Category: 9 holes (Page 10 of 13)

35. Milnathort. 20th Oct 2015.

October 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Well kept and subtlety challenging course with Lomond Hills view.

Round (9 holes) £10. Par 34. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Milnathort golf course is in the village of the same name in Kinross-shire, close to the M90, with very easy access from Edinburgh or Perth. It was founded in 1910 and laid out by W. Binnie the professional from Kinghorn, the small Fife links course.

1st at Milnathort looking back to clubhouse from the green.

It is basically a “9 hole” course, but with 2 adjacent greens for the long 6th and 15th played from the same tees and fairway, and different tees on the 4th and 13th to the same green. On the day I played the “front 9” card off the yellow, which is par 34 versus the white par 35, due to the 6th played as a very long par 4 of 467 yards.

Moly on the 6th tee at Milnathort – need to get the hips out of the way! Lomond Hills in the distance.

Its a really nice course, which was in great condition due I’m sure to the Indian Summer of September that had just gone. There are some very tough holes, with the first being a demanding opening 400 yard par 4 with a tight tee shot then played uphill slightly to a large double green shared with the 5th. After that things get more straight forward, until the long 6th, the signature hole, with views of the Lomond Hills, then the long par 4 7th, “The Spire”, played back towards the village.

7th approach at Milnathort – “The Spire”

The fairways in particular were a pleasure to play and walk on, and the trees were in full Autumn colour when I played. The greens are generally large and very true.

I played the best I’d done for a while, carding a 42 versus the par 34, including a lost ball at the 2nd, which was one of those shots that occasionally get lost inexplicably – I shot a 5 with the provisional ball.

6th approach at Milnathort

Lovely course, nice little clubhouse, easily accessible, with limited hazards – well worth a visit.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34 (“front” nine) (0 par 5s, 7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2834 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 42

Stableford 20

Moly’s Milnathort Scorecard – 42

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

September 16, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Great Fun Highland Golf – but overpriced for just 9 holes.

Round £25 (£18 for 9). Par 33. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

I was a member of Abernethy golf club for many years and the course is my favourite place on earth! I have had no greater golfing pleasure than playing on my own on a late June evening with the course completely to myself – I have felt the spirit of Shivas Irons.

The war memorial hazard on the long par 3 8th hole.

Abernethy GC is in the village of Nethy Bridge, near Grantown on Spey in the Cairngorms National Park. Founded in 1893, it is a quintessential Highland 9-hole course – small “tea room” style clubhouse, open to visitors of all standards, lovely views from natural heathland with majestic trees, and terrifying heather in places. There is also an abundance of wildlife, so a good course for non-playing partners to accompany golfers around this lovely walk, which, if not busy, will take comfortably less than 1 hours 30 mins to play 9 holes.

Beware cars on the short par 3 2nd hole.

Abernethy is one of those courses where all golfers will feel they should break their handicap; its short, with many inviting tee shots, and “feels easy”. However, there are some key reasons why most people won’t break their handicap; the fairways become very tight over 220 yards, the excellent greens are small with many having difficult slopes, plus 3 of the holes – the long par 3s at the 5th and 8th, and the par 4 7th – are amongst the toughest holes in the Highlands. Off the back tee on the 7th, all bar the longest hitters would be advised to play this hole as a par 5 – the white tee carry being around 250 yards to a dog leg!

The mighty carry of the 7th drive at Abernethy GC

The course has got great variety and the small green keeping staff do a good job keeping the course in fantastic condition, with the greens being some of the best in the area. It’s a great course to play, especially for those on holiday wanting to play a quick and casual game.

The beautiful view of the 6th tee at “nethy”

However, in my opinion, the pricing is really a shame and is discouraging anyone wanting to play just a quick 9 holes. It is £18 for 9 holes, but only £25 for the whole day, with no 18 hole price, hence I’m forced to conclude its not particularly good value – my recommendation would be £13 for 9 and £18 for 18.

On the day, I got a 5 on the 7th:) – which always makes me happy!

Some Facts

Course Type: Highland

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2297 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 44

Stableford 17

Moly’s Abernethy Scorecard – 44 for 17 stableford points

29. Comrie. 25th Aug 2015

August 29, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Comrie’s 9 is better than most 18s

Round (9 holes) £15. Par 35. Value (out of 5) – 4

Moly’s approach to the short par 4 2nd at Comrie

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’s Par 3 3rd tee

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.

Views of Perthshire Hills above the Comrie clubhouse viewed from 5th tee

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.

Par 3 5th at Comrie

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.

In trouble at the 6th!

Well worth a game here.

Some Facts

Course Type: Highland

Par 35 (1 par 5, 6 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2699 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 48

Stableford 15

Moly’s Comrie Scorecard – 48

23. Auchterderran. 15th July 2015

July 16, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Good value golf on an interesting little course.

Summary: £10 for 9 holes, £12 for 18. Par 33. Value (out of 5) – 3

Nice views from Auchterderrans 6th green

Although Auchterderran golf course, located in the Fife village of Cardenden, was established in 1904, in many ways it feels a younger, less mature course. It is one of 7 courses managed by the Fife Golf Trust which was established in 2011 to take over Fife Council’s directly managed courses. This is becoming a common practice by Local Authorities in Scotland to manage golf courses.

The devilishly difficult long par 3 5th, “Burma Road”

It’s a nice layout in the space available, with a good mix of holes. This is a course for all, with some are pretty straightforward holes, but the 3rd, 5th and 8th are potential card wreckers that will challenge the low handicap player.

3rd green looking down fairway

The long par 3 5th, at 241 yards, called Burma Road, is a very tough par 3, which for most golfers should be played as a 4. It has a small green, and out of bounds down the left. A bogie 4 is a good score in my book. Another tip, which I did not follow (meaning 2 lost balls) was playing safe on the 8th, which has a narrow gap at driving length. Given another chance I would have played a 7 iron off the tee.

2nd green towards adjacent water (not in play on course)

The course is maintained by volunteer members and therefore the condition is not great, but then again the price is very reasonable, so it still represents good value golf. The fairways in particular need a lot of work, but the greens were good and true.

The people I met were very friendly. It’s worth a game, if you have an hour or 2 to spare on your travels.

Key Facts

Course Type: parkland

Full Green Fees:

Par 33 (0 par 5, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2318 yards

Moly’s Gross score:

Moly’s Auchterderran 9 hole scorecard – 46

Category: 9 holes (Page 10 of 13)

35. Milnathort. 20th Oct 2015.

Par 34 (“front” nine) (0 par 5s, 7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

Par 33 (6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

29. Comrie. 25th Aug 2015

Par 35 (1 par 5, 6 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

23. Auchterderran. 15th July 2015

Par 33 (0 par 5, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Recent Posts

Useful Links