Category: 18 holes (Page 30 of 35)

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

September 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

A Driver’s paradise with some prayers needed around the turn!

Round £25. Par 73. Value (out of 5) – 4

Drumoig golf course is a substantial par 73 golf course, designed by Dave Thomas, set in a resort style estate, with housing and a hotel, situated between Dundee and St Andrews. It is a parkland layout and sufficiently undulating to make for a tiring walk on this 7000 yard course.

The difficult 9th hole with water on both sides of the fairway.

It is well set within the surrounding arable land with some far reaching views, notable across to Broughty Ferry, Monifieth and Carnoustie, on the other side of the Tay Estuary.

Surrounded by the classic links on this north Fife coastline, Drumoig would make a nice contrast for touring golfers, who may be finding the local links fairways a bit tight.

The “cliff side” green at the 5th – the long signature hole at Dromoig

My main impression of Drumoig, was the width of the fairways, especially on the five par 5s; you can really open your shoulders whilst driving here, that is all bar the 9th, 10th and 11th, where all three holes are set around a large lake, making up its own Amen Corner. These holes at the turn were the highlight for me, particularly the 10th, where I took a bogie 5, having taken 3 from the tee!

The 11th green at Drumoig

There are other interesting features, with a 25-foot quarry wall sitting immediately behind the 5th hole, a long par 5, and the 13th. The 18th, is also a very nicely architected hole, with carefully laid water hazards, where the safe play is a medium iron or hybrid from the tee, leaving a short iron to the green.

13th at Drumoig with the quarry wall behind.

The course is a little unbalanced in my opinion with only 1 par 3 (the 2nd) and 2 par 5s on the front 9 of 37, but 3 par 3s, 3 par 4s and 3 par 5s on the back 9. The course was in nice condition when I played, although the bunkers were a little stony and greens much slower that the nearby links courses. That aside, its a good course which is well worth playing and good value.

The greenside bunker at the left of 14th, a natural target with OOB all down the right.

I had a fairly good day for me, shooting 96, with 46 on back 9.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 73 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (green!) 6472 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 96

Stableford 33

Moly’s Drumoig Scorecard – 96

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

September 15, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Lovely Parkland & Links Course! – worth playing just for the 15th Tee shot!

Round £20. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 4

Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club lies on the west bank of the mouth of the River Spey, which comes into play only on the 15th, but still probably eats up a great deal of golf balls – more later.

2nd tee – Garmouth & Kingston

The course was founded in 1932, and at a little over 5000 yards presents, in theory, a reasonably straight forward test of golf, with several short par 3s and par 4s. Its a very interesting layout, with a parkland front 9 and a links back 9 – it is literally 2 different golf courses.

5th Green at Garmouth & Kingston – course is in beautiful condition

It’s also very flat and an easy walk, with some good views, especially of the Moray Firth on the links side – its a really great course for a round whilst on holiday, with many local attractions for the non golfer.

13th green with the Moray Firth in the distance.

The course was in perfect condition when I played, with beautiful fairways and greens. At only £20 for a round it is great value golf.

There are a number of nice holes, with most of the par 3s quite short, but they are well guarded so club selection is important, and I suspect difficult if any wind gets up.

The frightening 15th tee – pray for a left to right wind.

The highlight of the course is the par 3 15th played alongside the River Spey – a right to left wind would make this hole a nightmare, and must destroy many a medal round. I played badly, except for the 15th where an 8 iron to only 7 feet left me my first birdie for a while – highly enjoyable.

Worth playing just for the 15th! Lovely little course and great value.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland & Links

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

Distance (yellow) 5046 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 99

Stableford 29

Moly’s Garmouth & Kingston Scorecard – 99

30. Muir of Ord. 30th Aug 2015

September 11, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Nice course – play on Sunday after 3pm for best value golf in the area

Round £25. Par 67 (yellow). Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Muir of Ord is an interesting heathland course, about 13 miles north-west of Inverness close to the Beauly Firth. The course is bisected by the Inverness-Wick railway line, with the track being a significant hazard on several of the holes. I played on a Sunday afternoon, taking advantage of a fantastic standing offer of only £10 for a round after 3pm, which is very popular deal. On the basis of that price the value rating would have been 4.5, rather than 3.5 using the midweek standard price of £25.

The course was established in 1875 and is party laid out by James Braid. Apparently there has been several changes since Braid’s involvement, but the current layout has some great holes, many unchanged from Braid’s time.

The first 4 and last 3 holes are on one side of the railway line and are flat and almost links like, with the 5th through 15th on the other side, where the course is more undulating and very different in character.

The highlight for me was the 4 hole stretch from 11 to 14. The par 4 11^th, is the stroke index 1 hole, followed immediately by 2 very different par 3s, the 12^th is a hazard laden 200+ yard hole and the 13^th is a 100 yard hole with a 100 ft climb to a tricky green – the 14^th presents a very challenging drive with the railway line tight along the left of the hole. I suspect these 4 holes will heavily influence your card.

Another hole worth mentioning is the 4^th, with a drive and approach again both influenced by the railway.

The course was in beautiful condition when I played in August 2015, with the heather in full bloom, it would be worth playing at this time of year just for the floral colour. The tees in particular were very well maintained.

I played as well as I’ve done all season, chipping and putting very well, with several single putts in a gross 86, for 37 stableford points. I had an interesting 6 on the 14th, including playing out of a bush where my ball had come to rest about 2 feet off the ground! Happy day all round on this very nice course.

Why not pray for good weather after 3pm on Sunday!

Some Facts

Course Type: Heathland

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

Distance (yellow) 5229 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 86

Stableford 37

Moly’s Muir of Ord Scorecard – 86, best for a while!

28. Brechin. 22nd Aug 2015

August 23, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Weak link in the Braid Association?

Round £40 (variable). Par 72. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Green at the par 3 third at Brechin

This 6162 yard, 18 hole parkland course, was founded in 1893 and is part of the Braid Association – a group of courses designed by James Braid, which gives golf playing discounts to members of courses within the association. On closer examination, some of the association’s courses have fairly tenuous links to Braid – in Brechin’s case, it’s website claims:

“By 1926 the famous James Braid was invited to play the course. J.P Gellatly, the Club’s Captain at the time, generously offered to pay his fee. Braid was so impressed he suggested suitable sites for sand bunkers in the Limefield section (holes 10-17) of the course.”

The tricky and fun par 4 8th at Brechin

It’s clear that holes 10-17 are the best part of the course, with holes 13 and 14 being the toughest in my book – the greens are also measurably better in the section and some of the best in the area. However stand on the first tee and you’ll realise this is a weak addition to the Braid association.

12th green at Brechin with views of the Angus Hills

Moreover, several of the holes are new editions in the 1990s, and fairly bland additions at that. These new holes are on either side of the Brechin A90 bypass and designed by John Farrell.

The 8th deserves a mention, which is a shortish par 4, with a very small gap in a line of trees – the only tactic I could see was take driver and try and clear the trees – there is an ironically placed wishing well to the front right of the green – I enjoyed this humour from the Members:)

Brechin is nevertheless in a nice setting, with good views of the Angus Glens, and is easily accessible and close to the main Dundee-Aberdeen road – coupled with some good clubhouse facilities it would make an excellent venue for a society golf day. However, the amount of road noise is significant.

Brechin’s 17th green

It’s a well kept course, with nice fairways and greens, but the £40 per round is a bit over priced in my opinion, hence the value for money score of 2.5.

I played well on the front 9, but 3 “blobs” on the back meant I ended up with a 97, for 31 stableford points.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 72 (4 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (white) 6162 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 97

Moly’s Brechin Scorecard – 97

Category: 18 holes (Page 30 of 35)

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

Par 73 (5 par 5s, 9 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

31. Garmouth & Kingston. 8 Sep 2015

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

30. Muir of Ord. 30th Aug 2015

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

28. Brechin. 22nd Aug 2015

Par 72 (4 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

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