Joyful little gem
Round £15. Par 33. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 32/115. Value (out of 5) – 4
Can you only have fun playing golf if you play well? That was the question I pondered when assessing Gatehouse, a 9 hole golf course in Gatehouse of Fleet, a lovely little town in Dumfries and Galloway, which takes its name from the “Water of Fleet’ river that flows to the sea at nearby Kirkcudbright.
It is a ‘highland/heathland’ course, with outstanding views. The clubhouse, a lovely little ‘shed’ type building, shouted ‘golf in its basic form’ to me. The course has been around for a hundred years (founded 1921) and probably has changed very little.
The course has plenty of variety as well, requiring all your clubs (well me, anyway) – one par 5, four par 3s and 4s. The par 3s in particular are varied and collectively difficult. The first, an uphill par 3 of over 200 yards, played like a short par 4. The 8th and 9th are great finishing holes, with the downhill 160 yard 9th presenting a potential disaster if you go long – don’t do that.
I played well – scoring 37, 4 over par – on this course that I wouldn’t recommend for the ‘occasional’ golfer. It’s very undulating, a tough walk, has small greens and many blind tee and approach shots. It was quite slippery when I played and actually could be a bit hazardous (my playing partner Fran fell on one of the slopes).
Overall, its really great value golf. The greens and fairways were in excellent condition and overall this is highly recommended.
But even without playing well, I think I would have come to the same conclusion – this is Scottish golf personified in many ways.
Course Type: Heathland
Par 33 (1 par 5, 4 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance: 2418
Moly’s Gross score: 37
