Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 3.5 star (Page 6 of 10)

73. St Boswells. 10 Nov 2017.

November 28, 2017 /

Picturesque 9 hole course along the bank of the River Tweed      

Round £15.   Par 35.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

St Boswells golf course is delightfully laid out on the bank of the River Tweed, which is  classed a “lateral water hazard”, in the village of the same name just off the A68 1 mile south of Newtown St Boswells in the Scottish Borders.   It is so close to the river that it might be appropriate to have a local rule forbidding the shouting of “fore”, which must on occasion disturb the many salmon fishermen on the river.

My playing partner Fran drives at the 3rd at St Boswells with the fisherman in the background a common sight on the Tweed.

The course was initially laid out by Open Champion William Park, who wrote ‘the turf resembles that found on seaside courses’.  Indeed, the course does have a slight heathland feel to the surroundings.

The 9th at St Boswells., a short par 4 of 256 yards to finish.

The course was in fact abandoned for 10 years between 1948 – 1958 due to a major river flood, and I couldn’t find out in what way the new layout the differs from the original Willie Park design.

Other than the slight uphill par 3 first hole, followed by the significant drop down to the signature par 3 second green, the course is very flat, unlike many of the courses in the Borders.

The signature 161 yard par 3 second hole, with the beautiful Borders countryside in the background.

This makes for an easy and most picturesque walk for holes 3 through 9.  The course is very favourable to a slicer of the ball, with the river tight along the left for holes 3 to 6, with trees lining the left for the return to the clubhouse from 7 to 9.   The greens were in good condition, albeit they are quite flat other than the 7th, a short par 5 hole, with a basin or saddle type green.

The 5th green at St Boswells with River Tweed awaiting!

The course was very soft when we played despite the high wind on the day, which meant plenty cleaning of muddy balls.  Overall the course had held up well to the recent weather with all greens still in play.

We only paid £5 for 9 holes, but the £15 summer green fee for 9 holes represents good value especially given the beautiful surroundings.   I had a fairly difficult day due to high winds, scoring 50 for only 12 stableford points – including 4 single putts (at 4, 7 and 9)!

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 35 (1 par 5, 5 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (white): 2637

Moly’s Gross score: 50

Moly’s St Boswells scorecard – 50 for 12 points!

72. Crieff Dornock. 2nd Nov 2017.

November 3, 2017 /

Pleasant 9 hole course well suited to holiday or “warm up” golf     

Summary:  Round £12.   Par 32.  Value (out of 5) – 4

Crieff Golf Club’s main course, Ferntower, is one of Scotland’s highly regarded inland courses.  The other course, the 9 hole Dornock layout, benefits from the same fine clubhouse and facilities, green keeping staff and well stocked pro-shop, making this a first rate choice for a holiday round of golf if you have a couple of hours to spare.

The 9th green at Crieff’s Dornock course, with the clubhouse in the background.

The club was established in 1891, and Old Tom Morris designed the main course, but the Dornock course only opened in 1980.  The open and beautiful Perthshire parkland on which both courses sit was part of the Victorian Spa ground of the well known Crieff Hydro.  Crieff is the gateway town to The Trossacks and both manicured courses are just what one might expect to find here, a destination well worth visiting.

The par 3 8th hole, one of the more challenging holes on Crieff Dornock

The Dornock course is short, and other than the first hole where out of bounds encroaches on the right, the fairways are very generous, so there is no need to carry too many balls.  The greens are firm and very true and better than most 9 hole courses I’ve played.   The course runs along side the Ferntower course, with some adjoining fairways.

Fran getting out of the bunker at the 8th at Crieff Dornock

The course is made up of 5 par 4s and 4 par 3s, and it’s the latter holes that are the most challenging, since the par 4s are short and prove good par or birdie opportunities.  This was very welcome for me after my difficulties playing at Tain last week.  On the day, I shot 39, +7, and that included a lost ball (under leaves!) on the fairway at 7.

Moly on the 6th green at Crieff Dornock, with the typical beautiful parkland surrounding.

Dornock was in very good condition when I played, plus dowsed in glorious winter sunshine, with zero wind, which always helps keep the score down.

This course is highly recommended – it was only £5 for a winter 9 holes, and still good value at £12 for 9 holes in Summer.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 32 (5 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (black): 2270

Moly’s Gross score: 39

Moly’s Crieff Dornock scorecard – 39 (7 over)

66. Turnhouse. 10th Oct 2017

October 12, 2017 /

Nice layout with good greens with upside for plane spotters! 

Summary:  Round  £35.   Par 69.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Turnhouse golf course was laid out with 9 holes in 1897, and extended to 18 holes a few years later.  The original course designer is not known, but James Braid carried out a redesign in 1928, characteristically focused on the use of bunkers.

Views of Edinburgh airport from the 5th green at Turnhouse

The course sits on Lennie Hill, very close to Edinburgh airport and easily accessed by road.  There are good views of the Pentland Hills to the south and to the Fife Ochill Hills to the north.  For a parkland course designed in the 19th century it unusually has two 9 hole loops, starting at the clubhouse.

The nice par 4 6th hole at Turnhouse – where I had one of my 3 birdies

Turnhouse has a classic parkland feel and there is a good mix of some generous and some tighter fairways.  I thoroughly recommend the excellent online course planner available on the club website, especially as there are several blind tee and second shots.  A good example is the long 4th hole which has a nasty blind bunker on the right hand side of the fairway at about 430 yards awaiting a well struck second shot – bear in mind out of bounds is tight along the left of this hole.

The fast Stroke Index 1 10th green at Turnhouse, a tough start to the back 9.

The planner might also help gauge driving distance on some of the tighter holes, with the formidable 13th tee shot being actually easier that it looks, with only a hybrid or fairway wood being needed at the tee, with a larger landing area being available than at first sight.

The greens were surprisingly well drained and quiet fast – I putted off  the 9th green where the pin had been placed on the right – beware!     Overall the course was in good condition, with only the tees perhaps in need of some effort.

The frightening looking 13th tee shot at Turnhouse – take a hybrid to guarantee playing from the fairway.

I had a most mercurial round.  I only hit 3 greens in regulation and birdied all 3 of them! (4th, 6th and 11th)  – my stableford had three 4 pointers but no 3 pointers!

There is an interesting quote on the club web site about the hazards in the development of parkland courses around the turn of the 20th century, and worth sharing:

“In those early days, golf courses were shaped by natural terrain and while links courses had sand bunkers, inland courses relied on gorse, whin and dry stone walls for hazards. At Turnhouse there is a record of turf dykes about three feet high being built forty or fifty yards from the tee across some fairways and in January 1908 an instruction was issued to remove steps over the walls and have gaps made in their place.”

Turnhouse was a most pleasant surprise and one of the lessor known Edinburgh courses well worth a visit.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69 (2 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5926

Moly’s Gross score: 91.

Moly’s Turnhouse scorecard: 91 for 31 points

65. Lochore Meadows. 1st Sep 2017

September 1, 2017 /

Good value 9 hole course managed by Fife Golf Trust 

Summary:  Round  £12.   Par 36.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Lochore Meadows is one of 7 courses managed by the Fife Golf Trust which was established in 2011 to take over Fife Council’s directly managed courses. This is becoming a common practice by Local Authorities in Scotland to manage golf courses.  The golf club is private, like many Scottish clubs associated with public courses.

The 1st at Lochore Meadows, with a mine shaft a reminder of better times for this poor area.

Lochore Meadows Golf Course, located within Lochore Meadows Country Park, was formerly called Ballingry Golf Course.   It was founded in 1981.

The country park is just north of Lochgelly, in the Benarty area, comprising the separate villages of Ballingry, Lochore, Crosshill, and Glencraig; this is a poor part of Scotland still in need of economic regeneration following the demise of the coal mining industry – a former mine shaft being a major feature to the left of the first hole.

The 3rd green at Lochore Meadows.

The 9 hole golf course is really good value.  It has a very traditional layout with 2 par 3s and 2 par 5s, and at over 3000 yards, from the yellow tees, is a full length course.  It was also in very good condition when I played, with the medal tees looking like they would have been at home on a much more prestigious Fife course.

The par 5 8th hole at Lochore Meadows with the hazard in play for the second shot.

The fairways are very generous so you can take driver on most holes.  There is also a stream running across the course which comes into play on the 1st, 8th and 9th. The large greens were also in great condition when I played.

There are some lovely views of the surrounding hillsides, which coupled with the good course, means that it is worth travelling to play Lochore Meadows.

Key Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 36 (2 par 5s, 5 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance (yellow):3010

Moly’s Gross score: 48.

Moly’s Lochore Meadows scorecard – 48 for 16 points (off 17 hcp)

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