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.
Great value and wide open links course is a means to experience, or more accurately feel like, history
Round £45. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.3/124. Value (out of 5) – 4
Wigtownshire County golf course, set beside Luce Bay on the west coast of Dumfries and Galloway, will, I suspect, sharply divide opinion. This is links golf at its most basic, which I really like.
The 8th – a typically basic hole at this course.
It’s an open course, with many wide fairways, so several of the holes aren’t readily framed to the eye. It’s also made up of 14 par fours, with only 1 par five and 3 par 3s; to some this likely lacks the desired variety of holes.
Moly drives at “St Helena”, the dog leg right par 4 fourth hole, which hugs Luce Bay, at Wigtownshire County.Plenty of room to the left.
On the other hand, many golfers who prefer the natural feel of what courses were historically like, might love Wigtownshire County; however, to that extent, the course is also a bit of a façade. It was a 9 hole course (current holes 1 to 4 and 14 through18) when designed in 1894 by Charlie Hunter, who also designed Machrihanish and Royal Troon, so he has has great pedigree. It was only extended to 18 holes as recently as 1987, by designer Gordon Cunningham, whose work is really brilliant in that you really feel like you’re playing a joined-up 18 holes , unchanged for 100 years.
The 3rd at Wigtownshire, a decent par 4, one of the original 9 holes. This is a typical hole here.
Given the open aspect of the design and its coastal location, weather is going to dominate your experience here. I played in very high winds, with gusts up to 40mph, didn’t break 100, and racked up 4 triple bogies or worse. I suspect the wide fairways and relatively open approaches as well, would see very low scoring in benign conditions. Weather notwithstanding, the would be a great society day out. Good greens, no impossible challenges, 2 nice coastal holes and generally good course conditions.
The par four 10th, one of the very few undulating holes at Wigtownshire County.This was one of the new holes laid down in 1997.
If you’re a lover of links golf and like the historic feel of a basic layout, it’s worth going out of your way to play here, especially as the price represents excellent value and great natural drainage guarantees all year round golf.
Facts:
Course Type:Links
Par 70 (1 par 5, 14 par 4s, 3 par 3s)
Distance: 5829
Moly’s Gross score: 102
Moly’s Wigtownshire County Scorecard – a 102 in very high winds
Agem of a course where Robert the Bruce stole a castle!
Round £38. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.4/126. Value (out of 5) – 4
Lochmaben golf course, founded in 1926, is set in a picturesque village of the same name in The Scottish Borders, on the A709 between Dumfries and Lockerbie. There is an interesting and long history of the area dating back to the 1300s and the story of Robert the Bruce.
Bruce’s Motte – the wonderful par 3 second hole at Lochmaben – the toughest hole on this course according the Moly
Take a close look at the name of the second hole, ‘Bruce’s Motte’, and you realise you’re actually playing uphill to a plateau upon which Bruce built a fortification to stop intruders. It’s a very fitting name, as the golf hole, a par 3 of 185 yards, is the stroke index 2 hole; and that, on a course with several long par 4s, is a measure of the challenge. I always try to take heed of stroke indices before playing a hole, as often when a short hole is rated so difficult it deserves added attention. Take at least 2 or 3 clubs more to get up the incline and be satisfied with a bogie. I imagine many long term members have never birdied this very demanding hole.
The signature par 3 eight hole, ‘Kirk Loch’ at Lochmaben – a delightful short hole
The course overall is an absolute joy. It’s set around Kirk Loch, one of 3 lochs in which the village of Lochmaben sits in the middle. Intriguingly, none of the 3 lochs are called Loch Maben? Castle Loch, the biggest of the 3, is the site of what was a more formidable castle and central to many of the battles between the Scots and the English in the area.
The 15th, a short par 5, a typical hole on this course; one of the added holes in 1995.
The original layout of the course was only 9 holes, laid out by James Braid, and occupied the majority of the holes on the east of the loch, with the course only extended to 18 in 1995. The lakeside holes, especially the short 8th, are characteristic of more modern design. Overall though, it really works as a ‘joined up’ 18, with some really great holes. Other than the 2nd, which I think is the most difficult, both the 10th and the 17th are challenging par 4’s both playing uphill and at 450 and 423 yards respectfully and are difficult to reach with 2 shots.
It was in great condition when I played. The fairways were good, the greens very true, and only the bunkers were needing attention, but that was likely due to the covid pandemic. I shot 98, and felt I played not bad. It was one of those courses where local knowledge has a bigger premium than usual, and I imagine the home advantage makes a bigger difference in club matches here.
The good finishing hole at Lochmaben (looking bach from the green), a relatively short (328 yards), but tight, par 4 finishing hole. A good matchplay finish.
It’s not an easy walk, so make sure the trolley batteries are fully charged, but its well worth playing Lochmaben.
Incidentally, Robert The Bruce apparently stole the castle from Edward 1, so the history books say!
Facts:
Course Type:Parkland
Par 70 (2 par 5, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance: 5873
Moly’s Gross score: 98
Moly’s Lochmaben scorecard – 98 – which felt hard fought for
Officious Starter didn’t disrupt my enjoyment at this nice course
Round £25. Par 63. Slope (yellow) 97. Value (out of 5) – 4
Having booked a twilight round on GolfNow we reported at Whiting Bay about 25 minutes before our tee time and were told abruptly by the starter “You can’t go before your time!”. Taken aback, we responded politely, “That’s absolutely fine, we were only advising you we were here”. With no putting green available or practice net in operation, we loitered around the first tee for 20 minutes (no-one else teed off in the meantime), after which the icy starter announced “You may as well go now”.
This story is hopefully not representative of how people are welcomed at Whiting Bay and the starter was undoubtedly unaware that one day people might read about how we were treated on arriving there. But I write it because Arran is a holiday destination and golf is a big attraction on the island, with 7 courses available; it’s important clubs present a welcoming feel, as they are part of a wider hospitality sector. Sometimes you only get one chance.
The 11th at Whiting Bay, with views of Holy Isle in the background.
The golf course opened in 1895 and is set on a hillside above Whiting Bay, a substantial village located on the east side of the Isle of Arran, which sits in the Firth of Clyde just off the North Ayrshire coast – it is accessed by ferry from the Port of Ardrossan.
The par 4 8th deserving of being the Stroke Index 1 hole at Whiting Bay in Arran.
Regrettably, I couldn’t find any information about the course architect on the website, which is a shame. The course has some clues for the students of golf architecture. Several holes’ fairways crisscross each other, making it a potentially hazardous walk. Some of the greens are very undulating, and some very flat. There are some very large greens, most notably the short par four 6th hole which was only just over 250 yards, whereas the difficult uphill mid-iron par three 3rd had a tiny green. Contrast this with the often clever use of small greens to protect short par 4s, typical of James Braid’s designs. I would be grateful for any information if readers have any about Whiting Bay’s designer.
Whiting Bay has outstanding views, here looking back from the first green with the clubhouse lower down the hill.
It is also a tough walk, and uphill all the way to the 4th green – I would recommend a buggy or power trolley for those less able. There are however no bunkers and the fairways are very generous, which with the length of under 4500 yards, results in slope ratings of 97(yellow), 99(white) and 98 (red). In summary, it’s good holiday golf, except if you are unfit! Also, for occasional golfers, in particular, please take at least 2 clubs more on the uphill holes, most notable the 1st and 16th.
The 6th is the best example of the odd design, a par 4 at just over 250 yards, but with a huge green.
The course was in great condition and clearly well maintained, albeit the greens were very mossy which really detracted from the rest of the set up. On the day I had a very good round of 76 against the par of 63, especially after I had recorded two triple bogies in the first 4 holes.
The really difficult 17th Green. It was such a pity the greens were so ‘mossy’.
With outstanding views abounding, and the reasonable twilight rates, this is excellent value. Just don’t turn up early, especially when the clubhouse is closed!
Facts:
Course Type:Parkland
Par 63 (0 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 9 par 3s)
Distance: 4092
Moly’s Gross score: 76
Moly’s Whiting Bay scorecard – 76 but with 2 triple bogies. Ouch!
