29. Comrie. 25th Aug 2015

Ever played on a course where the original layout was 9 holes, but a later extension to 18 completely destroyed the beauty and originality of the initial layout?  Comrie, in Perthshire, is testament to why sometimes leaving a great 9 hole layout as just that is the best thing to do!

Comrie is a really great 9 hole course, founded in 1891, and with significant input later by the renowned architect James Braid.  Off the white tees it is over 3000 yards, but even off the yellow (at 2699 yards) it is a demanding test of golf.  No two holes are similar, and with the high standard of the course, coupled with great views of the local Perthshire hills, it’s well worth going out of your way to play Comrie.  It also has a delightful clubhouse with a comfortably furnished lounge to while away the hours in the lovely surroundings.

The fairways are quite generous, but the rough is very penal, so think twice about taking driver, even on the long par 5 6th – even for long hitters, this is likely to be a 3 shot hole, because of the very clever short dog leg right to the green, only some 50 yards further on.

The greens were also in excellent condition when I played, albeit slower than what one might expect in August.

It would be difficult to pick any signature hole, but I thought the par 3 5th, par 5 6th and par 4 7th, represented a run of great golfing architecture.

For my own game, I was 3 over after 5, and then 10 over for the next 4;  I just cant help getting a bit excited when I string some form together, then the golfing gods always decide to teach me a lesson.  Oh well, if you cant help but play badly, Comrie’s delightful course lifts your spirits.

Well worth a game here.