Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 9 holes (Page 2 of 13)

174. Aberfeldy. 30 Nov 2022.

February 22, 2024 /

Better Days

Value 1/5

I played the three 9-hole courses of Aberfeldy, Mains of Taymouth and Strathtay on the same wet Highland Perthshire day. This is important context, because whereas Mains of Taymouth and Strathtay were well presented, Aberfeldy was in awful condition.

The 8th green at Aberfeldy, on a day the course should have been closed.

All three courses sit along a 12 mile stretch of the River Tay, between Kenmore and Grantully, and experience the same climate. It’s evident Aberfeldy GC is struggling to maintain the course with its small membership, with volunteering a critical resource.

The length of fairway meant Moly lost 3 balls from shots hit into the “fairway”.

Finding the course in such a bad state, especially from the 2nd hole onwards, leaves me somewhat uncomfortable in writing a review, as I’m sure there will be reasons why the course was effectively unplayable. Nonetheless, I’m committed to writing what I found on the day; all it would have taken by the club was a “course closed” sign on the first tee.

The Moness Burn, which feeds the Tay, is the key feature and hazard, which has to be crossed several times, here shown on the approach shot to the par 4, 7th hole, one of the more difficult holes. Beware the dog walkers, as the burn seemed a well used route.

Golf in Aberfeldy, much like in Scotland overall, is a story of expansion and contraction; the websites Missing Links and Breadalbane Heritage collectively tell Aberfeldy’s story, but there are gaps likely created by the old matter of ‘club’ versus ‘course’. There is also a book, intriguingly “Never an Old Tin Hut”, by local historian Jack Rees, published to mark Aberfeldy’s centenary in 1995.

The 2nd green was GUR. It wasn’t the worst!

In summary, Breadalbane GC and course, was founded in 1895 at its current location and would later be renamed Aberfeldy GC. But there are records of 2 other courses as early as 1891, in nearby Weem and in a place called Welar, the latter course can still be made out on Google Maps just north-east of Camernay. The current very flat course was characterised by sharing its ground with cows for many years.

The course expanded to 18 holes in 1995 including 6 holes north of the river, but was returned to 9 holes in 2016, due to the drop off in demand.

The “advanced composite footbridge” over the Tay, shown here from the 5th hole, made accessible 6 holes on the north of the river between 1995 and 2016.

The pictures tell their own story about the course condition. With much better courses nearby, one can’t see the long term survival of Aberfeldy GC. The local interest in golf can also be gauged in the lack of business sponsorship, even although Aberfeldy is base to one of the great whiskey distillers, Dewars. Plus, Breadalbane Academy, Highland Perthshire’s main school, is only 500 yards away, yet sadly has no mention of golf within its sporting curriculum.

The 9th green, adjacent the main road and clubhouse, was the most manicured.

This was a sad day for me, but I’m sure many people have fond memories of Summer golf in Aberfeldy. I thought the course condition when I played might be reminiscent of the course in the late 1890 – ever an optimist.

Round List Price £15. Actual Paid £10 (Winter rate).

Moly’s Score – 45 for 14 points (off 13)

Course/Slope Rating (yellow) nk/~65

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (yellow): 2688 yards

Moly’s score of 45 included losing 3 balls on fairways doubling as rough!

173. Mains of Taymouth. 30 Nov 22.

February 14, 2024 /

I was ‘green with envy’ on this country estate course but no longer confused by the two Taymouths.

Value 3.5/5.

Kenmore, in highland Perthshire, is a village on the eastern end of Loch Tay, which is where the main part of the River Tay begins, Scotland’s longest river and the UK’s largest measured by discharge. People like myself from Dundee, where The ‘Silvery’ Tay reaches the sea, claim any small victory!

9th at Mains of Taymouth, a hole shortened to make way for new holiday lodges; technically a long par 3 rather than the par 4 of 263 yards shown on the card.

Now to my confusion. Kenmore is home to two golf courses, both on separate Country Estate developments and only separated by 30 yards of river. Taymouth Castle Estate golf course, on the south bank, was founded in 1925, designed by James Braid, and grew a championship level kudos; however, the castle and course is currently “closed for a £300m development” following its purchase in 2018 by American real estate company, Discovery Land Company.

Fran on the par four 2nd, reportedly the Designer Robert Menzies’ favourite hole.

Meanwhile, north of the river, Kenmore Golf Course was founded, designed and constructed in 1992 by civil engineer Robert Menzies, on diversified farming land that had been in his family for many decades. With Taymouth Castle closed, Robert renamed his estate and course, “Mains of Taymouth”. The whole estate was sold for £13.5m in 2022 to Pure Leisure Group, the owner of the well known Westmoreland Golf Resort in Barbados, home to many British celebrities.

Moly at the 5th, a well designed par three. The bunkers could have been better raked.

So ‘Mains of Taymouth’ and ‘Taymouth Castle’ are separate country estates, both with golf courses with similar branding. I anticipate a lawsuit at some point over the use of Taymouth, a name which seems to have begun when the Clan Campbell rebuilt the former Balloch Castle, their ancestral seat.

The irony is that Kenmore isn’t technically the location of a mouth of a river, defined as “where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river or the sea”. Thankfully, any geographically minded golfer that mistakenly turn up at the real Mouth of the Tay, has better golf course options to choose from.

Wide fairways are characteristic at “Kenmore”, shown here at the par five 4th hole, a picture also highlighting the good course conditioning.

My envy in the title is of Robert Menzies, who has done an admirable job on his “home made” nine hole golf course. How many of us have had that dream over the years. He has created a lovely course, which was well maintained and playable on this early winter day.

The course has wide fairways, and is protected by small greens that are well bunkered. Set alongside the river the land is flat and easy walking, so would suit the occasional golfer, but also useful for golf course “baggers” who can easily “bag” 3 or 4 nine hole courses on a summer day (including nearby Killin, Aberfeldy and Strathtay). I bagged three (omitting Killin) on the day, despite the limited light.

The beautiful Perthshire landscape on show here at the par 3 seventh hole, with “ha-ha”.

We paid only £12 for a winter day rate, but at £18 for a round it represents decent value in the Summer.

Sadly, although the 3rd is called “Loch View”, there are no river or loch views from the course. Making my big deal about “Taymouth” seem somewhat arbitrary – never mind.

Round List Price £18. Actual Paid £12 (Winter rate).

Moly’s Score – 44 for 14 points (off 12)

Course/Slope Rating (yellow) 107/66.8.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34  ( 2 par 5s, 3 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 2531 yards

Moly’s Mains of Taymouth Scorecard – 44

158. The Heritage Links, at Playsport Golf EK (East Kilbride). 19 Aug 22.

January 11, 2023 /

Like watching a ‘tribute band’, very enjoyable but at times a bit ‘corny’.

Round £15. Par 32. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 32.1/116. Value (out of 5) – 4

Moly’s Score – 44

‘Playsport’ is a multi-sport commercial site in north East Kilbride, a town of almost 80,000 making it the 6th most populated conurbation in Scotland. ‘Playsport Golf’, the golfing brand of the business, operates a two-tier driving range, a very large golf store and a 9 hole course, called Heritage Links.

The 5th at The Heritage, inspired by the 4th at Royal St George’s with it’s “Himalayas” Bunker on show. Both this hole and the inspiration from Sandwich are similar length.

As the name suggests, Heritage Links is a homage to Open Championship venues, with each hole inspired from a specific hole of the world’s best links courses.

The final hole at The Heritage, homage to Royal Lytham’s short 9th hole, the only hole numbered the same as the doner inspiration for the hole.

East Kilbride lies on a plateau, just south of Glasgow, and the golf course is fully exposed to the elements; on the day I played there were 40 mph winds and some heavy showers. These are ideal conditions to go alongside the course’s design aim of replicating some the challenges faced in The OPEN. In addition, the course has outstanding views.

The 4th, inspired by the 16th at Carnoustie, with the Playsport sports arenas in the background. My par 3 score highlights it plays much shorter than its inspiring hole!

Although this could feel a little ‘corny’, the resulting course is a great test of your game, not least because it’s the bunkering from the host courses that are mainly used to create the inspirational feeling. However, this is not “replica” golf, so take it for what it is and enjoy the layout.

The opening hole at The Heritage, inspired by Turnberry’s 2nd, shows the good ‘links’ quality of the course.

The course opened in 2009, built to high specifications, and has become a popular venue. Despite the inclement weather forecast when I played it was very busy, so ensure to book ahead. With multiple sports on the same site, there are activities for non-golfing partners and kids.

The 6th, based on Muirfield’s 13th, shows the top quality of the bunkers at Playgolf EK.

Although heavily played the course was in very good condition, with greens and bunkers excellent. At £15 for 9 holes, this is very good value.

The 8th hole, showing the “road hole” bunker from St Andrews.

Playing as a singleton, a 4-ball kindly let me tee off first, then watched me rack up a 9 and the par 4 first, playing into the teeth of the wind. I got much better after that, when they weren’t watching. Don’t you sometimes hate getting asked to ‘play through’.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland/Faux Links?

Par 32  (1 par 5s, 3 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 2307 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 44

Moly’s 44, or 37 net (5 over net), with a 9 and the par 4 first!!

149. Paul Lawrie Golf Centre. 6 Jul 22.

October 9, 2022 /

Sublime attention to detail at Paul Lawrie’s brilliant golf centre

Round £15. Par 29. Course Rating / Slope Rating (white) 29.2/94. Value (out of 5) – 5

This nine hole course opened in 2005 as the Aspire Golf Centre, named after a boat operated by trawler fisherman John Duthie, the original owner. Open Champion Paul Lawrie bought the centre in 2012 and it has gone from strength to strength, providing one of the best all round facilities in Scotland, equipped with ‘top tracer’ driving range, bookable practice areas, a large golf shop and excellent restaurant.

The tricky first hole at Paul Lawrie’s golf centre – avoid the right of the green!

The course itself is a beauty, designed by Old Meldrum’s Graeme Webster and built to US PGA standards. It could easily be argued as the best nine hole course in Scotland. Although short, it has four tee options providing a variety of challenges, it has been good enough to host national 9 hole Par 3 competitions. It only has two par 4s, when played from the white tees, which I used to play my round.

The 3rd green, the stroke index one hole at only 145 yards, which has a devilish bunker and water on the left side of the green, hidden from view from the tee.

The green complexes are challenging, with well positioned bunkers and undulating surfaces they force you to be mindful of where to miss. There are some particularly clever and deceptive run off areas which are blind from the tee. The rough is very whispy and gives some shots a links land feel – none more so than at the first, where I thought I had played into the right side of the green, only to eventually find my ball in the rough; there was a bonus of finding 6 other balls!

The aesthetically framed 4th hole, which plays as a par four from this tee.

To score well you need to have a first class short game, perhaps that’s what attracted “Chippy” Lawrie to buy the course. When I played, I saw Paul heading off to the driving range with a large number of clubs, testimony to the effort required to maintain your game at the highest standard.

The 5th, one of the two holes, which, from the white tees, plays as a par four.

The course is great value for annual membership at just over £300 and is sometimes used as a second club by members of nearby world class Aberdeenshire links courses because the practice arrangements are so good. I met up during my game with Murcar Links member, Alex Singer, who typifies these local golfers who make full use of the Paul Lawrie Centre.

Murcar Links member Alex Singer, chipping onto the 8th green.

On a windy day, I was very happy with my score of 38 – although 9 over par, this included two triple bogies, at the first and 4th, both short par threes.

The well maintained bookable practice area at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre.

Every aspect of the Centre is first class, a testimony to Paul Lawrie’s attention to detail. Right down to the Seniors’ rate of only £12, that I paid, and the many Kids coaching courses the centre runs throughout the year. Well done ‘Chippy’, you are a legend.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 29  (0 par 5s, 2 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

Distance (white): 1560 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 38

Moly’s Paul Lawrie Centre scorecard – 38, including 5 pars and 2 triple bogies!
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