Maverston is owned and operated by the ANM Group, a member owned co-operative company with interests in mainly farming related businesses. It seems clear that the business goal of the Maverston estate was to build a golf course attractive enough to enable the sale of the co-located residential housing plots surrounding the course. The main 18 hole course itself opened in 2014, and several “executive” houses are now completed and occupied. I played and blogged about the main 18 hole course in 2016 here.
The 9 hole par 3 course is no more than a basic layout, which was in poor condition, especially the greens, when I played along with Fran. It would be a good course to learn the game on, and given that the club encourages under 16 membership for free with an adult member, I can see the value of the overall set up.
Having said that, as a stand alone course, it is not worth the £10 fee, especially given the increasing number of deals around at much better courses at a similar price. The main course here on the other hand is worth playing.
Maverston 9 hole course, a good course to learn on
On the day, I lost a match play game with Fran winning 4 & 3, after which I parred the next 2 holes (7th and 8th) – isn’t it infuriating when that happens.
Anyone thinking of playing their first round of golf, this would be a good place – otherwise give it a miss.
Ideal Golfing Society venue with a challenging course
Round £36. Par 71. Value (out of 5) – 4
“A Challenging course for golfers of all abilities”. How often do you read that on golf course websites? I suspect it really means “please come and play no matter what standard you are, we could do with the money?”. The wealthier clubs, in much less need of visitors, rarely say it.
The nice par three 6th, one of the few holes with water in play
So, if a “for all abilities” layout does really exist, I propose the Rannaleroch course at the Strathmore Golf Centre, near Alyth in Perthshire, might be the closest I’ve found. But the more you think about it, the more obscure the statement is. Firstly, how can any one player know? I have played many times with low handicap players and I regularly play with my mid to high 20s handicap peers. Neither group has sufficient empathy, I suggest, of what constitutes a comparable challenge for the other group! Again, one of the many “unsolvable” debates golfers love.
The first green at Rannaleroch, a good example of the greens and surrounds at this main Stranthmore Golf Centre course.
Strathmore Golf Centre, near Alyth in Perthshire, was opened in 1996, and also has a 9 hole course, Leiftie Links, which I blogged in 2016. The Rannaleroch course was designed by former R&A Captain, John Salveson, now deceased; John turned to golf course design later in life after retiring as a farmer, mainly in conjunction with Donald Steel.
The 17th, the last of the nice par threes at Rannaleroch
The par 72 main course (although 70 off the yellow tees I used) is very picturesque, amongst rolling countryside, with mature trees, and the wide fairways means you can afford to use driver on all the longer holes. It’s an excellent architecture job.
The greens are large and I suggest you spend sometime on the practice greens to avoid several 3 putts; I putted very well on the front 9, then lost it on the back.
There are some really memorable holes, but I think the par 3s are the star here, with the 4th and the 17th both needing long irons. The short 6th over water is also a nice hole.
The difficult long iron par three 4th hole, with trouble left and right
The course was in excellent condition when I played along with Fran, despite the very wet weather that had prevailed the previous month. The tees, fairways and greens were all very good, albeit the bunkers were a little in need of raking and a bit of maintenance. Having said that, the course represented really good value. It would be a great course to add to a Blairgowrie centered golfing break. It also has a very good reputation for food, and I would recommend booking, as the restaurant is popular amongst local non golfers.
It’s really worth going out of your way to play Rannaleroch.
Facts:
Course Type:Parkland
Par 70 (2 par 5, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)
Distance (yellow): 5848
Moly’s Gross score: 97
Moly’s 97 at Strathmore Rannaleroch, not helped by the rain making it play long!
The highest ranked of the three Musselburgh courses even though the other two are more historically significant
Round £60. Par 71. Value (out of 5) – 4
Musselburgh is the largest of the towns in East Lothian, situated on the coast about 5 miles from Edinburgh and close to the start of the great North Berwick coastal run of courses which includes Muirfield.
1st at Musselburgh, a very typically picturesque example of this courses holes
But to say you’re playing ‘Musselburgh’ doesn’t really clarify matters, nor indeed is saying you’re playing in Musselburgh. There are in fact three named ‘Musselburgh’ courses: ‘Musselburgh Links’, which is in Musselburgh and recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest course in the world; ‘Royal Musselburgh’, the regally appointed course somewhat nearer to Prestonpans than Musselburgh and; plain old ‘Musselburgh’, which is actually in Monktonhall. Confused?
Given that the two other Musselburgh courses enjoy either a pedigree as the oldest course in the world or has a ‘royal’ appendage, I suspect many people are surprised to learn that the course simply called ‘Musselburgh’ is the highest rated of the 3 in most compilations of Scotland’s courses.
The well bunkered short 3rd hole at Musselburgh
This Musselburgh course opened in 1938 having been designed by James Braid as “a championship” layout. Off the back tees it’s over 6800 years long, and hosts many regional standard competitions, and in the past has held regional Open qualifiers and the Final Qualifier as recently as 2013, such is the best measure of this course.
Off the yellow tees, Musselburgh is still over 6200 yards, and given the amount of breeze on the day I played, presented a very stiff challenge. I shot 99, but 3 lost balls accounted for my scoring only 27 stableford points. I drove the ball well, and the often generous fairways allowed for that. The course was in good condition, although it was let down by the poor maintenance of the teeing areas and readers of my other blogs will realise this is one of my common misgivings, especially with a green fee of £60.
The ‘hidden’ hazard behind the difficult par 4 15th hole at Musselburgh
Apparently, the golf course was laid out in open parkand, but visionary tree planting during the 1950s has transformed this into a mature parkland setting and I benefited from the late autumnal colour.
Fran drives at the inviting fairway on the 17th at Musselburgh
The greens were in great condition and very true to putt on, but you needed to be careful with the greenside bunkering, which I thought was the best feature of this nice layout. With the trees fully matured and the constant changes in direction, one needed to keep track of the wind direction.
My favourite holes were the short 3rd, the slight dog leg right 9th, which had a ditch which long drivers needed to be mindful of, and the tough par 4 15th where a water hazard lies at the back of the green which I found having hit my longest 7 iron of the season!
The last hole is a very long par 4 uphill to a welcoming clubhouse. Its worth mentioning the friendliness of the staff in the bar.
The brutish finishing uphill par 4 to the awaiting and impressive clubhouse at Musselburgh
‘Salin’ feels like an intrinsic part of Scotland where community and golf are as one entity
Round £15. Par 34. Value (out of 5) – 3
Courses like Saline, pronounced ‘Salin’ by the locals, somehow define Scotland, not just Scottish golf.
The Cleish Hills provide the backdrop to the par 3 8th hole.
Saline is a village in Fife, not far from Dunfermline. Its elevation on the western slopes of the Cleish Hills, mean that any visitor will get spectacular views of the Forth Valley estuary and river. However, for the great views, you have to work hard to walk to the top of the course, but it’s well worth it.
The magnificent Forth backdrop from the 6th tee at Saline
The club was founded in 1912, but as the club’s own website admits there is virtually no history documented about the course and club development, which is clearly a shame.
The village on the other hand, with a declining population, now around 1000, down from the almost 2000 in its heyday, has an interesting history as a weaving centre. It still has several listed weavers cottages, as a legacy to its former glory.
The 1st at Saline, which gets the heart pumping from the first minute.
The 9 hole course, was in fair condition when I played, along with my wife Fran. The fairways were lush and wide enough to allow for an errant drive or two, but the greens were a little bumpy, which could have been down to the amount of recent rain.
There were some decent holes as well. The steeply uphill par 4 5th at 368 yards is a really tough 2 shots, where I suspect most will require driver and fairway wood to reach. The par 3 8th is a great short hole, against the backdrop of the Cleish Hills; it required much less club due to the drop and it’s better playing long due to the front bunkers.
The tricky par 3, third hole at Saline, at over 160 yards
The golf club bar, acts as a community hub and social club, and from looking at the notice boards it was clear that the bar is an important part of the community. The welcome was extremely warm from the barman/host, and this alone would “hasten ye back”.
