A guide to green fee value for money

Category: Since 2000 (Page 2 of 6)

148. Ballumbie Castle. 5 Jul 22.

Perennial struggle for Ballumbie Castle

Round £25. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.3/122. Value (out of 5) – 2

With good municipal courses still available in Scotland, but declining in number due to council budget cuts, the race is well underway to see whether courses like Ballumbie Castle survive.

The dog leg right 2nd hole, the common feature on this fairly uninspiring and ‘tired’ course

I know this course and area well, it being a stone’s throw from my wife’s family home. I was intrigued during the late 80s and 90s when several courses were built in the wider area, including Letham Grange, near Arbroath, which finally closed in 2019. I was skeptical about the business case for these courses, often heralded as part of housing or leisure developments. My question was why pay more to play Ballumbie than nearby municipal Caird Park or Monifieth Links? Moreover, why pay more for Letham Grange when as an Angus resident you qualified for nearby world class Carnoustie?

The par three 11th, the best hole on the course, not surprisingly the area dominated by overlooking houses.

Look closely at the 20 years of Ballumbie Castle’s history and you uncover a repeated saga of dissolved companies or companies in administration and protracted housing development applications. The last point is the open secret, the land’s inherent value is in housing, not golf which is often a means to an end. The former dream of living in a golf development must be a bitter pill for those still housed overlooking the former Letham Grange course landscape. Ballumbie Castle Estate householders must wonder how long their golf course views will remain.

Fran at the par three 4th hole, where we both nearly made birdie.

The course itself is laid out in 4 varying sized parcels of land around a small hill and housing access roads, with fairly long walks between the sections. There is a nice mix of holes, but the predominant feature is of dog-leg right par fours, with seven of them. Not great if you are a mid length fader of the ball, like most mid to high handicap right handers. Low handicap faders though must revel on this course.

12th green at Ballumbie Castle, a short par three at 141 yards

Over the years, the course condition has declined steadily, matching the financial struggles of each management regime. Whereas the tees were previously pristine with great tee box markings, those days are long gone, with only one tee box marker (the 17th) being left from its glory days.

The greens and fairways were still okay, but the bunkers could have been better kept.

Moly at the 11th green, a long par 3, which should have a higher stroke index in my book.

I played very well, shooting 82, the best I’ve done here, picking up birdies at the par three 4th and the par four 9th. But my decent round doesn’t deflect from the general ‘tired’ state of Ballumbie. If you get a good deal, through golfnow as I did, it’s worth playing, but there’s better value to be found nearby at the full price.

The very strong par four finishing hole at Ballumbie Castle, take at least one club more to get up to the green, take two more if the oin is on the upper level.

The current planning application for housing being debated will see several of the holes being replaced with housing, so it remains to be seen the golfing future of Ballumbie Castle.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69  (2 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5716 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 82

Moly’s 82 at Ballumbie, including two birdies and two 7s.

147. Edzell West Water. 4 Jul 22.

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

123. Melville Golf Centre. 24 Jun 2021.

Good ‘family friendly’ 9 hole “Pay & Play” course is no ‘pitch ‘n putt’

Round £14.50. Par 32. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 30.0 /98. Value (out of 5) – 3

Look at Melville Golf Centre web site and you would think it is just a ‘Top Tracer’ driving range. However, alongside the ‘family friendly’ range is a nice little 9 hole course that, according to the web site, is built to US PGA Standards. There is no trace of the course architect, unfortunately.

My partner Fran at the 7th with the Pentlands in the background.

The course is only a few miles outside Edinburgh, near the village of Lasswade, not far from the intersection of the A720 Edinburgh bypass and the A7 route to the Borders. It is therefore ideally located to pick up transiting golfers, albeit the range has stiff competition from the nearby Kings Acre golf course.

The tricky 2nd green, a short par four.

Dig a little deeper, and you find that the Melville Golf Centre has attracted EU and Scottish Government funding through an organisation called “Tyne Esk LEADER”, a development vehicle for the ‘River Esk – River Tyne’ region, basically covering The Lothians, which of course is one of the best areas in the world for golf. Why some of this public money should be needed to help develop ‘Family Friendly’ golf, in an area rich in golfing history, with more golf clubs per head than any country in the world, is a sad indictment of the state of Scottish Golf and the lack of funds going from richer clubs back into the grass roots of the game.

The uphill par four 5th hole, which needs good distance judgement with the approach.

Set aside the politics, and Melville Golf Course does indeed provide an excellent setting for introducing people to golf. No frills, and in decent condition, there are a good variety of holes to test the full game. Set in relatively open parkland, you’re not likely to lose too many balls either.

The greens, fairways and tees were all pretty good. Along with great views of the Pentland Hills, from a number of the holes, and this is a handy way to spend a little more than an hour grabbing a very quick game of golf.

The makeshift greenkeeping at the par three 8th hole, with the bricks shoring up the bunker lip:)

The highlights of the course for me, were the tricky uphill par three 3rd, where a difficult club choice awaits, followed by the long par four 4th (SI1), then the uphill par four 5th. Other than these 3 holes, the rest are birdie opportunities for many golfers.

The 4th at Melville, clearly the most difficult hole off yellow (par 4), but a relatively easy par 5, from the white.

This is no ‘pitch ‘n putt’, it’s a nice little course if you have a couple of hours free. I shot 39, seven over the yellow card of 32. This included a 6 at the par four 9th, where after losing my first drive right, my second drive went through the green at 270 yards – it was windy!

Why it attracted EU and Scottish Government money, is blog article for someone else.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 32 (5 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 2057

Moly’s Gross score39

Moly’s 39, 7 over par at Melville Golf Course

117. Earl of Mar. 30 Oct 2020.

Rainbows and Celebs are potential hazards at this excellent new course

Round £60. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 70.8/129. Value (out of 5) – 4.5

The official name of this golf course is the ‘Earl of Mar’, but I’ve entitled the blog ‘Mar Hall’ ,the name of the hotel, which opened 2004, as that is what the course is more commonly listed as.

Moly at the par five 15th hole, with the Erskine Bridge on the horizon. One of only two par 5s on the course.

The course itself was designed by the renowned Dave Thomas and founded in 2010 ; and what a great golf course he has created, making full use of the available land – albeit it does feel a little compact in places with several holes adjoining in an ‘up and down’ fashion, making it play wider than perhaps intended. However, with USGA style bunkers, in both fairway and greenside, this course requires accuracy off the tee and especially into the greens, where knowledge of your yardage will pay dividends.

The approach at the 12th at Mar Hall, with the Baronial 18th Century Manor, now hotel, in the background. The fairways had held up to recent torrential rain, but were a little mossy.

Coupled with a stay in the collocated 5 star hotel, the former Erskine Estate and House make for an excellent golfing break, especially with its proximity to Glasgow and its airport. The Erskine bridge, which crosses the River Clyde, dominates the skyline, especially at the downhill dog-leg left second hole, where you feel you are playing under the bridge. Although set along the south bank of the Clyde, the river doesn’t come into play, which is a pity.

The excellent 13th hole, a dog-leg right, par 4, where you need to keep well left of the fairway bunkers, to give a par opportunity.

Other than the river, there are outstanding views of the hills to the north and some magnificent trees, which Thomas has carefully utilised in the design.

At over 6200 yards from the yellow tees, at par 70, this is a challenging course for all bar the single figure golfer. Some of the shorter par 4s, such as the delightful 9th hole, play slightly uphill into the prevailing wind and will require 2 decent shots to reach in regulation.

Fran puts at the 14th, with the Rainbow and the Old Kirkpatrick hills in the background.

When I played in late October, there had been several days of very heavy rain, but the course was in remarkably good condition, testament to the build quality and green keeping. The greens were all in play, they are generally very large, with devilish surrounds, including large bunkers, so keeping a 3 putt off the card, or scrambling, will also be a challenge.

The 9th makes for a robust end to the front 9, a short but tough par 4, normally played into the prevailing wind.

Nevertheless, its a delightful walking course, and as said, there is ample room from many tees, so makes for a good society day.

On the day, I played very well to get round in 91, for 30 stableford points, the latter number I always think is acceptable playing a course for the first time.

The trees are carefully crafted into the course, as here at the 15th fairway, with the view over the River Clyde.

The hotel has apparently hosted many celebs during its short existence, which I thought was quite appropriate given that, according to the barman, the river and hills make for ideal conditions for rainbows – although I didn’t find any pots of gold.

The view over the course from the hotel at Mar Hall – well worth a short golfing break here.

The course is the star here though. Well worth playing.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (2 par 5, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 6259

Moly’s Gross score91

Played well for a 91 on this compact and challenging course
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