Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: £40 – £59 (Page 4 of 7)

85. Portlethen. 2 Sep 2018.

September 22, 2018 /

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!

82. The Glen, East Links, North Berwick. 11 Aug 2018.

August 29, 2018 /

Excellent vistas, with some memorable holes, but clearly an overplayed course and a little worse for wear.

Round £58.   Par 70.  Value (out of 5) – 3

The seaside town of North Berwick, about 25 miles east of Edinburgh, sits along an outstanding coastline that is home to many renowned and world class golf courses, helpfully listed in the East Lothian golf website here.

The Glen golf course sits on the east of the town, and has historically been called “East Links”, to differentiate it from its more westerly and much older “West Links” neighbour, North Berwick golf course, which is one of Scotland’s great championship golf courses.

The Bass Rock from the 10th tee at The Glen.

The North Berwick “West Links” golf club actually opened in 1832.  Demand for golf expanded rapidly towards the latter part of the 19th Century along with the expansion of the railways and the increased wealth and leisure time which came from the Industrialised age.  A second 9 hole golf course to meet this demand was laid out in the east of the town in 1894, designed by Ben Sayers, the legendary Scottish golf professional and club innovator, who played a match to mark its opening.    Then, only a little over 10 years later, Sayers again, this time in conjunctions with James Braid, oversaw the extension to 18 holes, of what is now The Glen golf course.

The view from the 1st green at The Glen towards the nice clubhouse.

The course is dominated by the views of the Bass Rock, one of the several islands which dot the outer part of the Firth of Forth.  The rock can appear almost fluorescent in the correct light, which is the result of the white droppings of the large colony of gannets which inhabit it.

Views North towards the Fife Coast from the mid iron par 3 4th hole, where Fran and I both kept right as guided in the Course planner!

In fact, the coastal views from the course are among the best in Scotland, extending far north to the Kingdom of Fife; however, they serve as a rather flattering deception as many of the holes of the course are in my opinion pretty bland.  In particular, the several holes on the inland most side of the course are built on arable turf and don’t feel particularly links like at all.

Fran at the 9th, with a view of the typically worn teeing ground.

The course is basically an out and back layout, and starts with one of the most challenging holes, which after a fairly innocuous drive to around 200 yards, requires an uphill shot to a blind green – take at least 2 clubs more than normal, as the green is very long.  If you just get to the top of the hill, you’re faced with almost an inevitable 3 putt!.  This brings me to the greens – they were in good condition but seemed to have a great deal of variability of pace, which I never got used to and I three putted 8 times, which I think must be my record.

The course was otherwise in fair condition, except for the tees which were really very poor, and a clear sign of the amount of play throughout the summer – granted, the dry summer may not have helped the green keepers.  Nevertheless, the high amount of golf played is a really good thing, as golf in Scotland is in general decline.  I think The Glen provide a nice welcome and the facilities and clubhouse are new and very good, another sign of the general wealth on the coastline.

The signature par 3 13th green here seen from a distance. Note the hole is not played in this direction.

The course does have some excellent holes, and some very challenging ones, in its 6000+ yards locker.  The best known is its signature hole, the 13th, which has been likened to the famous short 7th at Pebble Beach in California, which if you look at comparable pictures is not unreasonable.

Other than my putting I had an excellent day, scoring 86, having hit 10 greens in regulation;  this was greatly helped by the pretty wide fairways the course has.  The nicest thing was having a birdie 2 at the signature hole.

It’s worth playing The Glen, but if possible I would think that early season would be a time the course is at its best before the Summer visitor season.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

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

Distance (yellow): 6048 Yards

Moly’s Gross score: 86

Some excellent play for 86 at The Glen; but included 3 putting 8 greens!

79. Fortrose & Rosemarkie. 24 June 2018.

August 4, 2018 /

Possibly the best located Scottish golf course, with evidence that James Braid’s bunkering came pretty cheap!      

Round £55.   Par 69.  Value (out of 5) – 4.5

“The Black Isle?”  Well, it’s not an isle and it’s not particularly black!  But it is a 10 mile wide by 20 mile long peninsular just north of Inverness, which also has a further very small peninsular on it’s southern Moray Firth coastline which is the heavenly location of Fortrose & Rosemarkie golf course.

The 9th green looking back to the tee with the Moray and Beauly Firths in the background.

Scots sometimes refer (tongue in cheek) to being “from God’s own country”.  If that were the case, it might just be that God chose the Fortrose & Rosemarkie peninsular for his (or her!) own personal golf course.  I played the course on a wonderfully warm and sunny late midsummer evening for a twilight fee of only £30, shot 39 (4 over) on the back 9, including 2 birdies, and seriously thought that maybe I should just stop played with that golfing memory etched on my brain.  It really can’t get much better…can it?

The Black Isle has recently become a popular destination with the creation of the North Coast 500  but has long been a destination to play some of the cream of Scottish Links, with Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Tain all close by, plus the recent addition of Castle Stuart. Fortrose & Rosemarkie has actually been attracting golfing visitors in high numbers since the expansion of the railways in the late 19th century and golf in the course location is traceable back to 1702.  Established in 1793, is the Club is the 15th oldest in the world, of which they are very proud.

The 11th tee, which is one of several arguably bland holes around the turn at Fortrose and Rosemarkie.

The course is quite short, at only 5893 yards from white tees and 5594 yards from yellow tees which I used.   It is essentially 2 horseshoe loops with the outer loop played clockwise with sea (only in play at a few holes) on your left , then an inner smaller loop played in opposite direction.  The difficulty will be dominated by the weather, but the bunkering and greens are tricky and provide protection when the wind is down.    Originally a 9 hole layout, it was extended to 18 in 1924 and in both 1932 and 1934 James Braid was engaged to advise on layout and bunkering – his 1934 fee was £12.10/  which ended in the course in its current layout.   That is only about  £1000 in current value!

The 17th at Fortrose & Rosemarkie; play left to ensure reaching to the plateau fairway.

There are some majestic holes, most notably the long par 4 4th, played towards the lighthouse at Chanonry Point, which protects the small channel through the Moray Firth towards Inverness, which is a popular viewpoint to see the many dolphins which inhabit the area.  I have spoken to people who have played the course many times and never parred the 4th.

Mission Impossible – the long par 4 4th hole at Fortrose and Rosemarkie, with Lighthouse and Fort George in view.

The 13th is also a great example of visible links architecture and Braid’s bunkers.  A hole with many options from the tee box.

The 13th – a magnificent short par 4.

The course was in all round excellent condition when I played and the club are happy for visitors to use any of the tee boxes.    In the benign conditions I shot gross 84 (net 2 under), including 4 double bogies – inevitably one of these was at the 4th!.

This is a must play course, with a twilight fee at only £30 being especially great value.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 69 (yellow; 15 par 4s,  3 par 3s)

Distance: 5594 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 84

Moly’s scorecard – 84 with only 39 on the back 9.

75. Arbroath. 6 May 2018.

May 14, 2018 /

A must visit course for US Historians, fish lovers and record book chasers!       

Round £40.   Par 70.  Value (out of 5) – 4

Arbroath is the largest town in Angus and it’s golf course sits about 2 miles to the east of the town and only 6 miles from Carnoustie.  It probably gets bypassed by many visiting golfers moving north from Carnoustie towards the wonderful links courses in Aberdeenshire – this would be a wasted opportunity.

Arbroath has a remarkable claim for it’s influence on the modern world.  The “Declaration of Arbroath”, a Scottish declaration of independence of 1320, is regarded by several historians as the model for the American Declaration of Independence.

The delightful par 3 7th hole at Arbroath (159 yards)

The golf course can also argue a potentially unrivaled and rich architectural history.  Designed by Old Tom Morris, it opened in 1878,  was redesigned by the Troon professional Willie Fernie about 30 years later, then James Braid remodeled the tees, to add length, and bunkers in 1931.  That’s a strong golfing pedigree.

The course is predominantly an out and back layout.  The first 7 holes are played westward into the, normally very strong and cold, prevailing wind, before turning back for the 8th to 10th;  westward again for the 11th and 12th, then with 5 of the last 6 holes played eastward downwind back to the clubhouse.  Strategically, 11 of the holes have reachable out of bounds to the right, so right handed slicers may wish to consider their options off the tee.

The Stroke Index 7, 375 yard 6th hole at Arbroath, a typically difficult par 4 on the opening stretch of holes.

Viewed from the tees, Arbroath seems at times flat and innocuous, but it has been very cleverly bunkered by Braid, and I’m sure the locals will have many advisory comments on where to miss the greens.  The greens were also very hard when I played and difficult to hold (for all I guess other than very good golfers).  Playing off the yellow tees didn’t give  much respite either, as the 2nd and 17th both played as long par 4s, rather than par 5s from the white tees.  There are also 3 ditches that cross the course, and these need to be carefully considered, especially as the flat terrain makes them invisible to the eye.

I rather suspect first time visitors rarely score much above 30 stableford points.

The very difficult green to find in 2 at the 13th at Arbroath, with the railway OOB on the right

The highlights for me were the par 3s, all of which had good surrounds, with the two on the back 9, the 14th at 200 yards (white at 232) and the 16th, being especially difficult.

It’s a well kept course, with good tees, greens, fairways and bunkers.  The clubhouse has a friendly staff and good food, where you can try the Arbroath Smokie, the local smoked haddock delicacy protected by EU Trade regulations.

The wonderfully bunkered par 3 16th green at Arbroath

The other Arbroath claim to fame is the local Football Club, which holds 2 world records – the highest professional scoring record (winning 36-0), and their ground, Gayfield Park, being the closest to the sea in the world – only 5 and 1/2 yards away!  Apparently, one famous game was abandoned after all balls were “lost at sea!”.

Not a great day for me, I lost 3 balls (6 shots) and 3 putted 7 times!  I suppose that explains completely my 13 over par net!  Oh, and yes, the greens are rather large and difficult!

Well worth a visit.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 68 (14 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5826

Moly’s Gross score: 98

Moly’s Arbroath scorecard – 98

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