A guide to green fee value for money

Category: Hamilton J Stutt

88. Murrayshall. 16 Sep 2018

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 13th 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

42. Murrayshall Lynedoch. 6th June 2016.

The “junior” Murrayshall course provides a surprisingly outstanding challenge  

Round  £30 ( variable on-line).   Par 68.  Value (out of 5) – 4

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.

Approach to the par 4 second - requiring a well placed tee shot, into a narrow green over a deep ditch.

Approach to the par 4 2nd – requiring a well placed tee shot, into a narrow green over a deep ditch.

The esteemed golf architect Hamilton J Strutt (grandson of James Braid’s foreman) designed the original Championship course in the 70s, and returned to design the Lynedoch course which opened in 2000.  The latter course is named after Thomas Graham, aka Lord Lynedoch, who became second in command to the Duke of Wellinton’s Armies in the early 1800s.

Playing the Lynedoch actually reminds you of the Duke of Wellington when importalised in song for “marching them up to the top of the hill, and marching them down again!” There’s plenty of hills to march up and down on the Lynedoch course, which feels longer than its 5279 yards off the white tees.   I wouldn’t recommend carrying a full bag!

The demanding SI 1, par 5 14th hole on The Lynedoch

The demanding SI 1, narrow par 5 14th hole on The Lynedoch

The Lynedoch Course really surprised me for both its quality and character, given that it is very much the junior course at Murrayshall.  It is very difficult to give a single course type categorisation, and is a mix of woodland and parkland/medow, and has some wonderful highland views to the north.  It also has a fair amount of bracken, ditch/water hazards and Disney sized bunkers on some holes.

Given its all round quality and design, it’s arguably better value than the longer Championship course.  It has many memorable holes, starting on the first, a dog leg right par 4, which is much harder than the stroke index of 10 would suggest.  The second, a shorter par 4, starts to lay out the need for accuracy needed here.  Then the 3rd is the first of 6 delighful par 3s, with a hugh amount of variety.

The long par 3 15th tee on The Lynedoch, with deep ditch just visible on the left - cant impagine many 2s here!

The long par 3 15th tee on The Lynedoch, with deep ditch just visible on the left – can’t imagine many 2s here!

My favourite holes were the 14th, 15th and 16th, with stroke indexes 1, 5 and 3 repectively – I rather suspect these holes have defined many match play games here.  The 15th is particularly interesting played as a long par 3 (212 yards) off white but as a short par 4 (294 yards) off yellow.  It requires the most accurate tee shot, due to a right to left sloping fairway into a deep ravine/ditch – which I had to chip out of!

View from green at the par 3 15th (although par 4 from yellow tees)

View from green at the par 3 15th (although par 4 from yellow tees)

The course was in excellent all round condition when I played and I had a very mercurial round of 88 (net 2 over), including 3 birdies for the second time in my life, but unfortunately 2 quadruple and 1 triple bogie!  I think this scorecard rather sums up the Lynedoch course – lots of opportunity and hazard, but very true greens!

I highly recommend playing here.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland/Woodland

Par 68 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance (white)   5279 yards

Moly’s Gross Score  88

A mercurial 88, with 3 birdies and 2 quadruple bogies!

A mercurial 88, with 3 birdies and 2 quadruple bogies!

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