Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 4 star (Page 3 of 20)

154. Montrose 1562. 11 July 22.

November 22, 2022 /

Spectacular natural links, but undermined by misleading branding.

Round £100. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 70.3/126. Value (out of 5) – 3

Moly’s score – 91

Golfers often stand on a tee and ask “Where’s the green?”. On Montrose’s first tee, I can imagine a newcomer to links golf asking “Where’s the course?”.

The expanse of links land on view from the Montrose 1562 first tee, albeit in 1562 there would have been no course in this view!

Montrose’s 1562 layout is one of the most natural of all links courses, and as such should be a priority for those wanting to experience this form of the game at its most basic.

Bear in mind the prevailing wind is left to right at this very formidable tee shot at the second on Montrose. Like many, I suspect, I found the brilliantly positioned left hand fairway bunker. I don’t think there can be many holes where the right hand side OOB starts to your left?

Formerly named the Montrose Medal, the ‘1562’ label has only been used since 2018; ‘1562’ derived from the claim that golf has been played on the land from that year. The current course’s story and location actually begins in the 1860s, and evolved over a 50 year period during which a number of legends, starting with Old Tom Morris and ending with Harry Colt who designed the existing course in 1913. Colt had laid out the Montrose Broomfield course a few years earlier (My earlier blog here). So in fact, the more ‘junior’ of the two Montrose courses, ‘Broomfield’, actually pre-dates the ‘1562’ course!

Frank Crowe playing a typical links shot with the putter from well off the 6th green, with the poor fairway condition on show.

Like a number of Scottish Links, there were several different golf clubs that played on the same course, often in club matches versus each other, but sadly only two of them – Royal Montrose Mercantile and Montrose Caledonia – still exist and can be used by visiting golfers.

Brian Fearon putts onto the par three 12th green, one of the holes on the east-west spur away from the coast. Looked over by Gordon Samson

The course is a really honest test of links golf, set on the robust and fast running links land of the Angus coastline. There are six northbound coastal holes, starting from the daunting 2nd, then turning back south for a couple of holes, before an east to west and back gorse-laden spur from holes 10 through 15.

The par three 16th, a very difficult hole. Arguably plays like a par 4, in the prevailing wind.

The par three 16th and par four 17th are then two holes that are good enough for the Championship course of Carnoustie; fitting, as Montrose has been used as a Final Open Qualifying venue. Many a good round will have been destroyed on those late holes.

The characteristic feel of the Montrose 1562 course, here at the “Valley” 8th hole.

Unfortunately, when I played alongside 3 of my former Apex trustees, for the inaugural “Apex Trophy”, the course was not in great condition. We encountered the ‘choice’, but very accurate, language of a few local members of this hardy Angus town, mid way between the cities of Dundee and Aberdeen. I was ‘telt’ by an old guy (in his 80s, fully adorned in football colours) that “Son, the course is in its worst …… state I’ve ever seen and I’ve been a member for more than 50 years!”. It was certainly not conditioned good enough for the £65 twilight round fee, never mind the £100 daytime fee.

Moly teeing it at the final hole, one of the easier holes at Montrose. The original course was off to the left of this hole.

Nevertheless, the bunkers and greens were decent, and the quality of the layout and challenge was never in doubt, with the yellow tees still presenting 6137 yards in length. A strong wind would undo any golfer here.

I played pretty well for 91, but this was nowhere near good enough for the trophy with Gordon Samson shooting an excellent 83 (40 points), and will be severely cut for the next trophy outing!

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 70  (1 par 5s, 14 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 6137 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 91

Moly’s Montrose 1562 scorecard – 91

153. Banchory. 10 July 22.

November 15, 2022 /

Dream society venue in this delightful Deeside setting.

Round £50. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 67.1/123. Value (out of 5) – 4

Moly’s score – 91

Banchory golf course got me thinking about what makes for an ideal society venue. A course in great condition, with greens probably better than your home course. A beautiful and scenic surround. A challenge, but not one that will cost you half a dozen balls. A course that gives all handicaps a chance. Some short par 3s, to give a fun ‘nearest the pin’. Plus, a great clubhouse with good catering of course.

The short third hole, at 125 yards, where club selection will be a challenge for the visitor – I found the rear bunker ending up with a 6. Take two clubs less then yardage, into the right of the green.

I don’t think I’ve played a course that has greater society day credentials than Banchory; set in Royal Deeside in Aberdeenshire, the course is just over 5500 yards from the yellow tees. Set alongside the river Dee, the water only comes into play once, for any approach shot sliced into the par four 11th green. The course favours a drawer of the ball, with several OOB being to the right of the largely anti-clockwise routed layout. That was not always the case however – more of later.

The approach to the 4th, very typical of the course, where an umbrella is not normally needed for sun.

The course has six par threes and two par fives; it is rather imbalanced with a par of 32 for the front nine and 36 on the back. The par threes are the star here, with four of them (3rd, 9th, 12th and the 80 yard 16th) being both collectively varied and memorable.

The delightful par three 16th, the “‘Doo’ Cot” (in sight on the tower), at only 80 yards. Take a 95 yard club, anything longer will likely put you on the 1st fairway (like me), facing a daunting chip back.

The start of the course is marked by a nice memorial for Open Champion Paul Lawrie, who started his formative professional career here. Fittingly, ‘Chippy’s’ monument is made of granite.

The 12th, ‘The Wood’, aptly named as for lower handicaps that’s likely the correct club selection into this 171 yard par three, with a ‘hidden’ ditch guarding the green.

Opened in 1905, the original architect is not recorded anywhere I could find, but it is noted on several websites that the course was revamped in the 1990s, by architect John Souter. Speaking to a couple of local members about some unusually sited greenside bunkers, I was told that this was a result of the revamp which changed course routing, but didn’t redesign all the greenside bunkers.

The three ‘blind’ bunkers behind the 14th green, make sense when you realise they used to be on the left of the approach to this rerouted hole. This makes for an odd resulting architectural feature

We played on a spectacularly warm day, with the course in great condition. Fast running fairways actually caused some long drives to find bunkers I would never normally reach, but I was compensated by being able to reach the par five 15th, at 490 yards, in two, resulting in a 2 putt birdie, a rare event in my golfing life.

The approach to the dog leg right par four 8th hole, worthy of being SI 4 at Banchory.

Although fairly open parkland, the trees are widely dispersed and come into play a lot. You’re always likely to find a stray shot, but you’ll probably be penalised. Additionally, most of the bunkers are fairly deep, meaning they are a proper hazard, thankfully the sand is very good. The greens were true, but slower than anticipated. I felt I played generally well, but still racked up 91, 9 over my net handicap.

‘Laird’s Cast’, the 150 yard 9th hole, with the best green surround (in my opinion) at Banchory. I think it’s tougher that SI16.

Banchory is good value golf, especially when using a Golfnow discount – we paid only £23. I can understand why it is such a desirable and popular visitors course.

The impressive clubhouse, looking over the finishing hole at Banchory.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 67  (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5567 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 91

Moly’s Banchory scorecard – 91

150. Pitreavie (Dunfermline). 7 July 22.

October 21, 2022 /

Foreshadows of Augusta at Dr Alister MacKenzie’s only Fife creation

Round £30. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.8/134. Value (out of 5) – 5

Paul Brookes, the professional at Pitreavie GC asked me, “Name an architect that has three courses consistently in any list of the world’s top 100 courses?”. He was, of course, speaking about the courses Augusta National, Cypress Point and The West Course at Royal Melbourne, all creations of Dr Alister MacKenzie. Paul could even rephrase the question to be “in the top 10 or 20 best courses ever built”, such is the regard for these designs.

The ‘camoufleur’ skill of Alister Mackenzie on show at the par three 3rd hole. A brilliant golf hole.

You could spend a lifetime, and a fortune, trying to play all of these top 10 world courses; however, you can get a glimpse of MacKenzie’s skill by playing Pitreavie in Dunfermline for no more than £30. Pitreavie is one of only three courses in Scotland fully designed by MacKenzie, the other two being Hazlehead Municipal in Aberdeen and the Eden course at St Andrews.

Moly tees it up at the fifth hole, one of the more scoreable par 4s on Pitreavie.

Born of Scottish parents, MacKenzie was in fact a Yorkshireman. His Scottish name must have been handy though in the early 20th Century US golf growth period, at a time when many of the great Scottish designers, such as Donald Ross (Pinehurst) and Tom Bendelow were making great advances.

The very wide and narrow 12th green at Pitreavie, a downhill par 3 of only 135 yards. A great hole. The entrance is from the right of this picture.

After two par fives to start, the third is the first real glimpse of MacKenzie’s skill. A long par three, it is the stroke index 2 hole, with a teeing ground almost 65 yards long giving many distance options. But looking at the hole you can’t readily see how hazardous it is. Medical army doctor MacKenzie had specialised during the Boer war and then WW1 to become a camoufleur, a specialist in camouflage. He was to later note the similarities between camouflage and golf design. At the 3rd, there is a hidden burn running across the front and up the right of the long multi level green. It is a formidable ‘camouflaged’ hole, as your eye is drawn naturally to the green tiers.

The third, the most beguiling of par 3rd at nearly 200 yards. I can imaging even low handicap players playing as a 2 shot hole.

This clever use of the burn is brought into play on several more holes, notably the par threes 6th and 12th holes, and most cunningly at the par four 13th hole, the Stroke Index 1. When you play Pitreavie, keep in mind the use of Ray’s Creek at Augusta, especially at the front of the 13th green. It’s the symmetry between both 13th holes, at Augusta and Pitreavie, that adds to the story.

The wonderful par four SI1 13th hole at Pitreavie. Have a close look at the course map (top right) at how the burn cuts into the green, but is completely unseen from the approach (bottom right). You can see my ball in the top left picture!

Another feature of the course is the undulating terrain. This gives rise to the question about how closely did MacKenzie follow his own 13 principles of course design published in Golf Architecture (1920). “The greens and fairways should be undulating, but there should be no hill climbing”, also “There should be a minimum of blindness for the approach shots”. Whilst there are several blind tee shots, there are indeed no blind approach shots; however, I’ll leave readers to find out about how tough a walk it is in places!

I met up with local members, father and son, Ian and Dean Black. Ian on the left here, with both shown playing into the 17th green.

The course was in great condition when I played. The sand in the bunkers was perfect, often an overlooked part of parkland maintenance. There are also outstanding views from several tees, towards the Queensferry Bridge.

The fairways were fairly open, which reinforces the difficulty of the green surrounds that contribute to the slope indices well into the 130s for both white and yellow tees.

I met up with local members Ian Black and his son Dean, and we enjoyed a few holes together, and I listened to how they were very happy with the course and how good value the membership was.

The beautiful 18th green at Pitreavie, adhering to Alister MacKenzie’s design principles.

I played well, shooting 89 for 34 stableford points, with only one blob/disaster at the 10th, where I took an 8 at one of the few dog leg holes.

As to value, although there are a few weaker holes, to be able to experience some of MacKenzie’s genius at no more than £30 (I paid only £17.99 on Golfnow) means 5 out of 5 for me. This is outstanding value and highly recommended.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (yellow): 5781 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 89

Moly’s Pitreavie scorecard – 89 for 34 stableford points.

149. Paul Lawrie Golf Centre. 6 Jul 22.

October 9, 2022 /

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!
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