Where exactly is Kincardine Golf Club?
Value for Money (out of 5) – 3.5
I love marketing using “it does exactly what it says on the tin“.
Most Scots know where the Kincardine Bridge is, but few know where Tulliallan is. Tulliallan Golf Club is less than a mile north of the Kincardine Bridge which crosses the Firth of Forth about 20 miles west of Edinburgh, at a cross roads of several Scottish Counties, including Stirlingshire, Fife and Perthshire.
‘Tulliallan’, meaning ‘beautiful knoll’ in Gaelic, was the name of an estate owned by the Lairds of Blackadder, which is unusual given the Blackadder Clan (now defunct) were from Berwickshire. The original 9 hole golf course was founded in 1902 with 5 holes occupying the ground of Blackadder Castle (sometimes called the Old Tulliallan Castle). For the record the New Tulliallan Castle, built in the 19th Century, is home of the Scottish Police College. The golf clubhouse bisects the two castles which are only a mile apart.
As with many courses of the age it was fairly quickly extended 18 although I couldn’t find out the architect, which is a shame as it’s a decent layout. The course makes good use of the gently sloping lands and excellent use of the burns. With some blind shots and sparse, but effective, bunkering, it’s slope rating of 122 means its a decent test.
The course was wet when we played, but other than some casual water on the first and last it had withstood the heavy rain well. To prevent mud paths, the club had introduced a clever winter routing altering the order of holes 7 through 13. The tee signs had been clearly marked, highlighting good course management.
The highlight is the careful ordering of the holes, ensuring each presents a different challenge from the last. There was really good stoke indexing as well, other than the last, which I think should not be SI 18.
The course’s fairly wide fairways, good greens and very nice cafe/restaurant, as well as its decent pricing means its a good choice for a society outing, especially with its central location.
Finally to ‘marketing’. One wonders how many more visitors this course would get annually it it was called “Kincardine Golf Club”? I actually searched and did find a Kincardine Golf Club – one of the oldest in Canada, founded in 1906, only 4 years after Tulliallan was founded.
Facts:
Round List Price £35. Actual Paid £17 through Golfnow.
Course/Slope Rating (white) 69/122.
Course Type: Parkland
Par 69 (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance (yellow): 5678 yards
