Category: 2 star (Page 5 of 7)

44. North Inch. 10th June 2016.

June 12, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Historic course with some challenging holes, but let down by its poor condition given its vulnerability to flooding.

Round £15. Par 68. Value (out of 5) 2.5

‘The Inch’ is one of the worlds oldest golfing venues (supposedly dating back 500 years) and sits on the banks of the River Tay in the city of Perth. It is the base for the ‘Royal Perth Golfing Society’ founded in 1833, a year older than the R & A of St Andrews. Although the “royal” connection is there, this is very much a local authoritity pay and play course accessible to all.

4th at North Inch, the first of 6 par 3s on this historic course.

The course traces its current roots to 6 holes in 1803, and it had several holes laid out by Tom Morris himself in the late 19th century; after various course guises it became the current 18 hole layout in 1927.

Given its flat layout and location adjacent to the river it has become very vulnerable to flooding and was submersed under water as recently as 2012. This accounts for much of the poor condition of several fairways I experienced, and whilst the course has made a dramitic recovery, it was nonetheless in a poor condition, which is such a pity given its historical importance to the home of golf. The teeing grounds in particular could do with a lot of work.

The short par 3 9th, showing the poor teeing area.

However, given its very reasonable price of £15, it represents decent value, and there are also some challenging holes to overcome. The back 9 is the tougher of the two, and the 5 hole stretch from 11th-15th provide the toughest golf. The 11th is the worthy SI 1 hole, where only a drive exceeding 250 yards off the white tee can get you to the dog leg apex, still leaving a mid iron to the small green, with the approach shot having to negotiate a 100 yard long ditch along the left side of the fairway.

The long 13th looking back from the green, presents a difficult drive.

The River Tay only comes into view and play at the tough par 4 15th and the very short 79 yard 16th.

I had the most mercurial of golf rounds. I was 1 under for the 6 par 3s, yet 26 over for the other 12 holes, including 4 lost balls off the tee!

The 16th with the River Tay on the left – not really in play.

If you are in Perth on holiday, it’s worth playing “The Inch”, but I wouldn’t go out of your way just for the golf.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 71 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance (white) 5442 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 93

Moly’s amazingly mercurial scorecard: -1 for the 6 par 3s, and +26 for the other 12 holes! Driving was very poor!

41. Letham Grange Glens. 3rd Jun 2016. CLOSED

June 4, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Mainly open parkland course, with a tough finishing stretch

Round £30 ( variable on-line). Par 68. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Letham Grange, on the outskirts of Arbroath, has likely had more written about it in court proceedings than in golfing magazines! It is one of the failed attempts in Scotland to create an American style Golf & Country Club Estate similar to Gleneagles, or Wentworth in Surrey. Opened in 1987 as a full resort, the hotel and many facilities are long since closed.

Approach to the 2nd on the Glens at Letham Grange, a typical open parkland hole.

The club members, several living in the many fine houses which still adorn the fairways, now do a great job at keeping the Old course and the smaller Glens course open.

The Glens Course opened in 1992 and is at 5528 yards, much shorter and less demanding than the Old course. The parkland layout is very open for the first 12 holes, but the stretch from the 13th to 17th is much more challenging and will dictate your scorecard.

The 9th green at Letham Grange Glens course

In particular the short par 4 14th requires a very acurate tee shot; the dog leg 15th needs a straight shot of about 200 yards to the tree lined dog-leg; and the 17th is a pretty scary drive down an avenue of trees about 40 yards wide.

The condition of the course was pretty reasonable, with the highlight being the very well maintained teeing grounds. However, the bunkers though were actually terrible, with a thin covering of grainy sand over hard packed earth – unfortunately I found several bunkers eventually realising the only way to play them was to chip the ball cleanly off the sand.

The difficult to find small 15th green, part of the difficult stretch of 5 holes from 13 to 17 on the Glens course

The price of the Glens is £30 per round and I was able to play on the Carnoustie Country offer, and paid only £15. At the full price its not the best value by any means in Angus.

I had a good round with 37 stableford points (using the new 9/10s allowance), and played to my new handicap of 18, which included an 8 on the par 4 3rd, needing to take 2 shots to get out of a greenside bunker.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 68 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance (white) 5528 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 86

Moly’s Letham Grange Glens Scorecard – 86 (net par off 18)

39. Dalmunzie. 18th May 2016

May 22, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Enjoy the great views but don’t bother playing the course

Round £15. Par 30. Value (out of 5) – 1.5

Dalmunzie golf course is situated on the Dalmunzie Estate located at the Spital of Glenshee, mid way between Blairgowrie and Braemar, just south of the Glenshee skiing centre.

Long 235 yards Par 3 first hole at Dalmunzie

The course was designed by Tom Simpson in the 1920s as a private course for Sir Archibald Birkmyre, who was from a family line of “Jute Barons” based in India.

The views from the course are pretty spectacular. However, the estate and the course have long since past their glory days, and show signs of a lack of maintenance. This is a shame as the architect created some really challenging holes.

The 1st, 4th, 5th and 7th in my view are all really tough par 3s, all with very different challenges.

Fran on 3rd tee at Dalmunzie

The opening hole plays like a short par 4, judgement of distance is difficult on both the mid-iron 4th and 5th holes, and the short 7th plays over the “Shee Water” burn to a very small “front to back” target. Play well on these holes and you’ll likely score well overall. The long par 4 6th at 450 yards is also a challenge.

Difficult 5th hole with Green tucked on the plateau on the right

The course was in poor condition when we played, in particular the greens were badly in need of cutting. The general condition of the course was “tired”.

Critical to get distance right on the par 3 7th hole.

On the day, I played to one over handicap, which given that the greens were so poor I was pretty happy with – I also hit it in the water in front of the 7th green but at least found 3 others in the water waiting to be found!

9th green at Dalmuzie with dilapidated tennis courts in the background - an apt finishing hole at Dalmunzie

The mole surrounded 9th green at Dalmuzie with dilapidated tennis courts in the background – an apt finishing hole sadly at Dalmunzie

Some Facts

Course Type: Highland

Par 30 (3 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance 2099 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 41

Stableford 16

Moly’s Dalmunzie Scorecard – 40

37. Strathmore Leitfie Links. 22 Apr 2016.

April 24, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Little 9 hole course ideal for holiday or starter golf – but not a Links!

Round £12. Par 29. Value (out of 5) – 3

Leitfie Links is a 9 hole course and part of the Strathmore Golf Centre which also has the 18-hole Rannaleroch Course. The centre is in the Strathmore valley, sometimes referred as the River Isla valley, in eastern Perthshire, close to the town of Alyth.

4th hole at Leitfie Links – one of the 2 par 4s

As I was playing the “links”, I couldn’t help wondering if any foreign holiday maker had ever turned up for a taster of Scottish “Links” golf and come away wondering what all the fuss was about. After all, this very open parkland layout of only 1666 yards is about as far removed from a test of Scottish Links than you could imagine. Although much debate exists about what defines a “links” course, if any “links” copyright were ever developed Leitfie would definitely not qualify!

3rd green at Leitfie Links

Nonetheless, Leitfie (the name of the local hamlet and associated farm) is a great place if you were looking for either a taster of golf or a short 1 hour warm up before playing its challenging 18 hole neighbour.

4th green at Leitfie Links, which is in the heart of rural farmland

Although its a short course, the small greens, some sloping, and the couple of long pars 3s (2 and 8) make it a challenge especially for your scrambling game. The 8th, in particular, is very tricky to hit with a hedge running very tight the whole 200 yards from tee to green. The 2 tier 9th green is also very difficult to find on the right level.

The course was in quite good condition, with nice fairways, but no more than average tees and greens. However, for the price and the fact you can go round as many times as you like in a day, it represents good value.

The 110 yard 9th at Leitfie Links – a tricky 2 level green requires precise distance control

I went round twice and was 39 versus the card of 29 the first time round; this was to my new handicap (20) that was recently cut following an improvement in my game having had lessons from Ross Dixon of the Renaissance Club – Ross is highly recommended.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 29 (2 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

Distance 1666 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 39 (first 9 on card below)

Stableford 17

Strathmore Leitfie Links Scorecard – 39

Category: 2 star (Page 5 of 7)

44. North Inch. 10th June 2016.

Par 71 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

41. Letham Grange Glens. 3rd Jun 2016. CLOSED

Par 68 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

39. Dalmunzie. 18th May 2016

Par 30 (3 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

37. Strathmore Leitfie Links. 22 Apr 2016.

Par 29 (2 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

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