Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 3 star (Page 5 of 14)

118. Callander. 4 Nov 2020.

January 25, 2022 /

A course down on its luck, well worth playing, but this is no “Gleneagles” as its web site infers.

Round £24. Par 63. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 62.6/105. Value (out of 5) – 4

There is a well known equation for individual business success – “under promise and over deliver”. Why do some golf clubs get this completely inverted by “over promising and under delivering”. Callander Golf Club is a perfect example of this error.

Callander golf club has seen much better days – its website is also living in the past.

The club has clearly seen better days – the photo above gives a glimpse of the state of its infrastructure. The ‘temporary’ clubhouse was a shipping container. Its web site includes the following statements, some quoted from media outlets:

“Callander Golf Club is probably the most scenic golf course in the UK“,

“The charming and challenging 15th is one of the most famous par 3s in Scotland“,

“‘The Scotsman’ includes Callander … ahead of Carnoustie’s Championship Course.“

“‘Golf Monthly’ rated Callander among the top ten courses in Scotland for visitors, alongside Gleneagles, Turnberry and St. Andrews.“

These statements, collectively, are so wide of the mark – in my humble opinion of course! Just image a touring golfer, having played Gleneagles, Turnberry, St Andrews and Carnoustie, turning up at Callander expecting something similar.

Callander’s 7th, one of the many short par 4s, this one called ‘Blind’ for obvious reasons off the tee.

Please, don’t get me wrong, this is a really fun and lovely golf course set within the beautiful Trossachs area of central Scotland, with very picturesque surroundings, some great and memorable holes and in decent condition.

The 6th at Callander, ‘Dell’, the most difficult of all the holes , in full Autumn colours

The course was opened in 1892 as 9 holes designed by Old Tom Morris, then Willie Fernie extended it to 18 holes in 1914. Heady architects both.

This is, in particular, brilliant holiday golf. It’s short, at well under 5000 yards from the yellow tees. It has fairly generous fairways, not too many bunkers and relatively straightforward greens. There is an abundance of par 3s, with five on the back 9 alone, including the cute 15th, where play is through, or more likely, above a tiny channel between tall trees. It’s memorable, and one of those holes that demands straight hitting.

The Slope Rating of 105, gives most golfers the chance of posting a great score for 18 holes – that’s always nice.

The 16th at Callander, with Ben Ledi in the background

Its well worth playing – but don’t expect to be playing Gleneagles – the green fee will tell the true story, and to that extent it’s also a great course for serious golfers to play as well, in order to experience the great value golf Scotland has to offer. Scots are known for being honest, so lets set the record straight on the web site.

The wonderful par three 15th – ‘Avenue’. But not as famous as, for example, the ‘postage stamp’

On a very wet Autumnal day, with colours in late bloom, Fran and I had the course pretty much to ourselves. I played decent to shoot 80

Course Type: Parkland

Par 64 (0 par 5s (although 1 on the white), 10 par 4s, 8 par 3s)

Distance: 4470

Moly’s Gross score: 80

Moly’s scorecard at Callander – 80

116. Kirkcudbright. 28 Oct 2020.

January 10, 2022 /

‘Kuh coo bree’ – worth a visit to this course and the local art galleries

Round £32. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68/117. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

The town of Kirkcudbright, mysteriously pronounced ‘Kuh-coo-bree’, sits on the east of the River Dee estuary in Dumfries and Galloway. It’s a remarkable place; festooned with art galleries and nice coffee shops – one could imagine it being twinned with Glastonbury, the epi-centre of Druids in Somerset, England.

The course, set above the town, gives excellent views of The Galloway Hills providing a very picturesque backdrop – here Moly tees at the 3rd, one of the more straight forward holes – a short par 4.

The town was home of The ‘Kircudbright’ artist movement in the late 1800s, and several of the galleries tell that story. The golf course was in fact founded in 1893, at the very height of the art movement in the town. I wondered how many of the artists, some of international significance, ever played the golf course – after all, the first hole, (Charles) ‘Oppenheimer’ is named after one of the towns best know artists?

A birdie opportunity at the fairly short downhill par five 8th, stroke index 15, hole at Kirkcudbright.

The course was originally 9 holes and only extended to 18 holes in the 1970s, unfortunately neither original or extension architect are listed in the website. After a fairly benign opening par 4 , the second is played uphill across the current 15th hole. After a short par four 3rd, the first of the several difficult holes is the 4th – although a relatively short dog leg right, judging the distance off the tee is crucial to avoid a lost ball. On the day, I saw an old man in the woods searching for golf balls – it was as if I saw the “ghost of golf future” for me.

The signature ninth hole, a challenging par 3 likely requiring a mid to long iron for most players.

The extension of the course, includes a nice run of holes, from 9 through 12, by far the most nuanced part of the course. The 12th, in particular would fit into a much higher standard layout.

The course was in pretty good condition when I played with Fran, but there were a few winter greens in early use, even although they seemed completely playable, and firm.

The beautiful par five 12th hole, the best on the course, in Moly’s opinion. The stroke index of 2 fully justified.

I shot 91, and played pretty well on the back 9, where I had 18 stableford points. This was helped by the wide fairway in the main.

Another wonderful quirk is that the clubhouse is used by an award winning Thai restaurant – I loved this and it just seemed so befitting this ‘cool’ place. The artists would undoubtedly been customers of the restaurant, even if they were not golfers!

Lastly, I have to mention the few local members in the clubhouse were really friendly and helpful explaining the layout of the course.

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance: 5412

Moly’s Gross score: 91

A struggle to 91 at Kirkcudbright golf course

115. Gatehouse. 26 Oct 2020.

January 2, 2022 /

Joyful little gem

Round £15. Par 33. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 32/115. Value (out of 5) – 4

Can you only have fun playing golf if you play well? That was the question I pondered when assessing Gatehouse, a 9 hole golf course in Gatehouse of Fleet, a lovely little town in Dumfries and Galloway, which takes its name from the “Water of Fleet’ river that flows to the sea at nearby Kirkcudbright.

Moly at the short par three 5th tee at Gatehouse with magnificent Dumfries and Galloway backdrop.

It is a ‘highland/heathland’ course, with outstanding views. The clubhouse, a lovely little ‘shed’ type building, shouted ‘golf in its basic form’ to me. The course has been around for a hundred years (founded 1921) and probably has changed very little.

The second at Gatehouse, a beautiful mid length, par 4, with blind tee shot – plenty of room to the left of the marker.

The course has plenty of variety as well, requiring all your clubs (well me, anyway) – one par 5, four par 3s and 4s. The par 3s in particular are varied and collectively difficult. The first, an uphill par 3 of over 200 yards, played like a short par 4. The 8th and 9th are great finishing holes, with the downhill 160 yard 9th presenting a potential disaster if you go long – don’t do that.

The approach shot to the par 4 forth hole, at 322 yards (white), with the wonderful views.

I played well – scoring 37, 4 over par – on this course that I wouldn’t recommend for the ‘occasional’ golfer. It’s very undulating, a tough walk, has small greens and many blind tee and approach shots. It was quite slippery when I played and actually could be a bit hazardous (my playing partner Fran fell on one of the slopes).

The difficult par 3 eight hole, where being long is better than short.

Overall, its really great value golf. The greens and fairways were in excellent condition and overall this is highly recommended.

The ‘highland’ style clubhouse, typical of Scottish 9 hole courses.

But even without playing well, I think I would have come to the same conclusion – this is Scottish golf personified in many ways.

Course Type: Heathland

Par 33 (1 par 5, 4 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 2418

Moly’s Gross score: 37

Moly’s scorecard at Gatehouse – 37 and great fun

108. Corrie. 19 Sep 2020

October 19, 2021 /

Dishonest golfers spoil it for the majority at this spectacular setting

Round £20 (no 9 hole price). Par 62. Slope (yellow) 90. Value (out of 5) – 2

In assessing value for money at Corrie, a beautiful little 9 hole golf course in the Sannex Glen on the east of the island of Arran, you have a real conundrum. How do you assess the value for a 9 hole course, when they don’t have a rate for playing only 9 holes? It was £20 for the day, no matter how much you play. When asking some local members about the lack of a 9 hole rate, they advised me that in the past they had had several instances where people had paid for 9 holes but gone round twice. As often the case, the behaviour of the few, spoils it for the many.

The view from the second tee at Corrie, looking up Sannex Glen

Had there been a 9 hole rate of (say) £15, I would have said it was 4 out of 5 for value, but with no 9 hole rate it’s only 2 out of 5 in my book. There is a principle here.

Having got that off my chest, I’ll get on to the next criticism – Corrie must be the most hazardous course I’ve played, due to fairways crossing each other. The 7th, a stroke Index 93 (see card below?) downhill par 4 crosses over the 3rd fairway at about driving length! I just hope the club use some of those over-priced fees for golf insurance, because someone will inevitably get hit by a golf ball. Perhaps the SI 93 isn’t a typo, but the number of accidents that have occurred so far.

“Smearing Horse”, the stroke index one 6th hole at Corrie

After the straight forward par 3 opening hole, the course vies up to the left into Glen Sannex and you witness for the first time the spectacular punch bowl in which the golf course is situated. Play on a fine day, like Fran and I did, and there are some heavenly view all around.

The par 4 7th hole, which crossed the 3rd fairway. Be careful!

The course was in really good condition when we played, but I can imagine that the slopes could be treacherous when the course is wet. I’m sure the rain floods over the course off the hills. Therefore, if you’re visiting Arran, perhaps keep an eye our for nice weather before playing Corrie.

It’s also worth visiting the cafe which is located in the small club house – it had good ratings on Facebook and is worth the visit with its nice range of cakes.

The views towards the sea from the 5th green at Corrie

The course was founded in 1892, so it’s a well established layout, and I get the impressions that it’s not been changed much over the years. The web site doesn’t have any history, but does have a nice layout explaining the holes, each labeled with the hole name. The sixth hole, an uphill par 4, well deserves the Stroke Index 1 rating, and is called “Smearing Horse” – I would love to hear from anyone who knows the origin of that name.

Hitting “up the Glen” from the tee at the short par 4 3rd at Corrie

At only 3220 yards for the 18 holes (sic) off the yellow, with Slope Index 90, this should allow people to get a low round in. I was only 2 over gross, with no birdies, and can’t remember playing better. But with only 4 or so bunkers that I counted, this is a flattering score really.

No golf trip to Arran should miss Corrie, but I recommend planning to go around twice to get your money’s worth.

Facts:

Course Type: Highland

Par 31 (0 par 5s, 4 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance: 1610

Moly’s Gross score: 33

Moly’s lowest every 9 hole course score – 33

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