Category: 9 holes (Page 12 of 13)

6. St Andrews Balgove; 26th Dec 2013

December 31, 2013 / Moly McMillan / 0 Comments

Opportunity to score low at St Andrews!

The Balgove course is one of the relatively recent addidions to St Andrews. It is in the complex which shares the Golf Academy, Eden and Strathtyrum courses. Doing a course at the Golf Academy normally includes access to the Balgove 9 hole course, and is used as part of the courses.

1st tee

The course is an ideal beginners course, comprising only one real par 4, with 2 other holes (1st and 2nd) being 220 and 219 yards long but marked as par 4s on the card for some reason. Therefore the SS is really 28 in my opinion, not 30.

Although a vary short layout, the greens are very nicely architected, to give a real feel for a links greens, with some good greenside bunkers as well. The putting surfaces are however very flat, which when coupled to the excellent surfaces, means that birdie opportunities should exist for all levels of golfer.

Balgove double green

The 6th hole, runs alongside the “bigger” courses and is bounded by severe gorse, so lost balls are still possible here.

Overall, this is a really fun little course, which should not take much longer than an hour to play, and as such is a great warm up to it’s more substantial neighbours – don’t get

9th Green

seduced though that you’ll score as well on the neighbouring courses as you will on this!

Key Facts

Course Type: Links

Green Fees: 20 Oct -13 Apr – £8; 14 Apr – 19 Oct – £15; Children £3

Par 30 (3 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance: 1520 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 34

Balgove scorecard

5. Lundin Ladies 9 hole; 26th Dec 2013

December 31, 2013 / Moly McMillan / 0 Comments

Get past the Ladies Tee on this course!

Clubhouse and 9th Green

Lundin Ladies is the oldest all-female members club in the world, and as such deserves a visit for its place in golfing history. Interestingly, I don’t think it picks up quite as much criticism though for it’s single sex membership rules as does The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers at Muirfield does. Then again, Muirfield doesn’t have an honestly box!

In many ways Lundin Ladies is a quintessential Scottish small course, typical of the type often found in the Scottish Highlands; 9 holes, small clubhouse with external toilet, and honesty box beside the starter. As a womens club, the “back tees”, are the LGU Red tees, with the white tees being in front, therefore this is one of the few courses where my tee shots were guaranteed to land in front of the ladies tee!

It’s course signature is 3 standing stones set on the 2nd fairway, which also has a well positioned bunker down the right side, designed for a tee shot aimed to the right of the stones.

Standing Stones on the 2nd hole – an interesting hazard!

However, the ideal line is directly over the stones, as a good drive should clear the stones comfortably.

The course is relatively straight forward, with the first 4 holes, all par 4s, having wide fairways with accessible greens, albeit the 3rd (stroke index 1) is played uphill and the approach shot needs a club selection at least 1-2 clubs longer (advice I’m afraid I didn’t follow!).

Views from Lundin Links

Although near to the Fife coast there are no sea views, however this is made up for by some nice countryside views inland.

7th Teeing area

The 7th hole, a par 4, but really a long par 3 for men, is the most picturesque hole, with a long carry to a raised green.

With the right wind conditions, some of the par 4s are within range for the longer hitters; I actually reached the green on the 8th – the wind must have got up at that point!

I had a disastrous first 5 holes, 3 putting 2 greens and going out of bounds with a hook of the par 4 third hole. Luckily I played the last 4 in around par to save my card.

A nice course, well worth playing for its historical place in the history of golf. I’ll need to go back for those first 5 holes 🙂

Key Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Green Fees: 18 Holes £16.00; 9 Holes £10.00

Par 34 (7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance: 2365 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 44

Lundin Ladies scorecard

2. Piperdam 9 Hole; “Wee Piper”; 12th Dec 2013

December 31, 2013 / Moly McMillan / 0 Comments

No Camera’s Please!

If you intend to take photos while you play golf, remember to charge the batteries!

Piperdam is a Golf and Country Resort set up on the Western boundary of Dundee, surrounded by tasteful housing.

The “Wee Piper” is a good par 3, 9 hole golf course, with at least 3 or 4 of the holes easily being able to be suited to a decent 18 hole layout. Piperdam also has a fairly demanding 18 hole course as well.

Depending on the wind the first is a challenging opening hole, requiring a rescue or longer club, followed by a well architected 2nd hole. After that, holes 3-8 are in more open space and very forgiving off the tee. Only two of the holes present any “carry” requirements (2nd and 9th).

Although the course has views of the Piper Dam, the dam water doesn’t come into play at all. This is a fun little course, that will still challenge most handicaps.

My round was a better score than my general play would have expected, which was poor, helped by the fact that there are not many hazards.

This is a nice little course, but in my view only really worth the travel if you were combining a day at Piperdam, as it presents a nice accompaniment to the 18 hole course. It would make a good society day out.

Key Facts

Course Type: Open Parkland

Green Fee – Mon-Fri £12; Weekend £15; Members of other Carnoustie Country clubs get 50% discount.

Par 27 (9 par 3s)

Moly’s Gross score: 39.

“Wee Piper” Scorecard

3. Kingennie 9 hole; 13th Dec 2013

December 31, 2013 / Moly McMillan / 0 Comments

What a Trout….I mean Treat!

Water hazard which awaits a slice off the 8th tee.

Kingennie Estate Fishing Lake

Forbes of Kingennie is a Golf and Country Resort set on the East of Dundee, about 3 miles north of Monifieth. It is surrounded by housing, some of which is pretty exclusive. This is an excellent 9 hole golf course, designed by architect Dave Webster. The course has stunning views of the fishing lakes surrounding the main hotel area, albeit they don’t come into play as they are used for fishing, and are well stocked (apparently).

Dog-leg 6th hole, with an array of bunkers on the left of the dog-leg

Two or three of the holes are of championship quality, especially the par 4, dog-leg 6th which has a risk-reward drive on offer from the tee to cut the dogleg leaving a shorter iron.

The course was in first class condition for the time of year. I scored better than my play would have suggested, with some good putting making up for wayward driving. Although only a 9 hole course this is a serious and challenging test of golf. There are plans for a new adjacent development with a championship standard 18 hole layout – when complete this will provide a great parkland compliment to the outstanding links courses in the nearby Carnoustie and Monifieth.

Well worth a visit.

Key Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Green Fees:

Apr – Oct: Weekday, £16; Weekend, £20. Nov – Mar: Weekday, £13; Weekend, £17.

Par 34 (1 par 5, 5 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance: 2874 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 41.

Kingennie 9 Hole – Scordcard

Category: 9 holes (Page 12 of 13)

6. St Andrews Balgove; 26th Dec 2013

5. Lundin Ladies 9 hole; 26th Dec 2013

2. Piperdam 9 Hole; “Wee Piper”; 12th Dec 2013

3. Kingennie 9 hole; 13th Dec 2013

Recent Posts

Useful Links