Don’t make the same mistake as Walter Hagen – this is not worth playing
Round £15. Par 33. Slope (yellow) 100. Value (out of 5) – 1
Machrie Bay, is on the west of the island of Arran, not far from the majestic Shiskine. What a big disappointment – unless you’re chalking up all the courses on Arran, I would give this nine hole course a miss. At £15 for nine holes, this was very poor value when compared with the similar prices on offer on the island.
The very poor first tee at Machrie Bay, not an impressive start.
The world was in the middle of the Covid Pandemic when I played, but in looking closely at the poor course condition it was clear that the pandemic was not the reason – the course was suffering years of neglect. The teeing grounds were bad and many of the greens were covered in moss.
The moss covered 1st green at Machrie Bay.
There’s not much to say about the course. It had many very plain holes, little more than fields with a tee at one end and a green at the other. It did have 2 holes worth noting, both which play over the road that circles the island. The 2nd, played from the white tees was a difficult par 3, and the 9th hole, a fairly short par 4, with a very dangerous blind second shot over the road, for which distance control is critical – I played a good shot and never found my ball again!
The tough par 3 second hole at Machrie Bay – pictured from the white tee.
On the day I struck the ball well and scored 40, for 19 stableford points.
The par four 6th hole – the typical bland hole at Machrie Bay
Finally to Walter Hagen. There is a delightful newspaper clipping on the Machrie Bay website here. Enticed to play “The Machrie” course, a beautiful course on Islay, Hagen turned up in Arran to play Machrie Bay. Don’t make the same mistake – but then again doing something the same as Hagen might not be too bad!
Facts:
Course Type:Parkland
Par 33 (0 par 5, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)
Distance: 2154
Moly’s Gross score: 40
Moly’s Machrie Bay scorecard – gross 40, with triple bogie at the last
One explanation makes sense – this is perhaps God’s home course.
Round £26 (12 holes). Par 42. Value (out of 5) – 5
Shiskine is probably the greatest 12 hole golf course in the world, but that hardly does the course justice.
The Isle of Arran sits off the North Ayrshire coast, accessible all year round by regular ferry crossings from the Port of Ardrossan or, during Summer, from the Kintyre peninsular.
Moly putting for birdie at the 4th “The Shelf” hole at Shiskine, in benign conditions.
Several areas of Scotland self proclaim the title of best destination for golf, with the East Neuk of Fife and the North Berwick coastline being the headline events. But when it comes to the best value destination for golf (worldwide?) Arran sits comfortably at the top of any list – in my humble opinion. This island of 432km2 has a population of 5,000, with a majority of the people working in the hospitality sector. Arran has 7 golf courses, which all sit on the periphery of the island and are easily accessed; none of them has a weekly green fee greater than £30. With many hotels, B&Bs and campsites, Arran is a must visit golfing destination.
Shiskine, set on the west of the island, is the jewel in Arran’s crown.
The par 3 ‘Craws Nest’, 3rd, with views over the beautiful Shiskine layout.
It is said you should never meet your heroes as it can be so disappointing. It was with a similar sentiment I embarked for Arran with nightmares about losing all my balls into the sea from Shiskine’s formidable first tee. Such was my desperation to play that immediately after pitching our caravan and with pristinely tranquil conditions, I psychologically ran to the course to grab a twilight round at only £21. Without a pre-shot routine, and with a vice like will to keep my head over the ball, I drove a low running drive over 200 yards up the fairway – hallelujah! Entering a trance like state, I then proceeded to play the 12 holes in 47, or 5 over par – not quite the best round of my life, but I cannot remember smiling so much to myself during a round of golf.
The terrifying par 4 “Road Hole” first at Shiskine, with OOB left all the way to the hole.
Perhaps by ‘divine’ intervention, a feasibility study in the late 1800s rejected building a deep water pier on the current golf course site to serve the local port of Blackwaterfoot. Sometime thereafter, Willie Fernie of Troon (who also designed Turnberry’s Ailsa course), laid out the original 9 hole course, which opened in 1896, although only the current 5th and 9th holes survive from then.
The difficult stroke index1 second hole at Shiskine, a tough par 4 with a burn in front of the green capturing many of the blind second shots into the green. Take enough club.Atop Drumadoon Hill in the background was where 6 holes returned to waste during the first world war
The course was extended to 18 holes just before the first world war using land above the current ‘shelf’ area of the 3rd green, but fell into disrepair during that war. Several attempts during the decades after failed to reestablish an 18 hole course.
Willie Park (Sunningdale and the North Course at Olympic Park, Chicago) then designed the current 12 holes between 1925-28. 18 holes play is reserved for member only competitions with the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 12th replayed with a further hole using a unique “15th” tee into the 4th green.
The course is not long, at just under 3000 yards from the white tees for the 12 holes, and 4,878 for the 18 hole layout; its slope rating is only 99 and disappointingly has no red ‘ladies’ tee boxes. It has 7 par 3s, 1 par 5 and 4 par 4s. Despite its short length, this is really fun golf, with very many blind tee or approach shots. I would strongly recommend reading the course guide, there is, for example, a bale out area to the right of the blind 3rd green, so aiming right of the flag is imperative. It’s rather hard to adequately describe the course other than saying it’s magical. It’s not perfect though, with the 12th a rather underwhelming short finishing hole. Nevertheless, it actually made me feel like I was playing my part in a Michael Murphy (Golf in the Kingdom) style mystical adventure with Shivas Irons as a playing partner. Perhaps I exaggerate. I can conclude by saying that I doubt you’d find anything like this course other than in Scotland and it’s a must play destination.
The 4th at Shiskine, a collage of dreams.
I’ve often pondered what golf handicap God might have? I’ve concluded that it would make sense if he or she were to have the exact average Scottish men’s or women’s handicap. God’s preferred course would be majestic, but not too difficult. For example, it wouldn’t have par 4s or par 3s that are really disguised par 5s or 4s respectively. It wouldn’t have any carries off the tee that effectively disenfranchise most higher handicap players. It would be set amid a beautiful landscape. It would offer a mix of guile and strategy. Some of the shots would be frightening. The greens, tees, fairways and all round conditions would be perfect. The weather or elements would play a significant part of the experience. Play would have to be fast – so he/she decided 12 holes was the best length. In the right conditions, it would bring you close to it’s maker.
Perhaps God did design Shiskine after all. Please go and play.
Facts:
Course Type:Links
Par 42 (1 par 5, 4 par 4s, 7 par 3s)
Distance: 2770
Moly’s Gross score: 47
Moly’s life affirming 5 over for the 12 wonderful holes at Shiskine
This incredibly fun 9 hole course is like playing in Gordon’s Dream
Round £10. Par 31. Value (out of 5) – 5
Covesea, pronounced “Cowsea” by the locals, is a wonderful surprise. Built by Gordon Clarke in 2010 pretty much on his own and still maintained by him, Covesea costs £10 for 9 holes or £15 for the day. It used to have a cafe called the Tee Shack, which unfortunately burnt down in 2014. Overall, it feels like playing in someone’s dream.
The 5th green with the wonderful view back towards the Covesea Skerries Lighthouse
The course sits on the Moray coastline between the towns of Lossiemouth and Hopeman, set in a cove just west of the Covesea Skerries lighthouse. It is a magnificent setting for a golf course and my first thought on seeing it, was why had this piece of land never been developed as a course during the heyday of Victorian golf course building – unfortunately I wasn’t able to track down an answer, but there must be one! For those familiar with Scottish golf, Covesea has many resemblances with Cullen (1908), Anstruther (1890) and Shiskine (1896).
The dramatic and difficult tee shot at the 8th, with the sandstone structures enveloping the hole.
With it being basically a “one man band” operation, Gordon’s green keeping duties concentrate on the greens and their surrounds; this means the tees and fairways are, in places, very poor. However, if you can see past that, the condition of the greens are really good and must be the best in Scotland with a fee of “up to £10”.
The course comprises 5 par 3s and 4 par 4s, and several of these are very challenging holes.
The 2nd at Covesea, with a “Good, Bad and Ugly” feel – a very difficult pin to find.
In particular, the 5th through 8th, are dominated by the craggy rock formations and offer a lovely stretch of golf, with spectacular views from the 5th green and 6th tee.
The 8th green, clearly showing the variance between the fantastic greens and less well kept surrounds.
Overall, this is a brilliant “Value for Money”, and what a legacy for Gordon to have built. With good tees and fairways, I just wonder what the fees could be?
I played really well, other than a mess on the 2nd where I took 5 shots to get down from the left hand bunker – the resulting 7 dominating my overall score of 38, seven over par.
American style resort “Links” designed by Sam Torrance, the Scottish former Ryder Cup player/captain
Round £95. Par 72. Value (out of 5) – 3.5
The Torrance is one of two courses on the Fairmont hotel complex just outside St Andrews. The resort was opened as the St Andrews Bay Golf Resort and Spa by the American pharmaceutical entrepreneur Dan Panoz in 2001, but has transferred ownership a number of times since. The sister course is the Kitticks which I previously blogged. Both courses are championship venues and have hosted major qualifying and senior events, albeit the Torrance is regarded the senior course, and is named after its designer the Scottish golfer Sam Torrance..
The 6th at The Torrance, Fairmont St Andrwews, with the hotel in view.
Both courses previously had a headline Summer rate of £140, although new management has repriced it at “only” £95. I say “only” to highlight how crazy, in my opinion, golf prices in Scotland have become at the higher end of the market – Kingsbarns, only a couple of miles away, is £275 for a 2019 summer round! Assessing “value”, my key course assessment, is inevitably subjective, especially considering the different types of golfers each course targets – Kingsbarns starter box has a toll free American number! Comparing “value” between Kingsbarns (£275), St Andrews New (£90), Scotscraig (£70), Tain (£65), or the Kittocks at £95, is highly debatable….but good fun! (all 2019 prices)
Although playing in mid-December full tees and greens were in play, and the course was in good condition. Like its sister Kittocks course, it is quite open with wide fairways. The greens are generally very large and fast.
The Torrance course meanders around the hotel and takes in some great views, of the North Sea, the Tay Estuary towards the Angus coastline and from the 11th has great views across to St Andrews.
It is worth noting that, in my opinion, its not a true links as the turf is more arable, and certainly in other that the height of summer, the course wont necessitate any running links approach shots.
Best holes for me were the risk/reward par four 7th, which could be driven, otherwise a straight forward dog leg right requiring a hybrid off the tee; the dog leg right 10th hole, which the prevailing westerly wind will challenge the strongest driver, and; for the view, the short 11th with “The Auld Toon” in the background.
I played and scored better on The Torrance than I had on The Kittocks the year before. I shot 96, but only 44 on the front nine, which was my best nine holes of the year.
If you are looking for a golf resort whilst in St Andrews, the Fairmont offers a great location with the fees for unlimited golf on both courses during your stay being very reasonable and much better value than a single round. I got a good deal with a winter fee of only £30, but my score of 3.5 represents a value at £95 per round.
Facts:
Course Type:Links
Par 72 (4 par 5, 10 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance (yellow): 6051
Moly’s Gross score: 96
Moly’s scorecard at The Torrance – 96 for 30 Stableford points.
