Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 5 star (Page 4 of 6)

119. Aberfoyle. 5 Nov 2020

February 16, 2022 /

A wonderfully understated golf course

Round £25. Par 66. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 64.1/115. Value (out of 5) – 5

From the endearing conversation with local members, to the beautifully crafted use of space and to meeting the challenge of some excellent holes, Aberfoyle golf course is an absolute joy, set in the magnificent surroundings of the Trossachs area of Scotland. It’s a must play and incredible Scottish golfing value.

The 6th tee at Aberfoyle, with the typical scenic views of he Trossachs countryside.
Bend that right leg Moly!

The course was established in 1890 with 9 holes and only extended to 18 holes in the 1980s, albeit it’s a difficult job trying to guess the original 9. It’s short in length, at well under 5000 yards from the yellow tees most people will use, but still has a slope rating of 115 despite only having 8 bunkers.

My favourite hole at Aberfoyle – the short par four 4th, with tricky thin green from front to back.

Set among the glens, the wind may make some of the longer par 3s and par 4s difficult to reach in regulation. Particularly so, for those holes played into the prevailing wind; the long par three 5th and par four 14th, well deserving of their stroke indexed 2 and 1 ratings.

The approach shot into the first at Aberfoyle, is the first of several blind shots played at this course.

The highlight of my playing was actually a bogie 4 at the 5th, after pulling a 3 wood tee shot into the heath on the left of the green and getting the ball miraculously onto the green with my second. It’s not always birdies that get remembered.

The most memorable hole, however, was the gorgeous short par four 4th hole. Again, played into the prevailing wind, it has a delightful thin green from ‘front to back’. The local guide, excellently displayed on the good club website, is well worth reviewing before play, with the advice on the 4th not to be tempted to go for the green from the tee, but rather play conservatively left with a mid iron, or hybrid, to leave an easy pitch up to the green.

The lovely par three 10th hole at Aberfoyle

The recent weather when I played had been horrendous and I was amazed at the great condition of the course, testament to the natural drainage and mindful greenkeeping. I can imagine the joy of playing Aberfoyle on an early or late Summer evening.

It is a tough walk tough, with several blind shots to encounter (the 17th was the most striking in this regard), so a yardage device is also recommended. There are also some holes that cross each other, something typical of the late Victorian courses. Some amalgamation golf course guides cite James Braid as the designer, but I didn’t get any confirmation of that on the list of courses on the Braid association guide. It would be interesting to know who the designer of the original 9 holes was.

The beautiful scenery at Aberfoyle, displayed here at the 11th

Golf is such a game of “what if’s” – on the day, mine were a triple bogie 7 on the 16th followed by an even worse 9 on the par four 17th having lost 2 balls. Other than those holes, I played pretty well.

It’s a great course Aberfoyle, well worth the journey. One trivial point – having paid £15 on-line using the clubs booking system, I turned up to find a sign on the closed clubhouse door saying “From 1st Nov, only £10”. Despite being a little peeved, this is still 5-star value!

Course Type: Heathland

Par 66 (0 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance: 4767

Moly’s Gross score: 89

Moly’s Aberfoyle scorecard – 89

109. Lamlash. 20 Sep 2020.

October 19, 2021 /

Reserve your ‘A’ game for Lamlash – the toughest Arran challenge

Round £27. Par 61. Slope (yellow) 106. Value (out of 5) – 5

If you only play one course in Arran, Shiskine would be it. However, for difficulty, Lamlash, “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, takes the prize. Played as a par 61 of just under 4000 yards, or as a par 64 of 4500 yards, it represents a real challenge, both physically (it’s a tough walk) and demanding accuracy off the tee. There can’t be many players of the course for the first time who don’t need at least one “3 off the tee”. I anticipate the World Handicap System (WHS) slope ratings will be adjusted upwards in time from the initial 106 (yellow) or 109 (white), once historical data is built up.

The beautiful par 4 first hole at Lamlash, playing longer than its stated length.

With three of the holes (7, 8 and 10) playing as long par 3s off the yellow tees, rather than short par 4s from the white, I actually think the slope rating should be higher off the yellow tee boxes compared with white.

The 3rd hole at Lamlash, the stroke index 1 “goatfell” par 4. Moly learnt too late to play conservatively off the tee (play short and right with a 5 iron off the tee).

Blessed with a quite magnificent late summer day, the course was in excellent condition when I played with Fran on our Arran golfing trip. Paying only £20 through Golfnow this was incredible value, especially as the rack rate of £27 would also merit 5 star value. Disappointingly, we were met with a gruff starter who complained that “Golfnow shouldn’t have allowed the booking”. This reinforced a theme that emerged over our Arran trip with several locals behaving resentfully towards the holiday golfer – even although the holiday visitor income no doubt enables the local fees to be reduced. As an example, the current membership (2021) of Lamlash is only £380, with a first year membership reduced to only £225. These fees are so much lower than English club golf fees, this being a relevant comment as we were told that the village of Lamlash had a nickname of “Little Yorkshire”, such was the number of retired people from the North of England.

The par four 9th at Lamlash, with views towards Ayrshire past Holy Island in the foreground.

The course abounds with sea and hill views – with Troon and Prestwick visible on clear days – Holy Island also dominates the skyline.

Don’t let the views offset the concentration needed in playing Lamlash, a course that feels a combination of Highland, Parkland and Heathland layouts. It has some really great holes. The starting 3 holes should be played conservatively, with level bogies being more than ok for anything other than the single figure player. The third, a par 4, justifiably the stroke index one hole, with great views, has a demanding drive, which should tend to the right of the fairway, with the second shot best played long and left.

The tough 208 yard par three 7th hole (yellow), which plays as a 283 yard par 4 from white. A key theme at Lamlash.

The long par 3s played off the yellow tees are, collectively, a real test. There are four over 200 yards long, plus the 10th, an uphill par 3 at 198 yards, which needs to be played as a par 4 by most golfers. There is a strong argument that the stroke indexes should be different for the white and the yellow tee boxes here.

The 18th at Lamlash, a finishing hole that befits this tough golf course.

On a benign playing day, I scored 88, or 11 over my handicap. I can’t imagine many players beating their handicap playing Lamlash for the first time. It has plenty of guile and, along with Shiskine, is one of the two must play courses while on Arran. But – this is not “occasional holiday golf”, for that play another course on this beautiful golfing island.

Highly recommended.

Facts:

Course Type: Highland / Heathland / Parkland

Par 61 (0 par 5, 7 par 4s, 11 par 3s)

Distance: 3945

Moly’s Gross score: 88

Moly’s Lamlash scorecard – 88 for 26 points. It actually could have been much worse!

105. Shiskine. 15th Sep 2020

July 6, 2021 /

One explanation makes sense – this is perhaps God’s home course.

Round £26 (12 holes). Par 42. Value (out of 5) – 5

Shiskine is probably the greatest 12 hole golf course in the world, but that hardly does the course justice.

The Isle of Arran sits off the North Ayrshire coast, accessible all year round by regular ferry crossings from the Port of Ardrossan or, during Summer, from the Kintyre peninsular.

Moly putting for birdie at the 4th “The Shelf” hole at Shiskine, in benign conditions.

Several areas of Scotland self proclaim the title of best destination for golf, with the East Neuk of Fife and the North Berwick coastline being the headline events. But when it comes to the best value destination for golf (worldwide?) Arran sits comfortably at the top of any list – in my humble opinion. This island of 432km2 has a population of 5,000, with a majority of the people working in the hospitality sector. Arran has 7 golf courses, which all sit on the periphery of the island and are easily accessed; none of them has a weekly green fee greater than £30. With many hotels, B&Bs and campsites, Arran is a must visit golfing destination.

Shiskine, set on the west of the island, is the jewel in Arran’s crown.

The par 3 ‘Craws Nest’, 3rd, with views over the beautiful Shiskine layout.

It is said you should never meet your heroes as it can be so disappointing. It was with a similar sentiment I embarked for Arran with nightmares about losing all my balls into the sea from Shiskine’s formidable first tee. Such was my desperation to play that immediately after pitching our caravan and with pristinely tranquil conditions, I psychologically ran to the course to grab a twilight round at only £21. Without a pre-shot routine, and with a vice like will to keep my head over the ball, I drove a low running drive over 200 yards up the fairway – hallelujah! Entering a trance like state, I then proceeded to play the 12 holes in 47, or 5 over par – not quite the best round of my life, but I cannot remember smiling so much to myself during a round of golf.

The terrifying par 4 “Road Hole” first at Shiskine, with OOB left all the way to the hole.

Perhaps by ‘divine’ intervention, a feasibility study in the late 1800s rejected building a deep water pier on the current golf course site to serve the local port of Blackwaterfoot. Sometime thereafter, Willie Fernie of Troon (who also designed Turnberry’s Ailsa course), laid out the original 9 hole course, which opened in 1896, although only the current 5th and 9th holes survive from then.

The difficult stroke index1 second hole at Shiskine, a tough par 4 with a burn in front of the green capturing many of the blind second shots into the green. Take enough club. Atop Drumadoon Hill in the background was where 6 holes returned to waste during the first world war

The course was extended to 18 holes just before the first world war using land above the current ‘shelf’ area of the 3rd green, but fell into disrepair during that war. Several attempts during the decades after failed to reestablish an 18 hole course.

Willie Park (Sunningdale and the North Course at Olympic Park, Chicago) then designed the current 12 holes between 1925-28. 18 holes play is reserved for member only competitions with the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 12th replayed with a further hole using a unique “15th” tee into the 4th green.

The course is not long, at just under 3000 yards from the white tees for the 12 holes, and 4,878 for the 18 hole layout; its slope rating is only 99 and disappointingly has no red ‘ladies’ tee boxes. It has 7 par 3s, 1 par 5 and 4 par 4s. Despite its short length, this is really fun golf, with very many blind tee or approach shots. I would strongly recommend reading the course guide, there is, for example, a bale out area to the right of the blind 3rd green, so aiming right of the flag is imperative. It’s rather hard to adequately describe the course other than saying it’s magical. It’s not perfect though, with the 12th a rather underwhelming short finishing hole. Nevertheless, it actually made me feel like I was playing my part in a Michael Murphy (Golf in the Kingdom) style mystical adventure with Shivas Irons as a playing partner. Perhaps I exaggerate. I can conclude by saying that I doubt you’d find anything like this course other than in Scotland and it’s a must play destination.

The 4th at Shiskine, a collage of dreams.

I’ve often pondered what golf handicap God might have? I’ve concluded that it would make sense if he or she were to have the exact average Scottish men’s or women’s handicap. God’s preferred course would be majestic, but not too difficult. For example, it wouldn’t have par 4s or par 3s that are really disguised par 5s or 4s respectively. It wouldn’t have any carries off the tee that effectively disenfranchise most higher handicap players. It would be set amid a beautiful landscape. It would offer a mix of guile and strategy. Some of the shots would be frightening. The greens, tees, fairways and all round conditions would be perfect. The weather or elements would play a significant part of the experience. Play would have to be fast – so he/she decided 12 holes was the best length. In the right conditions, it would bring you close to it’s maker.

Perhaps God did design Shiskine after all. Please go and play.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 42 (1 par 5, 4 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

Distance: 2770

Moly’s Gross score: 47

Moly’s life affirming 5 over for the 12 wonderful holes at Shiskine

104. Dalbeattie. 14th Sep 2020.

July 6, 2021 /

A delightful and great value “crowd funded” course

Round £10 (9 holes). Par 34. Value (out of 5) – 5

I was glad to meet the greenkeeper half way round my game at Dalbeattie, as I’d called him several unrepeatable names since the 2nd green, where I had hit two great shots to the green and walked off with a 9. I didn’t technically 7 putt, since I had putted off the green at least twice.

“These pin positions are a joke, they are ridiculous!”. “Yes, I agree”, said the very affable greenkeeper, “we held a charity texas scramble yesterday and were told to make the pins impossible”. “Ah, well, they certainly are that!”.

So my 50 for 9 holes, or 16 over par, at least has a decent excuse for once.

Difficult short opening hole at Dalbeattie – which had the first of many impossible pin positions.

In addition to the ‘difficult’ pin positions, the drive into the car park, had also not boded well. The sat nav took us through a small wood on a dirt track, which without our 4 wheel drive we may not have made it. Apparently the locals park on the streets surrounding the 9th green.

Beautifully contoured 5th fairway at Dalbeattie

Having got my grumbles out of the way, lets get to the point. This is about as good value golf you can buy and also a good data point in the history of golf development in Scotland. The club was founded in 1894, around the time when golf was becoming accessible to holiday makers due to the expansion of the railways. The club has a delightful, albeit short, history page on its web site here. In summary, the elder fathers of the area raised money through a bizarre to ensure Dalbeattie golf club was an attractive venue; in effect it was “crowd funded”.

Shorts aren’t always the order of the day in September at Dalbeattie – Moly shown here driving at the short par four 6th hole

Despite some excellent information on the club’s web site, there is no detail of the designer of this 9 hole layout. I suspect it was an experienced golf course architect as there is some lovely design, very both pleasing on the eye; the views are wide ranging along the Urr valley and south to the Lake district.

The 7th at Dalbeattie, the nicest framed hole on this course in Moly’s opinion

In particular, there is great framing on many of the holes, with the 5th and 7th holes vying for the signature hole. The 4th, a par 4 dog leg right hole, is also very difficult, with the window to drive intoquite narrow.

The course was in lovely condition when we played on a beautiful September “Indian Summer” day. Just the tonic, before heading off the day after towards the mystical golfing island of Arran.

Very worth playing at Dalbeattie.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34 (7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance: 2,733

Moly’s Gross score: 50

Moly’s Dalbeattie scorecard – a pretty poor 50 on this nice course
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