Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: £40 – £59 (Page 2 of 6)

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.

121. Newbattle. 22 June 2021.

February 24, 2022 /

This oasis might be the cheapest Harry Colt course in the world?

Round £40. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.1/127. Value (out of 5) – 5

Drive through Dalkeith, which might appear a bit drab, and through the car park of Newbattle GC and you are met with a graceful parkland layout, with many magnificent trees, that just seems so unexpected. The course is an easy walking affair, other that the 2 holes (2nd and 17th) that play across the river esk valley that sits between the opening and closing holes and the rest of the course. With a substantial club house, this makes Newbattle a great venue for a group or society day out.

The delightful 17th at Newbattle, a par 4, stroke index 4, which must be a formidable match play hole. The River Esk is just visible, and never comes into play.

We know about the genius of some golf course design; the majestic Augusta of Alister McKenzie, the natural beauty and guile of The Old Course, the brutal nature of Pete Dye’s Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. Sometimes though, great golf course design is difficult to put your finger on.

When I played Newbattle, in Dalkeith near Edinburgh, it felt great, not because I played well, not because the weather was nice, but because ‘it just did’. It was almost indescribable why the course flowed so well and that I think is real genius. That was what Harry Colt design can be.

The very well bunkered par three 11th hole, ‘Roundel’, at Newbattle.

Although the Newbattle club was formed in 1896, the current full 18 hole course, the Colt legacy, was built in Dalkeith in 1934. Originally linked to Dalkeith Golf Club (1880), it’s called Newbattle as it’s within the historic boundary of Newbattle Abbey, a Roman Catholic monastery, and a key part of the Scottish religious story.

The tee markers, here at the 9th, are typical of the small yardage differences at Newbattle

When Fran and I played on a delightful mid summer day, the course was very busy, but never seemed to get back logged. The tees, fairways and greens were immaculate, with the bunkers still unraked due to the ongoing Covid Pandemic.

After pulling my opening drive about 2 yards out of bounds left, then hitting my second ball over the back of the first green, that turned out to be my only ‘blob’ in returning an 89, for 35 stableford points. If it were a competition though, it wouldn’t have troubled the scorers on this ideal day for golf.

The approach to the 13th at Newbattle, with Arthur’s Seat in the background

Play aside, this is a great little course well worth playing as part of an East Lothian tour. In terms of East Lothian value for money, it must be near the top of the pile. It’s certainly underrated in my opinion. The stand out holes for me, were the 5th, a long par 4, and easily the Stroke Index 1 hole and the long par 3 14th hole. To score well though, you need to avoid the clever and penalising bunkers.

The relatively easy finish at Newbattle, except if you find the copse of trees beside the green

There is an argument to say Harry Colt, the main contributor to many of the world’s great courses, including 3 on the Open Championship rota (Muirfield, Royal Liverpool, Royal Portrush), is the foremost designer of his age. I think Newbattle might just be the cheapest green fee of the more than 100 courses designed in whole or part by Colt.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69 (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 5753

Moly’s Gross score: 89

Moly’s scorecard – a very decent 89

114. Wigtownshire County. 25 Oct 2020.

December 29, 2021 /

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
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