Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: £40 – £59 (Page 2 of 7)

152. Forfar. 9 July 22.

November 8, 2022 /

Incredible and possibly unique golf course.

Round £50. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 67.2/119. Value (out of 5) – 5

Forfar is an incredible golf course. Although I’m a native Dundonian and played football in nearby Forfar many times, I had never actually played the golf course – I had no idea what I’d been missing all those years. Whenever I’ve mentioned Forfar to my non-Scots friends, I always get “Forfar four, East Fife five!”. It should be famous for its golf course.

The 4th, ‘Cat Law, a tough par four, with Forfar’s terrain on show.

Having read many reviews of Forfar golf course, I was struck by the number of writers commenting on the unusual terrain – “it’s an ‘inland links'” said many.

The majestically bunkered 17th hole – this is typical of the views playing Forfar.

The geology is very marked. It has hummocks and undulations with so much similarity to a links. Look at the fairways, and it could be Scotscraig, near St Andrews. Look at the numerous Scots Pine, with the hilly surrounds, and it could be Boat of Garten in the Highlands. The wonderful heather and bunkered green surrounds, would make their way easily onto Lanark, Edzell or any number of the great heathland courses.

The blind tee shot at the par four 2nd hole.

I’ve played over 200 golf courses throughout the world, from the Monteray Peninsular, through the championship layouts of South Africa and Australia. Ryder Cup parkland courses and Open Championship links. Asian tour venues. Forfar is both like none of them and yet like all of them, simultaneously.

The green complex at the fifth, a challenging long par 3.

On land influenced by the remnant boulders of the last ice age, Forfar sits only 15 miles north of Carnoustie and 15 miles south of Glen Clova in the Angus Glens. The golf course has a lengthy history, claiming to be “the 4th oldest 18 hole course in the world and is the very first Club to have an 18 hole course from inception and inauguration”.  This latter comment is carefully contructed, since there are many earlier 18 hole courses, for example the Lundin/Leven Links (blog here) 18 holes dates to 1868, 3 years before the creation of Forfar.

The approach to the seventh, the par four, ‘Quarry’, SI 2 hole. Play long and right, if you can hit the green in 2.

The course was designed by Old Tom Morris, at a time when no major earth moving was done in course construction. So all that you walk on is natural. The green surrounds are at times genius, which makes sense since James Braid carried out a redesign in 1926, but the majority of the holes remained the same. Overall, its a beautiful golfing challenge.

The tricky 18th green to find from a blind approach shot. I was lucky to choose the right club, to get my 3rd birdie of the day. Very unusual for me!

Despite having a few weaker holes, notably the par three ninth, there are many that are memorable. When we played on a calm, July day, the course was in great condition. The fairways were dry and fast running, the turf was firm, the greens slick, the bunkers consistently first class and the teeing grounds all excellent.

The wonderful 12th hole, the SI 1 hole on the course. A par four of 422 yards (yellow).

Value for money is undoubtedly 5 star, at the £50 mid-week rate; we paid only £20 through a Golfnow ‘hot deal’ for a Saturday twilight time. In fact, unbeatable golfing value.

The 10th, a mid length par 4, where storms had left their mark with a loss of trees.

If I had to select only 10 courses that collectively represented the range of golf in Scotland, Forfar might just be be my number one pick, it is that unique. As to its overall ranking, it regularly appears in the “Top 100” Scotland courses, typically around 70th place. This doesn’t do it justice for me, I think it’s easy to justify a top 50 placing.

I can’t recommend Forfar high enough.

Facts:

Course Type: “Inland Links?”

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

Distance (yellow): 5754 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 84

Moly’s Forfar scorecard – a commendable 84. 3 birdies and 3 triple bogies!

146. Auchterarder. 3 July 22.

September 14, 2022 /

Stroll the Gleneagles landscape at 20% of the cost.

Round £50. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 65.7/114. Value (out of 5) – 5

Wonderful Perthshire views. Firm heathland turf. Magnificent greens and teeing grounds. It really could be Gleneagles. But whereas playing the PGA Centenary Course will set you back £250, next door Auchterarder will be £50 for a mid week summer round; I paid only £35 for a weekend twilight for a beautiful early evening game, representing incredible value.

Moly tees off at the 10th at Auchterarder, with the Gleneagles PGA course, venue of the 2014 Ryder Cup, in the background.

Having previously been brutally exposed on the Gleneagles Ryder Cup layout, I continually wonder why ordinary golfers like me are willing to pay huge fees for golf courses that just highlight their golfing deficiencies. I can well imagine the humour value for the Auchterarder members, who pay £670 for annual membership, looking across at the well heeled swings next door.

Challenging first hole, ‘Deils Dyke’, at Auchterarder – 360 yards from the yellow tees played into the prevailing wind.

Auchterarder was designed as a 9 hole course by the legendary Ben Sayers in 1913, some 6 years before The Kings Course at Gleneagles was laid out, making Auchterarder the senior member of the local golf courses. The course went through plenty of disruption around WW2, but was subsequently reconstructed and then extended to an 18 hole course in 1979, partly through the demand created by the Gleneagles Hotel establishing its reputation as one of the world’s great golfing resorts.

The brilliant golfing entrepreneur Ben Sayers, the designer of Auchterarder, here depicted in his younger and older self.

The current course is an absolute cracker. Short, at 5357 from the yellow tees most visitors will use, this course gives you a chance to play to your handicap, making it an attractive amateur open venue, especially given its highly rated kitchen.

The 16th, ‘Gulley Brae’, a long and challenging par three, needing driver for most.

Surrounded by hills the course itself is an easy walk, amidst well maintained pines and other trees that frame many holes but don’t overly narrow the generous fairways.

The typically picturesque short par three 8th hole at Auchterarder.

The course is very well maintained and was in immaculate condition, the bunker sand in particular being in perfect order. The greens were firm, but gave good purchase for well struck irons. Beware the rough though, which was very whispy and will wrap the club for most players.

The brilliant green at the par 4 seventh hole, one of Moly’s disasters.

My only misgiving with Auchterarder was that it is set on a fairly small parcel of land, which means there is some ‘criss-crossing’ of holes, with some slightly reverse walks between greens to tees, to facilitate the yardage. A few times I came across ‘lost’ balls in the fairway which could have come from one of two adjacent holes. I can imagine many balls being ‘found’ that were actually ‘in play’ for others. These comments are perhaps a little over critical.

Fran at the short par four 13th, ‘Ochil View’, with the Gleneagles backdrop in the distance.

I played really well for my 83, especially my back nine of 38. My 14 over par, included two triple bogie 7s; one of those was on the very aptly named ‘Dinnae Stray’ seventh hole, where having hit two good shots onto the front of the very large green , I proceeded to take 5 shots to get down and they were not all putts!

Auchterarder is 5 star value golf. Take note of the clever hole names, which are a delight.

Facts:

Course Type: Heathland

Par 69 (3 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5357 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 83

Moly’s very solid 83 at Auchterarder

139. Balbirnie Park. 19 May 22.

August 2, 2022 /

One of the top parkland courses in Fife

Round £50. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.3/126. Value (out of 5) – 4.0

Most people who live on the East Coast of Scotland, will know of Markinch as a railway station on the main Aberdeen to Edinburgh line. Like me, they may have passed through here hundreds of times, but never stopped.

Markinch actually had its own town sited golf course in the first half of the 20th century, but it closed just after the second world war due to disrepair; however, I understand that the “golf club” retained some sort of existence playing at other nearby courses.

The challenging par four 3rd hole. A dog leg right, of only 327 yards (yellow), yet the SI 6 comes from the hazardous green complex. Par is a very good score here.

During the 1960s the Glenrothes Development Corporation purchased Balbirnie Estate, located between Glenrothes and Markinch, which had been owned by the Balfour family for almost 300 years. They commissioned a golf course, which Markinch GC leases.

The former Balbirnie estate house is now also a 4-star hotel, which is close to, but separately managed from, the golf club.

A characteristic layout, here at the 13th at Balbirnie Park, a shortish dog-leg (left) yet one of the tougher holes, this time dominated by the tee shot.

The current 18 hole course opened in 1984, and is set in a substantial wooded area, in two loops of nine holes, at well over 6000 yards, this undulating course is a tough walk. It is a balanced layout, with trees almost always in play, other than some of the par 3s, with the front nine being slightly shorter mainly due to having only one par 5.

Fran driving at the uphill mid to long iron par three, the best of the short holes at Balbirnie Park.

It has been well designed by Fraser Middleton, a relatively unknown architect, who surprisingly has only 2 other courses I could find on his CV – West Lothian and Hounslow in West London, what an interesting threesome of courses?

The raised green at the par four 9th hole, a strong end to the front nine at Balbirnie Park. You come in from the right here, the left part of the picture is to the first green

The abiding architectural characteristic I picked up on, was that at least half of the holes had either dog legs or blind tee or approach shots – some all three. This necessitates a good appreciation of your yardages and access to a hole planner is useful. It was especially pleasurable, therefore, to play with the same ball, not a common occurrence. This contributed to my decent score of 91, net 75, for 4 over my handicap of 16. A very good score for me on a windy, but warm, day.

The tight tee shot at the long par four 12th hole, the SI 1 hole.

The course was in superb condition, the only note of criticism I could give was the fringes of the bunkering was a little tired. The teeing grounds were delicious.

The par three eleventh green, typical of the rather open par threes, the weakest part of the layout – as can be seen, make sure you play long here.

In a land of Links, Balbirnie Park golf course may arguably be the best parkland course in Fife; albeit the ‘best parkland’ list might also include The Dukes (at St Andrews), Aberdour and Dunfermline (Pitreavie), all great courses.

The rather austere clubhouse at the fine finishing hole at Balbirnie Park. Beware the blind second shot, as the burn in front of the green is reachable for even mid handicaps players. I luckily reached the tree, leaving a simple chip for a birdie chance (missed!)

Nevertheless, this is easily in the top 50 parkland courses in Scotland, and represents good value at £50, but using the great offers on Golfnow I managed to pay just £22, an almost 60% discount, so really 5 star value if you get one of those last minute rates.

Moly’s approach at the 16th, a difficult par four and SI 3.

I suspect the pricing is depressed a little due to the distance Glenrothes is from both the St Andrews area, and Edinburgh. This benefits greatly those going to play here.

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance: 5957 (yellow)

Moly’s Gross score: 91

Moly’s scorecard at Balbirnie Park – a 91 at one of the top parkland courses in Fife.

126. Haddington. 24 Sep 2021

March 15, 2022 /

You’ll need your best putting game on the excellent greens

Round £55. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.3/124. Value (out of 5) – 3

The town of Haddington, lies just off the A1, about 17 miles east of Edinburgh, and is very easily accessed. At the heart of East Lothian, Haddington is likely to be a popular venue to stay if on a golfing holiday to play the many world class golf courses on the self proclaimed “Golf Coast”, home to Muirfield and Gullane to name but two.

Moly playing the challenging par three 16th hole – take 2 more clubs than the distance, to get up the hill, plus there is little danger over the back of the green.

So if you’re planning to visit the area, should Haddington be on the play list?

First thing to say is that for a course, or rather club, founded in 1865 and claiming to be the “19th oldest course in the world”, no mention of the course architect can be found.

We found the greens very slick at Haddington, here the large green at the par three 10th.

The course is set in the nice mature parkland of Amisfield Park, much of it still walled, with some spectacular trees; it is a place with a wide and rich history, ranging from a Medieval Cistercian nunnery, through to playing a part in the Jacobean rebellion, the Napoleonic war and both world wars. The former grand Amisfield House is long gone, but its sandstone was, interestingly, used to build Longniddry Golf Course clubhouse. The park’s boundary to the north is the River Tyne, but the river doesn’t play a part on the course.

The short par three 4th, showing the mature parkland setting of Haddington.

The town of Haddington is relatively small with a population of 10,000, but in the “high middle ages” (AD 1000 – 1250) it was the fourth most significant Scottish city. So its glory days are long gone – that seems fitting in that the golf course is also a minor player in the Lothians. It’s Okay, but priced too high in my opinion.

Fran tees off at the 6th at Haddington – a par 4 of 375 yards (yellow)

The condition of the course was very mixed. The greens and fairways were very good, but the tees were terrible, other than the red ladies tees. The greens were also very large, and coupled with the fast speed, led for a real challenge to avoid 3 putting. The fairways, were wide and forgiving, but there are some excellently placed fairway bunkers, that need to be navigated.

The nice fairways at Haddington, here shown at the 9th, a par four of 329 yards (yellow)

In extremely high winds, I struggled to a gross 107, for 21 stableford points (from a playing HCP of 16). This included a birdie 3 at the long par four second hole, measuring 421 yards from the yellow – the wind was strongly behind of course! In total I lost 5 balls, never nice!

The approach to the par four 15th at Haddington, again showing the mature setting.

Haddington, is in summary over-priced in my opinion, and not worth prioritising in a Lothian golfing trip. The clubhouse building is also rather run down.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 72 (2 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance: 6038

Moly’s Gross score: 107

Wind played havoc with Moly’s game, finishing with a 107, including a 10 at the last.
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