Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Page 16 of 45

119. Aberfoyle. 5 Nov 2020

February 16, 2022 /

A wonderfully understated golf course

Round £25. Par 66. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 64.1/115. Value (out of 5) – 5

From the endearing conversation with local members, to the beautifully crafted use of space and to meeting the challenge of some excellent holes, Aberfoyle golf course is an absolute joy, set in the magnificent surroundings of the Trossachs area of Scotland. It’s a must play and incredible Scottish golfing value.

The 6th tee at Aberfoyle, with the typical scenic views of he Trossachs countryside.
Bend that right leg Moly!

The course was established in 1890 with 9 holes and only extended to 18 holes in the 1980s, albeit it’s a difficult job trying to guess the original 9. It’s short in length, at well under 5000 yards from the yellow tees most people will use, but still has a slope rating of 115 despite only having 8 bunkers.

My favourite hole at Aberfoyle – the short par four 4th, with tricky thin green from front to back.

Set among the glens, the wind may make some of the longer par 3s and par 4s difficult to reach in regulation. Particularly so, for those holes played into the prevailing wind; the long par three 5th and par four 14th, well deserving of their stroke indexed 2 and 1 ratings.

The approach shot into the first at Aberfoyle, is the first of several blind shots played at this course.

The highlight of my playing was actually a bogie 4 at the 5th, after pulling a 3 wood tee shot into the heath on the left of the green and getting the ball miraculously onto the green with my second. It’s not always birdies that get remembered.

The most memorable hole, however, was the gorgeous short par four 4th hole. Again, played into the prevailing wind, it has a delightful thin green from ‘front to back’. The local guide, excellently displayed on the good club website, is well worth reviewing before play, with the advice on the 4th not to be tempted to go for the green from the tee, but rather play conservatively left with a mid iron, or hybrid, to leave an easy pitch up to the green.

The lovely par three 10th hole at Aberfoyle

The recent weather when I played had been horrendous and I was amazed at the great condition of the course, testament to the natural drainage and mindful greenkeeping. I can imagine the joy of playing Aberfoyle on an early or late Summer evening.

It is a tough walk tough, with several blind shots to encounter (the 17th was the most striking in this regard), so a yardage device is also recommended. There are also some holes that cross each other, something typical of the late Victorian courses. Some amalgamation golf course guides cite James Braid as the designer, but I didn’t get any confirmation of that on the list of courses on the Braid association guide. It would be interesting to know who the designer of the original 9 holes was.

The beautiful scenery at Aberfoyle, displayed here at the 11th

Golf is such a game of “what if’s” – on the day, mine were a triple bogie 7 on the 16th followed by an even worse 9 on the par four 17th having lost 2 balls. Other than those holes, I played pretty well.

It’s a great course Aberfoyle, well worth the journey. One trivial point – having paid £15 on-line using the clubs booking system, I turned up to find a sign on the closed clubhouse door saying “From 1st Nov, only £10”. Despite being a little peeved, this is still 5-star value!

Course Type: Heathland

Par 66 (0 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance: 4767

Moly’s Gross score: 89

Moly’s Aberfoyle scorecard – 89

118. Callander. 4 Nov 2020.

January 25, 2022 /

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.

Callander golf club has seen much better days – its website is also living in the past.

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.

Callander’s 7th, one of the many short par 4s, this one called ‘Blind’ for obvious reasons off the tee.

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 6th at Callander, ‘Dell’, the most difficult of all the holes , in full Autumn colours

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.

The 16th at Callander, with Ben Ledi in the background

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.

The wonderful par three 15th – ‘Avenue’. But not as famous as, for example, the ‘postage stamp’

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

Moly’s scorecard at Callander – 80

117. Earl of Mar. 30 Oct 2020.

January 20, 2022 /

Rainbows and Celebs are potential hazards at this excellent new course

Round £60. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 70.8/129. Value (out of 5) – 4.5

The official name of this golf course is the ‘Earl of Mar’, but I’ve entitled the blog ‘Mar Hall’ ,the name of the hotel, which opened 2004, as that is what the course is more commonly listed as.

Moly at the par five 15th hole, with the Erskine Bridge on the horizon. One of only two par 5s on the course.

The course itself was designed by the renowned Dave Thomas and founded in 2010 ; and what a great golf course he has created, making full use of the available land – albeit it does feel a little compact in places with several holes adjoining in an ‘up and down’ fashion, making it play wider than perhaps intended. However, with USGA style bunkers, in both fairway and greenside, this course requires accuracy off the tee and especially into the greens, where knowledge of your yardage will pay dividends.

The approach at the 12th at Mar Hall, with the Baronial 18th Century Manor, now hotel, in the background. The fairways had held up to recent torrential rain, but were a little mossy.

Coupled with a stay in the collocated 5 star hotel, the former Erskine Estate and House make for an excellent golfing break, especially with its proximity to Glasgow and its airport. The Erskine bridge, which crosses the River Clyde, dominates the skyline, especially at the downhill dog-leg left second hole, where you feel you are playing under the bridge. Although set along the south bank of the Clyde, the river doesn’t come into play, which is a pity.

The excellent 13th hole, a dog-leg right, par 4, where you need to keep well left of the fairway bunkers, to give a par opportunity.

Other than the river, there are outstanding views of the hills to the north and some magnificent trees, which Thomas has carefully utilised in the design.

At over 6200 yards from the yellow tees, at par 70, this is a challenging course for all bar the single figure golfer. Some of the shorter par 4s, such as the delightful 9th hole, play slightly uphill into the prevailing wind and will require 2 decent shots to reach in regulation.

Fran puts at the 14th, with the Rainbow and the Old Kirkpatrick hills in the background.

When I played in late October, there had been several days of very heavy rain, but the course was in remarkably good condition, testament to the build quality and green keeping. The greens were all in play, they are generally very large, with devilish surrounds, including large bunkers, so keeping a 3 putt off the card, or scrambling, will also be a challenge.

The 9th makes for a robust end to the front 9, a short but tough par 4, normally played into the prevailing wind.

Nevertheless, its a delightful walking course, and as said, there is ample room from many tees, so makes for a good society day.

On the day, I played very well to get round in 91, for 30 stableford points, the latter number I always think is acceptable playing a course for the first time.

The trees are carefully crafted into the course, as here at the 15th fairway, with the view over the River Clyde.

The hotel has apparently hosted many celebs during its short existence, which I thought was quite appropriate given that, according to the barman, the river and hills make for ideal conditions for rainbows – although I didn’t find any pots of gold.

The view over the course from the hotel at Mar Hall – well worth a short golfing break here.

The course is the star here though. Well worth playing.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 70 (2 par 5, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 6259

Moly’s Gross score: 91

Played well for a 91 on this compact and challenging course

116. Kirkcudbright. 28 Oct 2020.

January 10, 2022 /

‘Kuh coo bree’ – worth a visit to this course and the local art galleries

Round £32. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68/117. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

The town of Kirkcudbright, mysteriously pronounced ‘Kuh-coo-bree’, sits on the east of the River Dee estuary in Dumfries and Galloway. It’s a remarkable place; festooned with art galleries and nice coffee shops – one could imagine it being twinned with Glastonbury, the epi-centre of Druids in Somerset, England.

The course, set above the town, gives excellent views of The Galloway Hills providing a very picturesque backdrop – here Moly tees at the 3rd, one of the more straight forward holes – a short par 4.

The town was home of The ‘Kircudbright’ artist movement in the late 1800s, and several of the galleries tell that story. The golf course was in fact founded in 1893, at the very height of the art movement in the town. I wondered how many of the artists, some of international significance, ever played the golf course – after all, the first hole, (Charles) ‘Oppenheimer’ is named after one of the towns best know artists?

A birdie opportunity at the fairly short downhill par five 8th, stroke index 15, hole at Kirkcudbright.

The course was originally 9 holes and only extended to 18 holes in the 1970s, unfortunately neither original or extension architect are listed in the website. After a fairly benign opening par 4 , the second is played uphill across the current 15th hole. After a short par four 3rd, the first of the several difficult holes is the 4th – although a relatively short dog leg right, judging the distance off the tee is crucial to avoid a lost ball. On the day, I saw an old man in the woods searching for golf balls – it was as if I saw the “ghost of golf future” for me.

The signature ninth hole, a challenging par 3 likely requiring a mid to long iron for most players.

The extension of the course, includes a nice run of holes, from 9 through 12, by far the most nuanced part of the course. The 12th, in particular would fit into a much higher standard layout.

The course was in pretty good condition when I played with Fran, but there were a few winter greens in early use, even although they seemed completely playable, and firm.

The beautiful par five 12th hole, the best on the course, in Moly’s opinion. The stroke index of 2 fully justified.

I shot 91, and played pretty well on the back 9, where I had 18 stableford points. This was helped by the wide fairway in the main.

Another wonderful quirk is that the clubhouse is used by an award winning Thai restaurant – I loved this and it just seemed so befitting this ‘cool’ place. The artists would undoubtedly been customers of the restaurant, even if they were not golfers!

Lastly, I have to mention the few local members in the clubhouse were really friendly and helpful explaining the layout of the course.

Course Type: Parkland

Par bb (2 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance: 5412

Moly’s Gross score: 91

A struggle to 91 at Kirkcudbright golf course

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