Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 3.5 star (Page 4 of 10)

92. Fairmont Torrance. 9 Dec 2018.

July 21, 2019 /

American style resort “Links” designed by Sam Torrance, the Scottish former Ryder Cup player/captain     

Round £95.   Par 72.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

The Torrance is one of two courses on the Fairmont hotel complex just outside St Andrews.  The resort was opened as the St Andrews Bay Golf Resort and Spa by the American pharmaceutical entrepreneur Dan Panoz in 2001, but has transferred ownership a number of times since.  The sister course is the Kitticks which I previously blogged.  Both courses are championship venues and have hosted major qualifying and senior events, albeit the Torrance is regarded the senior course, and is named after its designer the Scottish golfer Sam Torrance..

The 6th at The Torrance, Fairmont St Andrwews, with the hotel in view.

Both courses previously had a headline Summer rate of £140, although new management has repriced it at “only” £95.  I say “only” to highlight how crazy, in my opinion, golf prices in Scotland have become at the higher end of the market – Kingsbarns, only a couple of miles away, is £275 for a 2019 summer round!  Assessing “value”, my key course assessment, is inevitably subjective, especially considering the different types of golfers each course targets – Kingsbarns starter box has a toll free American number!  Comparing “value” between Kingsbarns (£275), St Andrews New (£90), Scotscraig (£70), Tain (£65), or the Kittocks at £95, is highly debatable….but good fun! (all 2019 prices)

Although playing in mid-December full tees and greens were in play, and the course was in good condition.  Like its sister Kittocks course, it is quite open with wide fairways. The greens are generally very large and fast.   

The Torrance course meanders around the hotel and takes in some great views, of the North Sea, the Tay Estuary towards the Angus coastline and from the 11th has great views across to St Andrews.

It is worth noting that, in my opinion, its not a true links as the turf is more arable, and certainly in other that the height of summer, the course wont necessitate any running links approach shots.

Best holes for me were the risk/reward par four 7th, which could be driven, otherwise a straight forward dog leg right requiring a hybrid off the tee; the dog leg right 10th hole, which the prevailing westerly wind will challenge the strongest driver, and; for the view, the short 11th with “The Auld Toon” in the background.

I played and scored better on The Torrance than I had on The Kittocks the year before. I shot 96, but only 44 on the front nine, which was my best nine holes of the year.

If you are looking for a golf resort whilst in St Andrews, the Fairmont offers a great location with the fees for unlimited golf on both courses during your stay being very reasonable and much better value than a single round.   I got a good deal with a winter fee of only £30, but my score of 3.5 represents a value at £95 per round.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 72 (4 par 5, 10 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 6051

Moly’s Gross score: 96

Moly’s scorecard at The Torrance – 96 for 30 Stableford points.

90. Musselburgh. 22 Oct 2018.

July 20, 2019 /

The highest ranked of the three Musselburgh courses even though the other two are more historically significant

Round  £60.   Par 71.  Value (out of 5) – 4

Musselburgh is the largest of the towns in East Lothian, situated on the coast about 5 miles from Edinburgh and close to the start of the great North Berwick coastal run of courses which includes Muirfield.

1st at Musselburgh, a very typically picturesque example of this courses holes

But to say you’re playing ‘Musselburgh’ doesn’t really clarify matters, nor indeed is saying you’re playing in Musselburgh. There are in fact three named ‘Musselburgh’ courses: ‘Musselburgh Links’, which is in Musselburgh and recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest course in the world; ‘Royal Musselburgh’, the regally appointed course somewhat nearer to Prestonpans than Musselburgh and; plain old ‘Musselburgh’, which is actually in Monktonhall. Confused?

Given that the two other Musselburgh courses enjoy either a pedigree as the oldest course in the world or has a ‘royal’ appendage, I suspect many people are surprised to learn that the course simply called ‘Musselburgh’ is the highest rated of the 3 in most compilations of Scotland’s courses.

The well bunkered short 3rd hole at Musselburgh

This Musselburgh course opened in 1938 having been designed by James Braid as “a championship” layout. Off the back tees it’s over 6800 years long, and hosts many regional standard competitions, and in the past has held regional Open qualifiers and the Final Qualifier as recently as 2013, such is the best measure of this course.

Off the yellow tees, Musselburgh is still over 6200 yards, and given the amount of breeze on the day I played, presented a very stiff challenge. I shot 99, but 3 lost balls accounted for my scoring only 27 stableford points. I drove the ball well, and the often generous fairways allowed for that. The course was in good condition, although it was let down by the poor maintenance of the teeing areas and readers of my other blogs will realise this is one of my common misgivings, especially with a green fee of £60.

The ‘hidden’ hazard behind the difficult par 4 15th hole at Musselburgh

Apparently, the golf course was laid out in open parkand, but visionary tree planting during the 1950s has transformed this into a mature parkland setting and I benefited from the late autumnal colour.

Fran drives at the inviting fairway on the 17th at Musselburgh

The greens were in great condition and very true to putt on, but you needed to be careful with the greenside bunkering, which I thought was the best feature of this nice layout. With the trees fully matured and the constant changes in direction, one needed to keep track of the wind direction.

My favourite holes were the short 3rd, the slight dog leg right 9th, which had a ditch which long drivers needed to be mindful of, and the tough par 4 15th where a water hazard lies at the back of the green which I found having hit my longest 7 iron of the season!

The last hole is a very long par 4 uphill to a welcoming clubhouse. Its worth mentioning the friendliness of the staff in the bar.

The brutish finishing uphill par 4 to the awaiting and impressive clubhouse at Musselburgh

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (yellow)   6241 yards

Moly’s Gross Score  99

Moly’s Musselburgh scorecard – 99 for 27 points

87. Archerfield – Dirleton Links. 13 Sep 2018.

October 21, 2018 /

One of the two courses on the Archerfield Estate, Dirleton demands a place in the “Faux” Links discussion

Round £90…plus hotel residency!   Par 72.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Nestled between Muirfield and North Berwick, and adjacent to the magnificent Renaissance, the Dirleton Links and Fidra Links courses form the golfing challenges of the Archerfield Estate, a development created by the Edinburgh businessman Kevin Doyle over the last 15 years.   These additions strengthen the case that this East Lothian region is Scotland’s premier golfing destination.  Read my Fidra Links blog here and my Renaissance blog here.

The magnificent par 5 5th at Archerfield’s Dirleton Links, with Fran on the tee,

The estate has a range of 5 star accommodation options, with the 17th Century, 16 bedroom, flagship Archerfield House being available to rent in part or in whole.    With great accommodation, a quite superb Scandinavian inspired spa (I thoroughly recommend the Golfers Recover massage), and first rate practice facilities on offer, this is a world class golf resort on Edinburgh’s doorstep.  Curiously, the clubhouse restaurant and bar is adorned with African art, giving it a colonial feel?

The par 4 2nd, a typical hole at Dirleton, with the gorse surrounding the fairways.

In considering Dirleton Links, there is an argument that this is a “Faux” Links, a term that has gained traction in recent years, mainly coined for inland courses, designed to replicate Links conditions.  A couple of definitions are worth referring to:

The Wikipedia Definition of a Links course includes  “..comes via the Scots, meaning “rising ground, ridge” and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and …. is typically characterised by () an undulating surface, and a sandy soil unsuitable for arable farming but which readily supports various indigenous browntop bents and red fescue grasses, that result in the firm turf associated with links courses and the ‘running’ game…”

Whereas the meaning of “faux” is “made in imitation; artificial”.

So is Dirleton Links a true links course?  I think what has crept into the game is the thought that Gorse forms a key part of a links layout, and that is what the creator of Dirleton, David J Russell, has surrounded the course with.  However, there is no sand dues to be seen, and I’m convinced that you could plant a fair few “Tatties” on those fairways.  So for me, its not a real links, regardless of the course name.

The view over the “Faux” Links from the beautiful 6th green at Dirleton

However, that’s not to say its a poor course, on the contrary it’s a terrific golf course, which in my opinion is better than its sister Fidra, which appears higher on most ratings lists of

The Archerfield House behind the 7th green at Dirleton Links; which was rented out complete by 4 Americans, during our stay.

Scottish courses.

It’s a very traditional layout with both the outward and back 9s made up of 5 pars 4s, 2 pars 3s and 2 par 5s.  This is my favourite layout, and in addition there is a great mix of long and short par 4s.  The course meanders around itself, so wind direction was always changing from hole to hole.  It was one of those courses where the wind most often seemed to be against though!  It was a very windy day – gusts of up to 45mph, which played havoc with both Fran and my scores.   The fairway bunkers are really well positioned and force strategic decisions off the tee.   Overall a course I would like to take my A game to.

It’s not cheap;  membership via a debenture costs about £30,000, then around £3,000 annual fees.  But, you do get your shoes cleaned and don’t need to worry about paying for range balls.  You can have a “golf experience day” (price unknown), or as I did pay a £90 green fee as an accommodation occupant; I suspect many golfers play both courses either side of a single night B&B stay, which costs about £500; not bad for a short of this quality.  The clubhouse food is pretty good too, and not overpriced.  One of the benefits of the fee was a superb course planner, which was included, illustrated by Kenneth Reed FRSA.

The wonderful course planner at Archerfield’s Dirleton Links, illustrated by Kenneth Reed FRSA.

If you can afford it, its worth staying and playing at Archerfield.

Plus, whether a “Faux” or real Links, its a great course.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 72 (4 par 5s, 10 par 4s,  4 par 3s)

Distance (white): 6133 Yards

Moly’s Gross score: 103

The very high winds – gusts of 40mph – explain the 103 for 23 points

86. Archerfield – Fidra Links. 12 Sep 2018.

October 20, 2018 /

Superbly designed course that could be considered any of links, parkland or woodland!

Round £90…plus hotel residency!   Par 72.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

I felt a little stupid when the answer came to my question “Why is it called Archerfield?”.  “It was where King Edward I’s bowmen practiced in 1298!”

The 1st at Fidra Links, very typical of the first 11 holes.

Fidra Links is one of the two courses on the Archerfield Estate, a golf centred development created by the Edinburgh businessman Kevin Doyle over the last 15 years.  The estate has a range of 5 star accommodation options, with the 17th Century, 16 bedroom, flagship Archerfield House being available to rent in part or in whole.  When my wife and I stayed in a nearby “Pavilion Suite”, we were politely refused entry to Archerfield House by a Concierge, as we weren’t one of the 4 Americans that had rented it for the week.  Get the picture – know your place amongst the clientele of “Scottish” golf these days.

A view towards the Bass Rock from behind the 6th green at Fidra Links

Seriously though, with great accommodation, a quite superb Scandinavian inspired spa, and first rate practice facilities on offer, this is a world class golf resort on Edinburgh’s doorstep.  Curiously, the clubhouse restaurant and bar is adorned with African art, giving it a colonial feel?

Nestled between Muirfield and North Berwick, and adjacent to the magnificent Renaissance,  Fidra Links and Dirleton Links (the other Archerfield course) strengthen the case that this East Lothian region is Scotland’s premier golfing destination.

The approach to the 12th has plenty sand awaiting.

It’s not cheap though;  membership via a debenture costs about £30,000, then around £3,000 annual fees.  But, you do get your shoes cleaned and don’t need to worry about paying for range balls.  You can have a “golf experience day” (price unknown), or as I did pay a £90 green fee as an accommodation occupant; I suspect many golfers play both courses either side of a single night B&B stay, which costs about £500; not bad for a short break of this quality.  The clubhouse food is pretty good too, and not overpriced.

Moly plays straight at the par 3 12th at Fidra Links – straight into the front bunker that is!

 

Fidra “Links” is a beautifully laid out design by architect David J Russell, who has created a great mix of parkland, woodland and links!  It may well be the most tree lined course adjacent to the sea in Scotland; I really don’t know how you would classify it.  The first 11 holes are pine forest protected, with the last 7 holes being the “faux” links holes open to the elements.  The bunkering is often fierce, the greens are large and tricky, and with constant changes of direction, it’s difficult to get an easy couple of holes together, especially if the wind is up as it was for us.   The trees are fairly open at times with the pine undergrowth meaning balls are relatively easy to find, which is a big bonus with my wayward driving game.

The course condition was excellent, as one would expect, and if you were to find any lost balls they are unlikely to be scuffed Top-Fight’s.  Finding good golf balls, especially by having to crawl though thorny bushes, is one of the guilty pleasures in my life!  It was actually more difficult to find the next tee at Fidra, than lost balls, as apparently Mr Dolye doesn’t like signage?  That was my main criticism of the course, as well as the tee options.

There are some great golf holes here.  The SI 2, par 4, 7th hole, is a slight dog leg left, where only a tee shot on the right of the fairway, can avoid having to hit over 2 prominent trees about 50 yards short of the green.  The short par 4 12th has magnificent bunkering awaiting a pushed second. The 14th, into the prevailing wind was well worth the SI1 tag.

The fairway bunker on 15 at Fidra is a typical and well constructed feature.

It wasn’t long from the yellow tee (5463 yards), but with 4 tee options to choose, I played off the white at 6201 yards, and felt I played really well for my 96 and 29 stableford points.  Disappointingly, there were no red tees, the traditional colour used for ladies, which given the current debate about encouraging women to play, didn’t make any sense to me!    The card was though very instructive (see below) as it was printed daily with the pin positions!

If you can afford it, its worth staying and playing at Archerfield.  If you do, I recommend you also splash out on the Golfer’s recovery massage – I didn’t know I had so many knots in my back!

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland/woodland/links

Par 72 (4 par 5s, 10 par 4s,  4 par 3s)

Distance (white): 6201 Yards

Moly’s Gross score: 96

The daily printed scorecard at Archerfield’s Fidra Links – Moly shot 96.

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