A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 2 star (Page 1 of 6)

168. Rouken Glen. 16 Oct 22.

David Lloyd course fails to meet top council standards.

Value for Money (out of 5) – 2.5

Rouken Glen golf course, originally called Deaconsbank after the neighborhood it sits in, is close to junction 3 of the M77 between the Shawlands and Newton Mearns areas of South-West Greater Glasgow. The course was founded in 1923 by the Greater Glasgow corporation and its management was transferred to the David Lloyd sports club in 1999 at which time the Rouken Glen name was adopted. It is still leased from the council.

The short par three 8th green at Rouken Glen, which was in poor condition when we played.

The course is managed by the sports club as one of many activities on offer, and when you play it’s clear that golf is not the priority of this predominantly tennis club. Although specific golf annual membership is on offer for around £400, I suspect many members pay for golf as part of the wider sports club membership. I was previously a family member of the David Lloyd (now Nuffield Health) in Milgavie, which owned Dougalston Golf Club, for which golf as part of the whole family package represented good value.

The first at Rouken Glen, a decent uphill par 4 of 322 yards, is one of the better holes.

When investigating a golf club one doesn’t know, price is the best measure. At typically £15 for a pay and play summer round using Rouken Glen’s variable pricing (I paid £12), the price is well set for what’s on offer.

Nice views north towards Glasgow and the Campsie Hills from Rouken Glen’s downhill par 4 12th, a hole probably drivable in the faster running Summer months

The course actually felt pretty ‘beat up’ on this “end of season” October day, with unkempt greens, bunkers and tees. The course showed a sever lack of green keeping investment. A few greens had actually been “lost”. Overall, the condition was worse than the average council run courses in Scotland, in my experience.

Moly driving at the 9th hole, a dog leg left at 351 yards.

However, at only 4742 yards from the white tees, this par 65 generally open parkland course gives the mid teen handicap golfer the chance of “breaking 80”, that seemingly mythical number. On the day I shot 81, a score made worse by my triple bogie 7 at the downhill short par four 12th, the stoke index 18 hole – two balls were needed.

Fran trying to find a decent place to tee off at the par three 16th at Rouken Glen.

Although a short course, with several bland holes, it is a pretty tough walk and there are a few challenging holes – most notably the uphill par three 5th hole, where driver will be required for all bar the really long hitters. With such a congested golf course area, with several courses nearby, I rather think that without the Sports Club backing, Rouken Glen, would really struggle.

The open aspect of Rouken Glen shown here at the short par three 14th

This is no more than a 2 star quality course, but its cheap pricing means that an overall 2.5 for value is reasonable.

Facts:

Round List Price £15. Actual Paid £12.

Course/Slope Rating (yellow) 62.6/109.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 65  (11 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

Distance (white): 4742 yards

Moly’s Scorecard at Rouken Glen – 81

166. Torrance Park. 14 Oct 22.

Electrifying, but not in a way you would want.

Moly’s Score – 89

Round £25. Par 71. Course/Slope Rating (yellow) 68.9/124. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Torrance Park golf course started off as an ambitious project. Owned by David Murray, the Scottish businessman and former owner of Glasgow Rangers FC, it was designed by Dave Thomas (The Belfry, Spey Valley) as an impressive PGA style 18 holes course and opened as recently as 2008. It had plans also for a driving range. Sited close to the M8 motorway and adjacent to the town of Holytown, an area with rapid housing development, it was ideally located.

Torrance Park, adjacent to a major power distribution hub, might have the most pylons in Scotland.

However, jump forward 15 years, and the course was rather forlorn when I played, during which I also found out that from 2023, the course was to be 9 holes only. The land to the west of Legbrannock Road, was to be a housing development, leaving 9 holes currently the nearest around the modern clubhouse.

The greens, the 1st shown here, are well designed and well maintained, and the best feature of this otherwise uninspiring course.

When I played I met up with a local member, who was angry that he and many other members had paid their annual membership fees, before shortly thereafter being advised by email of the course reduction plans, but without an option to cancel their membership.

The par four 4th at Torrance Park, worthy of being the stroke index 1. A water feature ready to capture any right handed slice from the tee.

This parkland course feels rather odd. Fairways are wide, with disproportionally huge bunkers – it’s as if an innocuous municipal course had a few bunkers that would be at home in Valderrama! The greens are nonetheless pretty good, but again they feel better than the surrounding landscape and course conditioning.

The par four 17th (likely the new 8th), with views north towards the Campsie Hills. With another pylon to view!

When I played the course was very wet, although the greens had held up well. The new clubhouse had very friendly staff, and the building seems to be used as a ‘local’ for the adjacent housing estate. The food was good.

The par four 18th (which I would think is the 9th now) is a decent finishing hole – stroke index 4, with large front bunker, typical of the design here. I would recommend considering a shot to the front right of the green to leave a straight forward chip.

As for value, I struggle to think more than 2.5/5 is justified, using £25 as the stated amount. It’s convenient to the M8 if you want a quick knock about, but not worth going out of your way for, in my opinion.

Facts (pre 2022):

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (yellow): 5916 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 89

Moly’s Torrance Park scorecard – great finish meant decent score

155. Hirsel. 12 July 22.

Missed opportunity as the “First and Last” in Scotland.

Round £32. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.8/124. Value (out of 5) – 3

Moly’s Score – 98

How many fuel stations or pubs on borders proclaim “First and Last”? Like many people, I suspect, I had no idea exactly where Hirsel Golf Club was. Conversely, ask Scots where Coldstream is and most would know the border town famed for the Coldstream Guards, the regiment formed in 1650 making it the oldest continuous serving unit of the British Army.

The picturesque 10th hole at only 93 yards.

Hirsel Golf club, sits on the Hirsel Estate in Coldstream, the home of the son of the former Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home. A 9 hole course was designed and built by members in 1948, after the original course in Coldstream, called Lennel Golf Club, founded 1879, fell into some disrepair, a story covered in the website Forgotten Links.

The interweaving layout is evident, with the first green on show here from the 2nd tee.

Hirsel GC remained a 9 hole course until extended to 18 in 1996. The resulting layout is a rather jumbled affair, with a number of tee/green cross overs, which must make Open events a potentially hazardous affair. There is also a significant range of hole design quality, which comes I suspect from the extension. I find the club’s website banner headline “Arguably one of Scotland’s best kept secrets” true in the sense that it’s “unknown”, but the inference of it being a “Hidden Gem” is not what I found.

The very disappointing bunkers on show, despite the rakes fully in use, here at the difficult 5th hole, a 369 yard par four.

Despite the main Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns being over, I found a course in poor condition, with some bunkers appearing to imitate 19th century photos featuring Old Tom Morris himself. Nevertheless, with perhaps half dozen really good holes, I can see why it is a popular society day out, especially with the substantial club house overlooking the final green.

The tough par three 7th, with “Leet Water” in play for one of the few times.

It does indeed have some tricky holes, notably the tough uphill par 3 third, played with a blind tee shot at well over 200 yards; it will play as a par four for most. The fairways are generous but miss them and card wrecking is the order of the day, as there are OOB on more than half the holes. As a testimony, I amassed 15 over par on only 3 holes, including a 10 on the 363 yard par four 17th.

The stroke index 2, ninth hole, a long par four, the longest hole on the front nine, with both par fives coming after the turn.

Despite several holes being routed around “Leet Water”, a tributary of the Tweed, the river doesn’t come into play much. The best aspect of the course was the variety in hole lengths, the use of dog legs (on 5 holes) and the use of quite small greens often sloping front to back. Collectively the slope rating of 124 felt spot on for me.

The par 5 18th hole, played downhill it gives a good birdie chance to finish.

At only £32 for a round, with discounts on offer though Golfnow (we paid only £22) it’s okay value, but with a bit of work, especially to the bunkers, it would be really worth playing at that price point.

As to the course name, here’s a suggestion. “Coldstream Golf Club – The First and Last in Scotland”. That would remove the secrecy.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70  (2 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5820 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 98

Moly’s 29 points despite his 98 including 15 over collectively on holes 5, 13 and 17. Golf!

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.
« Older posts

© 2024 Scotland Golf Bible

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑