A course down on its luck, well worth playing, but this is no “Gleneagles” as its web site infers.
Round £24. Par 63. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 62.6/105. Value (out of 5) – 4
There is a well known equation for individual business success – “under promise and over deliver”. Why do some golf clubs get this completely inverted by “over promising and under delivering”. Callander Golf Club is a perfect example of this error.
The club has clearly seen better days – the photo above gives a glimpse of the state of its infrastructure. The ‘temporary’ clubhouse was a shipping container. Its web site includes the following statements, some quoted from media outlets:
“Callander Golf Club is probably the most scenic golf course in the UK“,
“The charming and challenging 15th is one of the most famous par 3s in Scotland“,
“‘The Scotsman’ includes Callander … ahead of Carnoustie’s Championship Course.“
“‘Golf Monthly’ rated Callander among the top ten courses in Scotland for visitors, alongside Gleneagles, Turnberry and St. Andrews.“
These statements, collectively, are so wide of the mark – in my humble opinion of course! Just image a touring golfer, having played Gleneagles, Turnberry, St Andrews and Carnoustie, turning up at Callander expecting something similar.
Please, don’t get me wrong, this is a really fun and lovely golf course set within the beautiful Trossachs area of central Scotland, with very picturesque surroundings, some great and memorable holes and in decent condition.
The course was opened in 1892 as 9 holes designed by Old Tom Morris, then Willie Fernie extended it to 18 holes in 1914. Heady architects both.
This is, in particular, brilliant holiday golf. It’s short, at well under 5000 yards from the yellow tees. It has fairly generous fairways, not too many bunkers and relatively straightforward greens. There is an abundance of par 3s, with five on the back 9 alone, including the cute 15th, where play is through, or more likely, above a tiny channel between tall trees. It’s memorable, and one of those holes that demands straight hitting.
The Slope Rating of 105, gives most golfers the chance of posting a great score for 18 holes – that’s always nice.
Its well worth playing – but don’t expect to be playing Gleneagles – the green fee will tell the true story, and to that extent it’s also a great course for serious golfers to play as well, in order to experience the great value golf Scotland has to offer. Scots are known for being honest, so lets set the record straight on the web site.
On a very wet Autumnal day, with colours in late bloom, Fran and I had the course pretty much to ourselves. I played decent to shoot 80
Course Type: Parkland
Par 64 (0 par 5s (although 1 on the white), 10 par 4s, 8 par 3s)
Distance: 4470
Moly’s Gross score: 80
