Category: £40 – £59 (Page 3 of 6)

111. Powfoot. 23 Sep 2020.

December 2, 2021 / Moly McMillan

Great value James Braid course well worth playing

Round £50. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.5/126. Value (out of 5) – 4.5

If I were to list 5 courses, of varying price points and quality, to encapsulate Scottish golf, Powfoot might fit the bill for ‘great course taken for granted’. It would never make the cut of the top 50 Scottish Courses, perhaps even the top 100 courses; however, in many ways, playing Powfoot at under £50, using the typical offers abounding, makes you realise what great value golf exists in Scotland.

**The brilliant par three 7th hole at Powfoot, with 9 greenside bunkers**!

Powfoot, which takes the name from the village, sits on the north of the Solway Firth, in Dumfries & Galloway, not far from Annan. Overshadowed by the nearby Southerness course, I suspect a great many golfers bypass Powfoot – that would be a mistake in my opinion.

**The blind tee shot at Powfoot’s tricky 8th hole, a tough and typical links hole.**

Founded in 1903 with 9 holes, it was extended to 18 holes in 1911, then improved on by James Braid in 1923. At over 6200 yards from the white tees, it is a good challenge, especially I suspect when the wind gets up.

It plays and feels like a traditional links course; firm turf, good bunkering, aesthetically framed holes and greens, surrounded by thick gorse bushes. However, the last few holes are really parkland holes, with more trees bordering and sheltering the holes and on arable land.

**The well framed 12th hole, a devilish par 3, showing the gorse that abounds on this course. Pay short to be safe.** **I didn’t and the wheels came off, with a quadruple bogie:(**

Dominated by a range of good par 4s (13 of them), there are only 2 par 5s and 3 par 3s. There are quite a few memorable holes. The stroke index par 4 third hole is the first great hole; called ‘shore’ it plays south towards the firth and would be very difficult to reach in 2 shots when the prevailing south westerly wind blows. The seventh is a short par 3 that has nine greenside bunkers – aim for dead centre of the green here. The 8th, a tough par 4, has a blind tee shot and a sloping green that could be approached using the full array of links shots. Likewise the short par four 11th hole demands respect where shots need to be played cautiously to avoid being wrong sided on the right of the fairway and green.

**The 17th green, with the copse in the background, on the parkland part of the course.**

Despite being in the pandemic the green keepers had presented the course in excellent condition when I played. The bunkers were particularly good and well maintained.

The golfing gods decided to give me a reminder on the cruelty of the game. Playing incredibly well, I was level par for the front 9 and only 1 over after 11 holes. I then played the last 7 holes in 13 over par! Ouch! Nevertheless, it was only the second time in my life I had been level par after 9 holes on a ‘proper’ golf course!

**WWII created an unusual hazard at the 9th – with the course guide showing the crater made by a German bomb.**

Go out of your way to play Powfoot, highly recommended

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 71 (2 par 5, 13 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance: 5990

Moly’s Gross score: 85

**The cruel game of golf – level par front 9, 14 over on back 9.**

95. Alyth. 7th June 2019.

March 9, 2020 / Moly McMillan

Great Value with Architectural Pedigree, along with a recent 9 hole expansion

Round £42. Par 70. Value (out of 5) – 4.5

**The Alyth scorecard immortalises the founding members**

Alyth is a small town of around 3000 with an abundance of golfing choices in this agriculturally rich area of Perthshire. The Alyth golf club now boasts 2 courses – the main 18 hole course (subject of this blog), described as heathland albeit I think it is a parkland course, and dating back to 1895; Old Tom Morris laid out the first 9 holes, then extended to 18 in 1934 by James Braid. Much more recently, in 2016, the club took over the back 9 holes of the Glenisla course when that club closed down. It is one of the small bits of good news in the general decline of golf in Scotland.

**The wonderful Stroke Index 1, 5th hole at Alyth requiring both strategy and shot making**

The main 18 hole course is really great value, with offers available through several sources, I suspect prices driven to attract the many tourist golfers who might otherwise just play the nearby world class Blairgowrie or Carnoustie courses. I strongly recommend playing Alyth, where the slightly shorter course, compared with those nearby giants, makes it a much more pleasurable experience, especially given the very picturesque landscape. The course has won awards for “best value”.

**The first green at Alyth, showing the fine standard of the course’s conditioning**

Although the course is set amongst tree lined fairways, the course is quite wide and the rough and tree areas not overly penalising, which makes it probably attractive to societies and more occasional golfers.

There are some great holes. The Strike Index 1, 5th hole, is a relatively short par 4, but the fairway ditch which runs diagonally across the fairway needs to be avoided, prior to finding the right club to reach the plateaued green. I was delighted with a bogie and moved on.

The 11th is another really nice hole, a short par 5 with well placed bunkers, that should reward those whose smart club selections take the bunkers out of play.

**The short par 5 11th at Alyth, a lovely looking hole**

When I played, the course was in excellent condition, with all bar the bunkers immaculate. I shot a gross 94 for 29 stableford points; the most enjoyable part being the very tidy finish over the last 3 holes, which should have been all pars, but for 3 putting the last after hitting my longest drive of the day!

I will go back to Alyth – highly recommended.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (2 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5990

Moly’s Gross score: 94

88. Murrayshall. 16 Sep 2018

October 30, 2018 / Moly McMillan

Murrayshall is a nice parkland course, but its hotel partner course (Lynedoch) is much better value.

Round £50 ( variable on-line). Par 70. Value (out of 5) – 3

The Murrayshall estate, first built in 1664, was established as a commercially successful Country House hotel in the early 1970s, following the sale of the estate by the Norrie-Millar family, of whom Francis Norrie-Millar was one of the key instrumentalists in building the General Accident insurance company in nearby Perth, only 3 miles to the west of Murrayshall.

Fran plays at the par 5 9th at Murrayshall

The esteemed golf architect Hamilton J Strutt (grandson of James Braid’s foreman) designed this Championship course in the 70s, and returned to design the Lynedoch course which opened in 2000. The Murrayshall course is indeed a fine example of Strutt crafting a course amidst mature parkland, leaving an impression that the course has been there for a hundred years. This is almost completely true except for the bland and exposed par 4 13^th hole, which was oddly the SI1 hole (more of later).

The 6th tee view, typical of the Murrayshall course

Whereas the sister Lynedoch course is partly woodland, Murrayshall is exclusively parkland. I had previously played the Lynedoch track and had been very impressed (read my blog here). I was therefore greatly looking forward to playing the hotel’s premium course, but must admit that I don’t think the higher price is worth it is versus its shorter neighbour. It’s still a very nice course, with some outstanding countryside views, nice greens and good bunkering; but, other than being a longer course, it lacked the guile of its smaller sister course.

The short par 3, 4th hole, at Murrayshall

The course was in good condition when I played and I had a nice round of 89, for 37 stableford points (off 17); including a birdie at the 13th, the stoke index 1 hole, which was one of the more bland holes played towards a local farmyard. My score also reflects the fairly open fairways and relatively accessible surrounds of the trees. Other notable holes were the stretch of 6th, 7th and 8th, a really nice set of challenges, with a reachable par 4, a difficult par 4, and a tricky par 3. Also noteworthy is the mix holes, with five par 5s and five par 3s, its an odd mix.

The two dogs (Isla and Joseph) whose grave guards the very difficult pay 4 7th, “Dogs Grave”

Unfortunately, the round at Murrayshall was the slowest I’ve played for several years, at around 4.5 hours. Having caught up with the 4-ball in front, on hole 2, which actually turned out to be the last group of about 10 groups making up a society day, we then were delayed at about 5 minutes per hole for the remained of the round! I’m writing this, to give context to my “value” assessment. How should an assessment be dictated by pace of play? Well, if I hadn’t been doing a blog, we would have walked in after 12 holes. It was anything but value for money. How many times have you heard “we would let you through, but it’s the group ahead holding us up” – I refer everyone to the Etiquette section of the rules of golf, which clearly recommends allowing a faster grouping through, regardless of circumstances.

It is worth playing, but perhaps check whether a society is playing in front!

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (5 par 5s, 8 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (white) 5868 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 89

Moly’s 89 at Murrayshall – a decent round given the chilly weather

85. Portlethen. 2 Sep 2018.

September 22, 2018 / Moly McMillan

The “Committee Only” Car Park sums up why Golf has to change to survive.

Round £45. Par 70. Value (out of 5) – 3

Portlethen, about 7 miles south of Aberdeen, on the A90, is one of the fastest growing areas in Scotland over the last 30 years. When the golf course was opened in 1989 the population was recorded as 1500, yet in 2011 it was over 7000 – no doubt driven by the North Sea oil boom. With the opening of the substantial Aberdeen bypass imminent, Portlethen continues to grow, albeit the area is also suffering from the collapse in oil prices in 2015.

The welcome wasn’t warm at Portlethen – Beware of any clubs with “Committee Only” anything. No wonder some clubs are struggling.

The course, designed by the renowned Donald Steel, along with the substantial clubhouse, seems apt testimony to the ambitions of the area. Yet somehow, for me, the course fails to deliver on the initial optimism demonstrated by the designer chosen. When asked what I thought of Portlethen, my answer was “It’s OK”, which sums up my experience.

The 4th at Portlethen, one of the best holes.

It’s a generous parkland setting, and after a few ordinary holes, the 4th tee provides an excellent view of the par 5 signature hole; after a good drive I hit an excellent 3 wood over the pond guarding the green – my best strike of the day – which caught the top of a large tree and ended in the water. The 5th is also a picturesque water featured par 3. After those highlights, I thought the course somewhat fell away in quality, other than the superb 15th, the SI 2 par 4, which also had a green fronted by water.

The difficult par 4 15th at Portlethen.

The course was in reasonably good condition. But it was the lack of welcome which stuck with me. As a www.teeofftimes.co.uk customer I was advised I would be paired together – not a problem, but expressed in a manner that made me feel a second class citizen. However, shortly thereafter, I was advised I could play on my own as there was space on the tee! Nevertheless, my round was very slow, and it was clear that people in front of me were determined not to let me through, even when there was space in front.

The aesthetic 5th at Portlethen, a short iron par 3.

This seemingly unfriendly approach by a couple of players cannot, of course, be judged representative – however, when I saw the size of the “Committee Only” car park, this seemed so representative of the welcome I’d received.

My overall assessment was that Portlethen was about a 3 for value. The club’s website makes a big sell of “The Portlethen Experience” – but I must say, for me, it just felt a little bit pretentious overall.

On the day I played well for my net 71.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (3 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5747 Yards

Moly’s Gross score: 88

Moly’s Portlethen 88, with only 1 lost ball – which was the best strike of the day, including direction!

Category: £40 – £59 (Page 3 of 6)

111. Powfoot. 23 Sep 2020.

95. Alyth. 7th June 2019.

88. Murrayshall. 16 Sep 2018

Par 70 (5 par 5s, 8 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

85. Portlethen. 2 Sep 2018.

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