Category: Course Owned By (Page 37 of 45)

34. Scoonie. 15th Oct 2015.

October 19, 2015 / Moly McMillan

An easy walking course with good views and subtle greens

Round £18. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Scoonie is a short and straight forward parkland golf course located on the eastern side of Leven on the Fife coast and has good views out to the Forth Estuary and across to the North Berwick coastline.

The long par 4 6th tee at Scoonie

It 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. This is becoming a common practice by Local Authorities in Scotland to manage golf courses. The actual Scoonie Golf Club was formed in 1951, and welcomes visitors to their catering and bar facilities.

View through the “forgiving” trees at the 6th.

Originally a 9 hole course it was extended in 1936 with James Braid doing the re-design, albeit it’s unclear what Braid’s exact design changes were, since the course lacks sophisticated course architecture one normally expects from a Braid course in my opinion. Parts of the course in fact seem quite immature with small trees aside wide open fairways, and therefore feels much younger.

The 12th at Scoonie – the subtle and often large greens provide a good challenge

Having said that, there is still sufficient to keep one interested at Scoonie. The greens are subtle and true, with a few of them being very large. I suspect not many visitors, of any standard, will fail to 3 putt at least once during a round.

The approach at the long par 4 15th hole, bathed in Autumn colour.

The course is a little imbalanced with an outward par of 35 with only one par 3, and inward par of 32 including 4 par 3s. There are no par 5s on the course.

My favourite holes were the short par 4 2nd, which had a steep upward incline to the green, where it is better being long on the approach, the short uphill par 3 13th and the final hole which has a lovely green and well positioned front bunker.

The lovely 18th green at Scoonie

On the day, I played poorly on a course which is relatively easy, with a SSS of 64 versus the card of 67 off the yellow, scoring 31 points.

Scoonie is ideal if you’re looking for a fairly easy walking course, with no major hazards coming into play.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (green!) 5133 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 92

Stableford 31

Moly’s Scoonie scorecard – 92

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

September 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

A Driver’s paradise with some prayers needed around the turn!

Round £25. Par 73. Value (out of 5) – 4

Drumoig golf course is a substantial par 73 golf course, designed by Dave Thomas, set in a resort style estate, with housing and a hotel, situated between Dundee and St Andrews. It is a parkland layout and sufficiently undulating to make for a tiring walk on this 7000 yard course.

The difficult 9th hole with water on both sides of the fairway.

It is well set within the surrounding arable land with some far reaching views, notable across to Broughty Ferry, Monifieth and Carnoustie, on the other side of the Tay Estuary.

Surrounded by the classic links on this north Fife coastline, Drumoig would make a nice contrast for touring golfers, who may be finding the local links fairways a bit tight.

The “cliff side” green at the 5th – the long signature hole at Dromoig

My main impression of Drumoig, was the width of the fairways, especially on the five par 5s; you can really open your shoulders whilst driving here, that is all bar the 9th, 10th and 11th, where all three holes are set around a large lake, making up its own Amen Corner. These holes at the turn were the highlight for me, particularly the 10th, where I took a bogie 5, having taken 3 from the tee!

The 11th green at Drumoig

There are other interesting features, with a 25-foot quarry wall sitting immediately behind the 5th hole, a long par 5, and the 13th. The 18th, is also a very nicely architected hole, with carefully laid water hazards, where the safe play is a medium iron or hybrid from the tee, leaving a short iron to the green.

13th at Drumoig with the quarry wall behind.

The course is a little unbalanced in my opinion with only 1 par 3 (the 2nd) and 2 par 5s on the front 9 of 37, but 3 par 3s, 3 par 4s and 3 par 5s on the back 9. The course was in nice condition when I played, although the bunkers were a little stony and greens much slower that the nearby links courses. That aside, its a good course which is well worth playing and good value.

The greenside bunker at the left of 14th, a natural target with OOB all down the right.

I had a fairly good day for me, shooting 96, with 46 on back 9.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 73 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (green!) 6472 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 96

Stableford 33

Moly’s Drumoig Scorecard – 96

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

September 16, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Great Fun Highland Golf – but overpriced for just 9 holes.

Round £25 (£18 for 9). Par 33. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

I was a member of Abernethy golf club for many years and the course is my favourite place on earth! I have had no greater golfing pleasure than playing on my own on a late June evening with the course completely to myself – I have felt the spirit of Shivas Irons.

The war memorial hazard on the long par 3 8th hole.

Abernethy GC is in the village of Nethy Bridge, near Grantown on Spey in the Cairngorms National Park. Founded in 1893, it is a quintessential Highland 9-hole course – small “tea room” style clubhouse, open to visitors of all standards, lovely views from natural heathland with majestic trees, and terrifying heather in places. There is also an abundance of wildlife, so a good course for non-playing partners to accompany golfers around this lovely walk, which, if not busy, will take comfortably less than 1 hours 30 mins to play 9 holes.

Beware cars on the short par 3 2nd hole.

Abernethy is one of those courses where all golfers will feel they should break their handicap; its short, with many inviting tee shots, and “feels easy”. However, there are some key reasons why most people won’t break their handicap; the fairways become very tight over 220 yards, the excellent greens are small with many having difficult slopes, plus 3 of the holes – the long par 3s at the 5th and 8th, and the par 4 7th – are amongst the toughest holes in the Highlands. Off the back tee on the 7th, all bar the longest hitters would be advised to play this hole as a par 5 – the white tee carry being around 250 yards to a dog leg!

The mighty carry of the 7th drive at Abernethy GC

The course has got great variety and the small green keeping staff do a good job keeping the course in fantastic condition, with the greens being some of the best in the area. It’s a great course to play, especially for those on holiday wanting to play a quick and casual game.

The beautiful view of the 6th tee at “nethy”

However, in my opinion, the pricing is really a shame and is discouraging anyone wanting to play just a quick 9 holes. It is £18 for 9 holes, but only £25 for the whole day, with no 18 hole price, hence I’m forced to conclude its not particularly good value – my recommendation would be £13 for 9 and £18 for 18.

On the day, I got a 5 on the 7th:) – which always makes me happy!

Some Facts

Course Type: Highland

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2297 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 44

Stableford 17

Moly’s Abernethy Scorecard – 44 for 17 stableford points

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

September 15, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Lovely Parkland & Links Course! – worth playing just for the 15th Tee shot!

Round £20. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 4

Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club lies on the west bank of the mouth of the River Spey, which comes into play only on the 15th, but still probably eats up a great deal of golf balls – more later.

2nd tee – Garmouth & Kingston

The course was founded in 1932, and at a little over 5000 yards presents, in theory, a reasonably straight forward test of golf, with several short par 3s and par 4s. Its a very interesting layout, with a parkland front 9 and a links back 9 – it is literally 2 different golf courses.

5th Green at Garmouth & Kingston – course is in beautiful condition

It’s also very flat and an easy walk, with some good views, especially of the Moray Firth on the links side – its a really great course for a round whilst on holiday, with many local attractions for the non golfer.

13th green with the Moray Firth in the distance.

The course was in perfect condition when I played, with beautiful fairways and greens. At only £20 for a round it is great value golf.

There are a number of nice holes, with most of the par 3s quite short, but they are well guarded so club selection is important, and I suspect difficult if any wind gets up.

The frightening 15th tee – pray for a left to right wind.

The highlight of the course is the par 3 15th played alongside the River Spey – a right to left wind would make this hole a nightmare, and must destroy many a medal round. I played badly, except for the 15th where an 8 iron to only 7 feet left me my first birdie for a while – highly enjoyable.

Worth playing just for the 15th! Lovely little course and great value.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland & Links

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

Distance (yellow) 5046 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 99

Stableford 29

Moly’s Garmouth & Kingston Scorecard – 99

Category: Course Owned By (Page 37 of 45)

34. Scoonie. 15th Oct 2015.

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

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

Par 73 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

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

Recent Posts

Useful Links