Sublime attention to detail at Paul Lawrie’s brilliant golf centre
Round £15. Par 29. Course Rating / Slope Rating (white) 29.2/94. Value (out of 5) – 5
This nine hole course opened in 2005 as the Aspire Golf Centre, named after a boat operated by trawler fisherman John Duthie, the original owner. Open Champion Paul Lawrie bought the centre in 2012 and it has gone from strength to strength, providing one of the best all round facilities in Scotland, equipped with ‘top tracer’ driving range, bookable practice areas, a large golf shop and excellent restaurant.
The tricky first hole at Paul Lawrie’s golf centre – avoid the right of the green!
The course itself is a beauty, designed by Old Meldrum’s Graeme Webster and built to US PGA standards. It could easily be argued as the best nine hole course in Scotland. Although short, it has four tee options providing a variety of challenges, it has been good enough to host national 9 hole Par 3 competitions. It only has two par 4s, when played from the white tees, which I used to play my round.
The 3rd green, the stroke index one hole at only 145 yards, which has a devilish bunker and water on the left side of the green, hidden from view from the tee.
The green complexes are challenging, with well positioned bunkers and undulating surfaces they force you to be mindful of where to miss. There are some particularly clever and deceptive run off areas which are blind from the tee. The rough is very whispy and gives some shots a links land feel – none more so than at the first, where I thought I had played into the right side of the green, only to eventually find my ball in the rough; there was a bonus of finding 6 other balls!
The aesthetically framed 4th hole, which plays as a par four from this tee.
To score well you need to have a first class short game, perhaps that’s what attracted “Chippy” Lawrie to buy the course. When I played, I saw Paul heading off to the driving range with a large number of clubs, testimony to the effort required to maintain your game at the highest standard.
The 5th, one of the two holes, which, from the white tees, plays as a par four.
The course is great value for annual membership at just over £300 and is sometimes used as a second club by members of nearby world class Aberdeenshire links courses because the practice arrangements are so good. I met up during my game with Murcar Links member, Alex Singer, who typifies these local golfers who make full use of the Paul Lawrie Centre.
Murcar Links member Alex Singer, chipping onto the 8th green.
On a windy day, I was very happy with my score of 38 – although 9 over par, this included two triple bogies, at the first and 4th, both short par threes.
The well maintained bookable practice area at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre.
Every aspect of the Centre is first class, a testimony to Paul Lawrie’s attention to detail. Right down to the Seniors’ rate of only £12, that I paid, and the many Kids coaching courses the centre runs throughout the year. Well done ‘Chippy’, you are a legend.
Facts:
Course Type:Parkland
Par 29 (0 par 5s, 2 par 4s, 7 par 3s)
Distance (white): 1560 yards
Moly’s Gross score: 38
Moly’s Paul Lawrie Centre scorecard – 38, including 5 pars and 2 triple bogies!
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
Forget the industrial surround to experience Scottish golfing value at its best
Round £15. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69/121. Value (out of 5) – 5
As long as courses like Grangemouth remain open and accessible, Scotland will easily retain its lead in providing the best value golf worldwide. At only £10 for a ‘winter round’ or £15 for summer, this is as good value golf as you can get.
You quickly realise the quality on offer at Grangemouth, with the approach at the first hole.
But Grangemouth Golf Club and it’s courses, have not always had a guaranteed existence and the Scottish golfing community can’t take venues like Grangemouth for granted – its history is worth dwelling on.
The current parkland municipal course, opened in 1974 by the local council, is just outside the village of Polmont and close to junction 4 of the M9 motorway. However, the first Grangemouth golf course can be traced back to the mid 1890s, and its growth and decline are charted on the excellent web site “Forgotten Greens of Scotland”. After a few false starts, a 9 hole course opened in 1908 at Abottsgrange, including greens created through “beating, rolling, sanding, cutting”. A “small shelter was built to protect against the ‘Sudden Blast'”. Initially there were 113 men and 67 lady members, highlighting the non sexist nature of golf in Scotland. A clubhouse was soon built but burned down in 1924, with the most informative comment being the sad loss of 200 sets of clubs, “only those few who took clubs away at the weekend were saved”.
The original Grangemouth members. We should never take the longevity of courses for granted.
By the early 1950s the course, now with 18 holes, became a victim of a mix of expanding urban growth, the building of a new Scottish Central airfield and political wrangling within Stirling County and the local Town councils. This led to the closure of that course in 1954, now the sight of a school and housing estate, with the political promise of a new replacement course on Polmonthill. It was finally established 30 years later! Politics.
The long par four 8th, “Gambler’s Gap” (you can see it), the most difficult hole.
Arguably, the current course was worth the wait. At well over 6000 yards, this undulating layout, bordering Polmont Woods, is very challenging. When I played, on a fine March day, along with my old friend Frank Crowe and two of his friends, Colin Campbell (a local member) and Ian Ponton, it was in remarkable condition. It beggared belief that it is maintained by only two greenkeepers; the greens were first class.
My playing partners in action. Top – Ian Ponton at the 2nd; Bottom left Colin at the 15th; Frank at the 18th.
The course has won a “Scottish Municipal Course of the Year” award in the past, and you could see why. The bunkers, where admittedly more rakes were needed, and tees, could have been a bit sprucer; but this was golf costing about the same as two pints of beer, with high summer rates still being well short of £20. If any international tourists wanted to see what is on offer elsewhere in Scotland, other than the heady courses in nearby Fife or East Lothian costing over 10 times the green fee, this would be a great course to play.
There are some memorable holes, not least the brilliantly framed par fours first and fourth holes, both played uphill into well bunkered greens. The signature hole, “Reflections”, the par three seventh at 178 yards, played over a resevoir, left me ‘reflecting’ how I racked up a 7, including my first ball finding the water.
The par three 7th. Is there a finer visual par three on any other UK municipal course?
The greens were very tricky, as my seven 3 putts attest; this was due to the large and sloping nature of them, not the surfaces which were true. My gross 90, therefore, indicting my otherwise decent ball striking.
The overall layout has a nice variety of dog leg holes, blind shots, and some easier respite holes to catch the odd birdie or par. The four par 3s, collectively, are the course highlight for me.
The great framing on the par four 4th hole. A tough challenge to reach the green in two here.
It is worth getting ready for the industrial views of the refinery, which only comes into view on a few holes, most notably at the 11th and 12th. Also nearby is one of the largest land fill sites in Scotland, but local member Colin commented that there was never any impact from smells. I would not let the local industrial surround put you off playing Grangemouth, it’s actually a reason to go.
The very difficult long par four 11th (a par five from the white tees), with the inset showing the view at the tee of Colin, Ian and Frank (L to R)with the Grangemouth refinery in the background
The course, laid out as 4 loops of holes, makes it easy to just play a few holes, or cut out some of the track. As I was leaving, I saw a local member, taking advantage by jumping onto the back nine. He was a old guy, in jeans and t-shirt, whose clubs looked like they could have survived the 1924 fire. “Could be the Algarve” I said, commenting on the unseasonal weather. “Aye, yer right, ma five pals have gone tae Turkey and its pissing down and four o’ them have caught that ‘covee’, ****ing brilliant eh!”
Frank and I, played Colin and Ian, in a tightly contested four ball game that went to the last. Well played everyone, a memorable day’s golf on one of the finest municipal courses in the world. Now that is “****ing brilliant”.
Play Grangemouth. Its currently going through a change from municipal to private management, so you never know how long it might be there.
Course Type:Parkland
Par 70 (2 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance: 6077 (yellow)
Moly’s Gross score: 90
Moly’s 90 scorecard at Grangemouth, for 31 stableford points, on this brilliant value golf course.
Round £10. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69/124. Value (out of 5) – 4
South Lanarkshire Council state on their website they are “proud to operate six quality golf courses” – and so they should be if Strathclyde Park represents the offering, being one of the two 9 hole golf courses in the package which can all be played by subscribing to their season long Rover deal.
Looking back from the 8th green at Strathclyde Park, towards the Hamilton Racecourse grandstand.
Having been brought up on Caird Park “9 holer”, a Dundee Council course, I was expecting a similar set up from Strathclyde Park. How wrong I was – this is a serious and ‘meaty’ golf course. A little under 6000 equivalent yards (from the Yellow), this is a a big challenge, especially for those taking up the sport.
The nice fairway on show at the 1st, a good starting hole at well over 350 yards, making you realise this is not ‘pitch ‘n putt’, with the natural edge bunkering dominating the approach.
Set in Strathclyde Country Park, adjacent to junction 6 of the M74, with the backdrop of Hamilton racecourse on the finishing holes, I really enjoyed this great value course.
The view from the 4th tee at Strathclyde, the SI 1 hole.
Because there was one winter green still in play and still being on the winter rate (even though I was able to play in shorts on an unseasonably warm March day), I paid only £5.40 for 9 holes. The tees were in poor condition, but the fairways were very good as were the bunkers. The greens are varied in size, shape and contour with many very challenging (I three putted several times).
There is plenty of wildlife on show at Strathclyde, with the adjacent nature reserve. Here, some residents sharing my journey to the 3rd green, a difficult par 3.
I got to thinking, at only £10, for the high season rate for 18 holes, what is the value of a course as the price tends to zero? Or put another way, how do you really offset course quality and value?
Overall, this course is probably 2 out of 5 for ‘quality’ on a national basis, but at such a low price it is 4 for ‘value’, a score I would say provides an upper bound for the quality – even if free, because you still have to spend the time playing! It’s a great debate.
The second par three, the uphill 7th, requiring your 180+ yardage club.Against the backdrop of the housing developed alongside the Racecourse.
The course is well designed with a rounded mix of two par 3s, two par 5s and five par 4s – a classic combination. The fairways were wide, and very firm for the time of year.
I played better than I scored with several three putts in my gross 48.
We were staying in our caravan in Strathclyde Country park, which is a great location to set down to play all the courses on offer from South Lanarkshire Council.
Course Type:Parkland
Par 36 (2 par 5s, 5 par 4s, 2 par 3s)
Distance: 5891 (yellow)
Moly’s Gross score: 48
Moly lost count of the number of 3 putt greens on this tough 9 hole council course. Played better than 48 suggests.
