Great links worth the visit if you’re also playing St Andrews
Summary: Midweek £65 (round); £85 (day); weekend (morning) £80. Par 71. Value (out of 5) – 3.5
Detail:
Scotscraig 18th green and clubhouse
Scotscraig was founded in 1817 by some members of the St. Andrews Society of Golfers (later to be the R&A) and therefore became the 13th Golf Club in the world. Pedigree apart, it’s a great test of golf and has been a final qualifying venue many times when The Open has been at St Andrews. It has therefore played host to many of the world’s best golfers.
It is a fine links course, but with a layout more typical of a parkland course, therefore wind direction impacts differently on each hole, unlike many of the “out and back” links courses on the east of Scotland.
Par 3 6th at Scotscraig
Scotscraig also has a fair number of trees as well. This, coupled with a lot of broom, the indigenous Scottish links shrub, makes for a really nice vista on many of the holes.
The greens had recently been rotavated and treated by the newly appointed green keeper, and so were not typical of the good condition that I’d experienced here several times before – however, the rest of the course was in excellent condition.
Approach to the 7th at Scotscraig
Playing with an old family friend, David Husband, a member of Scotscraig for many years, I was reminded of the importance of local knowledge to playing links courses, especially when the ground around the greens becomes so hard, and the need to play the chip and run, sometimes from up to 100 yards out. Even if you’re not used to this form of the game, its nice to try this shot out.
There are some great holes at Scotscraig, with the par 4 fourth hole, stroke index 1, being the first major test, played to a steep sided plateau green, over a second shot carry from the fairway – settle for a bogey and move on. You also need to be aware from several of the tees of the adjacent greens and tees which criss-cross at times.
The par 3 15th with Moly’s best shot of the day!
There are also 2 really nice mid iron par 3s, the 6th and 15th, the latter to a 2 tier green would be a good “nearest the pin” for a society.
I had a mixed round, with 55 out and 45 home, the latter with an 8, but enough to win my match – but to be fair neither David nor I played to our handicap, on a day when the wind got up sufficiently to make scoring difficult.
A nice club house with good visitor facilities make this course well worth a visit.
Key Facts
Course Type: Links
Green Fees:
Midweek £65 round £85 day
Weekend £80 (morning)
Par 71 (3 par 5, 11 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance(yellow) 6310 yards
Moly’s Gross score: 100
Moly’s Scotscraig scorecard – 100