Category: 18 holes (Page 25 of 35)

61. Ballater. 2nd Aug 2017.

August 3, 2017 / Moly McMillan

Good course in the heart of Deeside which offers challenge for all levels.

Summary: Cost £35. Par 67. Score 94. Value (out of 5) – 3.

Ballater seemed a good choice to return to golf blogging after several months absence due mainly to my sojourn to watch the British Lions take on the All Blacks. Ballater is 40 miles east of Aberdeen, in the heart of Royal Deeside, an area I spent many happy years hill walking in during my teens. The “royal” tag comes as Balmoral Castle, The Queen’s summer residence, is only a few miles away.

18th green and large clubhouse at Ballater

A nine hole golf course was founded in Ballater in 1892, and extended to 18 in 1905, the pedigree of the course demonstrated by an exhibition match between James Braid and Harry Vardon in 1906.

Although the course is described on it’s web site as mainly heathland with parkland characteristics, I beg to differ and say it’s actually the other way round, and felt much more parkland to me. Although surrounded by hills and forest, the course is surprisingly flat and offers an easy walk. With many fairways adjacent to each other, with only light rough in between, it offers regular opportunity to be wild off the tee and still easily find your ball – something I unfortunately took advantage of often! However, overall this is not an easy course with some very tricky greenside bunkers (some of which are blind to your approach shots) and some very penal rough.

The very large 1st green at Ballater

Although the course lies close to the River Dee the river does not come into play as often, by comparison, as Braemar (further along the Dee). These open fairways and lack of water in play, means the course is quite good for holiday golfers. However, the course is quite busy and I would recommend booking, especially during the Summer months.

The course has some challenges in particular the opening six holes are very tough – I double bogied the first 5 holes, and actually felt I struck the ball well! The 3 par 3s on the opening 9 holes are particularly tough, culminating with the 9th hole which has a semi blind small green.

The typically Scottish 2nd green at Ballater with the town houses in background

The course was in all round good condition when I played, with good greens and lush but firm fairways. I played better than my scorecard would suggest. It felt like a 30 point day, but with 3 balls lost, for 6 penalties, made it only 25 points. I had a nice birdie 2 on the par 3 17th though.

I played having booked through the teeofftimes.co.uk website and paid £22.50 versus the course published price of £35 for a midweek round. At £22.50 it would be worth 4/5 for value but only 3/5 using its rack rate.

It’s worth playing this nice course, which also has a big bar and good value restaurant food.

Tricky Par 3 5th at Ballater

Note: I had to use my phone for pictures, which are not the usual standard….sorry!

Key Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 67 (0 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5582

Moly’s Gross score: 94.

Moly’s Ballater scorecard – 94 for only 25 Stableford points:(

60. Dalmahoy West. 7th May 2017

May 18, 2017 / Moly McMillan

Pleasant parkland course which would be ideal for the more social of society golf days.

Summary: Cost “between £30 – £55”. Par 68. Score 88. Value (out of 5) – 2.

So it has taken until 7th May to blog the first course of 2017, due to various travel, work commitments and poor weather!

The 8th fairway at Dalmahoy West, a typically open hole on this short parkland course

Marriot Hotels run the Dalmahoy Hotel, Golf and Country Club, which is on the South East of Edinburgh about a 10 minute drive from Edinburgh Airport. The resort has 2 courses; the East course is a championship layout designed by James Braid and hosted the Solheim Cup in 1992; I played the East course in 2014; the West course is a much shorter later addition. Both course are part of a 1000 acre estate surrounding Dalmahoy Manor, which was built in the 1720s and converted to a hotel and golf resort in 1927, becoming part of the Marriot organisation in the 1990s.

The Par 4 5th green at Dalmahoy West

The East course, like the West course, is an open parkland layout, where there is ample opportunity to be wild off the tee but able to recover and retain a flattering score. If you’re like me, this will suit you, as it allows a freedom to be aggressive, especially off the tee. Additionally, there is only one of the par 4s (the stroke index two 8th) which is over 400 yards, so for all bar the shortest of hitters you are hitting short irons into most greens.

The 15th tee, at Dalmahoy West, the start of the trickiest stretch on this resort course. The church to the left of the green is a Scottish Episcopal chapel on the grounds.

The highlight of the layout, is the 3 tricky holes staring from the 15th; water is in play to the right of the par 4 15th, and then in front of the short 16th which makes it important to play long, especially into the wind. The 16th is another par 3, but with 3 well positioned greenside bunkers. I suspect these 3 holes have damaged many a medal scorecard.

The well guarded par 3 17th green at Dalmahoy West

The course was in reasonable condition when I played, with nice greens, however the tees were poor. It was not good value for the price: I paid £23 for a twilight slot based on a price match with Teeofftimes.co.uk, although the rack rate states the price between “£30 – £55”, and it would be robbery if paying greater than £40 here. It would nevertheless be a really good society venue, particularly for societies where golf is rather secondary to the socialising.

I carded an 88, for 34 points, but had a couple of disaster holes: a 7 on the par 4 2nd and an 8 on the par 4 11th. When will I next get a round without major error!

Key Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 68 (1 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5051

Moly’s Gross score: 88.

Dalmahoy scorecard – 88

59. Edzell. 15th Dec 2016.

December 15, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Great course worth playing, but only good value with discounted green fee

Round £60. Par 71. Value (out of 5) 3.

Edzell Golf Course, in the nice village of Edzell close to the Angus Glens, was established in 1895. It is located close to the main A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen so is very easily accessed and well worth playing.

The course was designed by Bob Simpson, with further input from James Braid in the 1930s and recently in 2015 was upgraded by Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert a company with a growing and prestigious global catalogue. The current course lays testimony to golfing architecture at its best; the course fits naturally to its surroundings with, in particular, a great array of fairway bunkers which will especially challenge the longer hitters.

The dangerous 9th hole approach – keep it left!

The course is part heathland part parkland but the fairways are generous. The greens are very large, with some subtle fairway hollows, making it important to check your yardage. Some of the front flag locations are very tricky when coupled to the tight greenside bunkering.

The par 3 14th at Edzell emblazed with Winter sun

After a relatively straight forward par 4 first, the 2nd, 4th and 5th are all long par 4s, at well over 400 yards. The 6th is also a tricky par 3 with 5 green side bunkers, where most golfers will be using a hybrid or fairway wood. After a bit of respite at 7 and 8, the par 5 9th presents a hazardous approach with a steep river bank close to the right of the green. Play well left with your second and third shots, in my advice.

The 15th, with a typical array of dangerous fairway bunkers

To score well at Edzell you need to get through the first 9 without disaster (I didn’t!). I suspect many cards are deposited in a waste bin before the 10th tee!

Of the many highlights on the back 9, my favourite was the aptly named 16th, the “Spion Kop”, with 2 very large green side bunkers on a devilishly sloping bank. Don’t take on a front pin here.

The relatively straight forward par 5 18th, with the fine clubhouse and Edzell village in the background

The course was playing winter tees but full greens when I played and in excellent condition, although several of the bunkers were undergoing re-construction; this didn’t dilute my enjoyment though. I played pretty well for a 97, or 29 stableford points, including the front 9 disasters.

My only gripe is I think the headline green fee, at £60 in summer, is slightly high, no doubt subsidising the £550 membership fees. However, I played using teeofftimes and got a good deal.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland/heathland

Par 71 (2 par 5, 13 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance yards: 6182

Moly’s Gross Score: 97

Moly’s Edzell Scorecard – played better than the score of 97 suggests, for 29 points (16 hcp)

57. Stonehaven. 1st Dec 2016

December 3, 2016 / Moly McMillan

A curate’s egg of a course with great views and some excellent par 3s

Round £37. Par 66. Value (out of 5) 2.5

Stonehaven golf course in Aberdeenshire sits atop a cliff on land called the Braes of Cowie just to the north of the seaside town of Stonehaven. The cliff top vantage provides for some outstanding views of the coastline, North sea and the town.

The open 1st hole at Stonehaven.

The course, founded in 1888, has a convoluted architecture influenced by 2 distinct lines; the east coast train line which goes directly through the course and the Highland Fault line (dividing Scotland from east to west). The Fault Line forms “The Gully” feature which dominates play on holes 13 and 15 where it has to be carried.

3rd green at Stonehave looking south towards the town.

The course is played on arable land and to the east of the train line, with 14 holes, it has no trees, whereas the 4 holes on the west of the train line has trees; the overall course feels typically parkland, with pretty generous fairways. On the east of the line, the major hazards are the cliff tops and the gully, which collectively impact about 6 holes, and these are the real challenge here. The remaining holes are fairly bland, with only few fairway bunkers.

The tough mid-iron par 3 14th, with green beside the cliff!

The tough mid-iron par 3 7th, with green beside the cliff!

Although the major design work was completed by 1897, the course is a designated James Braid “design”, as he and Archie Simpson, the Royal Aberdeen professional, are deemed to have planned improvements to the course, although I couldn’t find out what they are. An interesting design note, is the presence of “Hitler’s bunker” a crater hole between the first and second fairways, caused by, you’ve guessed it, a bomb during WWII.

8th at Stonehaven with Winter sun

The course is around 5000 yards, so distance is not the issue here. The feature holes are those where the cliffs and gully are in play. In particular the mid to long iron par 3 7th hole, requires a cool head to go to the heart of the green, and the long par 13th at 220 yards uphill over “The Gully” will need driver for all bar the long hitters. Note these were played as holes 14th and 5th on the winter card (see below).

Overall, play to keep the ball away from the cliffs and you’ll be rewarded. I did so, but my putting let me down on the day, although the greens were in excellent condition for the time of year. In fact the course was in all round good condition.

The typically small 18th green with church ruin and graveyard…perhaps an apt epitaph for some rounds here!

My only gripe with Stonehaven was how the website oversells the course as “The best value golf in the North-East of Scotland”. It is a really nice golf course, with great views, and is worth playing, but this self-declared “value” is a exaggeration in my opinion, which is a shame.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 66 (1 par 5, 10 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

Distance yards: 4458

Moly’s Gross Score: 86

Moly’s Stonehaven scorecard, 86 – note this is the winter card, which has a different layout.

Category: 18 holes (Page 25 of 35)

61. Ballater. 2nd Aug 2017.

60. Dalmahoy West. 7th May 2017

59. Edzell. 15th Dec 2016.

57. Stonehaven. 1st Dec 2016

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