (more of later).

The 6th tee view, typical of the Murrayshall course

Whereas the sister Lynedoch course is partly woodland, Murrayshall is exclusively parkland.  I had previously played the Lynedoch track and had been very impressed (read my blog here).  I was therefore greatly looking forward to playing the hotel’s premium course, but must admit that I don’t think the higher price is worth it is versus its shorter neighbour.   It’s still a very nice course, with some outstanding countryside views, nice greens and good bunkering;  but, other than being a longer course, it lacked the guile of its smaller sister course.

The short par 3, 4th hole, at Murrayshall

The course was in good condition when I played and I had a nice round of 89, for 37 stableford points (off 17);  including a birdie at the 13th, the stoke index 1 hole, which was one of the more bland holes played towards a local farmyard.  My score also reflects the fairly open fairways and relatively accessible surrounds of the trees.  Other notable holes were the stretch of 6th, 7th and 8th, a really nice set of challenges, with a reachable par 4, a difficult par 4, and a tricky par 3.  Also noteworthy is the mix holes, with five par 5s and five par 3s, its an odd mix.

The two dogs (Isla and Joseph) whose grave guards the very difficult pay 4 7th, “Dogs Grave”

Unfortunately, the round at Murrayshall was the slowest I’ve played for several years, at around 4.5 hours.  Having caught up with the 4-ball in front, on hole 2, which actually turned out to be the last group of about 10 groups making up a society day, we then were delayed at about 5 minutes per hole for the remained of the round!  I’m writing this, to give context to my “value” assessment.  How should an assessment be dictated by pace of play?  Well, if I hadn’t been doing a blog, we would have walked in after 12 holes.   It was anything but value for money.  How many times have you heard “we would let you through, but it’s the group ahead holding us up” – I refer everyone to the Etiquette section of the rules of golf, which clearly recommends allowing a faster grouping through, regardless of circumstances.

It is worth playing, but perhaps check whether a society is playing in front!

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (5 par 5s, 8 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (white)   5868 yards

Moly’s Gross Score  89

Moly’s 89 at Murrayshall – a decent round given the chilly weather

85. Portlethen. 2 Sep 2018.

September 22, 2018 /

The “Committee Only” Car Park sums up why Golf has to change to survive.

Round £45.   Par 70.  Value (out of 5) – 3

Portlethen, about 7 miles south of Aberdeen, on the A90,  is one of the fastest growing areas in Scotland over the last 30 years.  When the golf course was opened in 1989 the population was recorded as 1500, yet in 2011 it was over 7000 – no doubt driven by the North Sea oil boom.   With the opening of the substantial Aberdeen bypass imminent, Portlethen continues to grow, albeit the area is also suffering from the collapse in oil prices in 2015.

The welcome wasn’t warm at Portlethen – Beware of any clubs with “Committee Only” anything. No wonder some clubs are struggling.

The course, designed by the renowned Donald Steel, along with the substantial clubhouse, seems apt testimony to the ambitions of the area.  Yet somehow, for me, the course fails to deliver on the initial optimism demonstrated by the designer chosen.  When asked what I thought of Portlethen, my answer was “It’s OK”, which sums up my experience.

The 4th at Portlethen, one of the best holes.

It’s a generous parkland setting, and after a few ordinary holes, the 4th tee provides an excellent view of the par 5 signature hole;  after a good drive I hit an excellent 3 wood over the pond guarding the green – my best strike of the day – which caught the top of a large tree and ended in the water.  The 5th is also a picturesque water featured par 3.  After those highlights, I thought the course somewhat fell away in quality, other than the superb 15th, the SI 2 par 4, which also had a green fronted by water.

The difficult par 4 15th at Portlethen.

The course was in reasonably good condition.  But it was the lack of welcome which stuck with me.  As a www.teeofftimes.co.uk customer I was advised I would be paired together – not a problem, but expressed in a manner that made me feel a second class citizen.  However, shortly thereafter, I was advised I could play on my own as there was space on the tee!  Nevertheless, my round was very slow, and it was clear that people in front of me were determined not to let me through, even when there was space in front.

The aesthetic 5th at Portlethen, a short iron par 3.

This seemingly unfriendly approach by a couple of players cannot, of course, be judged representative – however, when I saw the size of the “Committee Only” car park, this seemed so representative of the welcome I’d received.

My overall assessment was that Portlethen was about a 3 for value.  The club’s website makes a big sell of “The Portlethen Experience” – but I must say, for me, it just felt a little bit pretentious overall.

On the day I played well for my net 71.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (3 par 5s, 10 par 4s,  5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5747 Yards

Moly’s Gross score: 88

Moly’s Portlethen 88, with only 1 lost ball – which was the best strike of the day, including direction!

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