Category: The Highlands (Page 4 of 6)

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

September 16, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Great Fun Highland Golf – but overpriced for just 9 holes.

Round £25 (£18 for 9). Par 33. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

I was a member of Abernethy golf club for many years and the course is my favourite place on earth! I have had no greater golfing pleasure than playing on my own on a late June evening with the course completely to myself – I have felt the spirit of Shivas Irons.

The war memorial hazard on the long par 3 8th hole.

Abernethy GC is in the village of Nethy Bridge, near Grantown on Spey in the Cairngorms National Park. Founded in 1893, it is a quintessential Highland 9-hole course – small “tea room” style clubhouse, open to visitors of all standards, lovely views from natural heathland with majestic trees, and terrifying heather in places. There is also an abundance of wildlife, so a good course for non-playing partners to accompany golfers around this lovely walk, which, if not busy, will take comfortably less than 1 hours 30 mins to play 9 holes.

Beware cars on the short par 3 2nd hole.

Abernethy is one of those courses where all golfers will feel they should break their handicap; its short, with many inviting tee shots, and “feels easy”. However, there are some key reasons why most people won’t break their handicap; the fairways become very tight over 220 yards, the excellent greens are small with many having difficult slopes, plus 3 of the holes – the long par 3s at the 5th and 8th, and the par 4 7th – are amongst the toughest holes in the Highlands. Off the back tee on the 7th, all bar the longest hitters would be advised to play this hole as a par 5 – the white tee carry being around 250 yards to a dog leg!

The mighty carry of the 7th drive at Abernethy GC

The course has got great variety and the small green keeping staff do a good job keeping the course in fantastic condition, with the greens being some of the best in the area. It’s a great course to play, especially for those on holiday wanting to play a quick and casual game.

The beautiful view of the 6th tee at “nethy”

However, in my opinion, the pricing is really a shame and is discouraging anyone wanting to play just a quick 9 holes. It is £18 for 9 holes, but only £25 for the whole day, with no 18 hole price, hence I’m forced to conclude its not particularly good value – my recommendation would be £13 for 9 and £18 for 18.

On the day, I got a 5 on the 7th:) – which always makes me happy!

Some Facts

Course Type: Highland

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2297 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 44

Stableford 17

Moly’s Abernethy Scorecard – 44 for 17 stableford points

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

September 15, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Lovely Parkland & Links Course! – worth playing just for the 15th Tee shot!

Round £20. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 4

Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club lies on the west bank of the mouth of the River Spey, which comes into play only on the 15th, but still probably eats up a great deal of golf balls – more later.

2nd tee – Garmouth & Kingston

The course was founded in 1932, and at a little over 5000 yards presents, in theory, a reasonably straight forward test of golf, with several short par 3s and par 4s. Its a very interesting layout, with a parkland front 9 and a links back 9 – it is literally 2 different golf courses.

5th Green at Garmouth & Kingston – course is in beautiful condition

It’s also very flat and an easy walk, with some good views, especially of the Moray Firth on the links side – its a really great course for a round whilst on holiday, with many local attractions for the non golfer.

13th green with the Moray Firth in the distance.

The course was in perfect condition when I played, with beautiful fairways and greens. At only £20 for a round it is great value golf.

There are a number of nice holes, with most of the par 3s quite short, but they are well guarded so club selection is important, and I suspect difficult if any wind gets up.

The frightening 15th tee – pray for a left to right wind.

The highlight of the course is the par 3 15th played alongside the River Spey – a right to left wind would make this hole a nightmare, and must destroy many a medal round. I played badly, except for the 15th where an 8 iron to only 7 feet left me my first birdie for a while – highly enjoyable.

Worth playing just for the 15th! Lovely little course and great value.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland & Links

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

Distance (yellow) 5046 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 99

Stableford 29

Moly’s Garmouth & Kingston Scorecard – 99

30. Muir of Ord. 30th Aug 2015

September 11, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Nice course – play on Sunday after 3pm for best value golf in the area

Round £25. Par 67 (yellow). Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Muir of Ord is an interesting heathland course, about 13 miles north-west of Inverness close to the Beauly Firth. The course is bisected by the Inverness-Wick railway line, with the track being a significant hazard on several of the holes. I played on a Sunday afternoon, taking advantage of a fantastic standing offer of only £10 for a round after 3pm, which is very popular deal. On the basis of that price the value rating would have been 4.5, rather than 3.5 using the midweek standard price of £25.

The course was established in 1875 and is party laid out by James Braid. Apparently there has been several changes since Braid’s involvement, but the current layout has some great holes, many unchanged from Braid’s time.

The first 4 and last 3 holes are on one side of the railway line and are flat and almost links like, with the 5th through 15th on the other side, where the course is more undulating and very different in character.

The highlight for me was the 4 hole stretch from 11 to 14. The par 4 11^th, is the stroke index 1 hole, followed immediately by 2 very different par 3s, the 12^th is a hazard laden 200+ yard hole and the 13^th is a 100 yard hole with a 100 ft climb to a tricky green – the 14^th presents a very challenging drive with the railway line tight along the left of the hole. I suspect these 4 holes will heavily influence your card.

Another hole worth mentioning is the 4^th, with a drive and approach again both influenced by the railway.

The course was in beautiful condition when I played in August 2015, with the heather in full bloom, it would be worth playing at this time of year just for the floral colour. The tees in particular were very well maintained.

I played as well as I’ve done all season, chipping and putting very well, with several single putts in a gross 86, for 37 stableford points. I had an interesting 6 on the 14th, including playing out of a bush where my ball had come to rest about 2 feet off the ground! Happy day all round on this very nice course.

Why not pray for good weather after 3pm on Sunday!

Some Facts

Course Type: Heathland

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

Distance (yellow) 5229 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 86

Stableford 37

Moly’s Muir of Ord Scorecard – 86, best for a while!

26. Grantown-on-Spey. 6th Aug 2015.

August 11, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Best Value Highland Golf

Round £29 ( any day). Par 70. Value (out of 5) – 5

The Signature 9th at Grantown on Spey

Grantown-on-Spey is in the Strathspey area of The Highlands, an important location for whiskey and salmon fishing lovers, both of which benefit from the waters of the Spey river.

The difficult drive at 10th tee

This course was formed in 1890 and designed by Willie Park with assistance from James Braid. Unlike some if its neighbouring “highland” courses, Grantown is a traditional parkland course, with holes 7-12 played through some hilly woodland, without the expected broom and heather.

12th green Grantown on Spey

In many ways I think Grantown is overshadowed by the nearby Boat of Garten course, which gets so many accolades, although it is a similar length to “The Boat”, and represents a good challenge for all.

In terms of condition, it is unparalleled in the area in my view, and gives some of the prestigious more expensive courses a run for their money. One of my visiting playing partners said “the last time I saw a course so well presented was the K-Club during the Ryder Cup!” That’s high praise indeed to the small green keeping staff. Considering it has a £29 round change on any day, it scores the highest “Value for Money” rating of 5. It also has a well presented clubhouse with all the expected facilities.

The well bunkered par 3 16th

The ‘signature’ hole is the 275 yard 9th, a short downhill par 4 with a spectacular backdrop of the Cromdale Hills. There are also views of the Cairngorms. There are some difficult holes with out of bounds coming into play regularly for both “hookers” and “slicers” – no-one is safe. My favourite holes are the 3rd, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th. The only tips I would give are take enough club at the par 3 8th and 11th, both played uphill. Also, don’t have a disaster in the middle of your round like I did (12 over for the 13th, 14th and 15th – my 32 Stableford points tells I played well otherwise).

The 17th green – Grantown on Spey

Go out of your way to play Grantown, it is amongst the best value golf anywhere in the world.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (1 par 5, 14 par 4s, 34 par 3s)

Distance (white) 5710 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 96

Moly’s Grantown scorecard – 96

Category: The Highlands (Page 4 of 6)

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

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

30. Muir of Ord. 30th Aug 2015

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

26. Grantown-on-Spey. 6th Aug 2015.

Par 70 (1 par 5, 14 par 4s, 34 par 3s)

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