Category: 1851 – 1900 (Page 13 of 14)

47. Huntly. 3rd Aug 2016 (front 9).

August 11, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Great value little course well worth going out of your way for

Round £18. Par 67. Value (out of 5) 4

Huntly Golf Club, in Aberdeenshire, sits between the rivers Deveron and Bogie (the confluence of these rivers is between the 12th and 13th tees) and also adjacent to the ruined Huntly Castle, the ancestral home of Clan Gordon. The castle ruins provide a backdrop to the par 3 2nd hole.

Signature par 3 2nd hole at Huntly, with Castle ruins visible through the trees.

Established in 1892, the course was dormant during both world wars and after lengthy periods of only 9 holes, has been an 18 hole layout since 1966.

It is a relatively short course at 5359 yards from medal tees and 4904 yards from the yellow tees. However, there are many sloping fairways which, when coulped to the trees, mean accuracy plays a dividend.

Approach to 4th at Huntly

The course has no par 5s, and 5 par 3s – moreover only one par 4 (the 8th) is over 400 yards, and that is by only 7 yards. My recommendation would be to leave the driver in the car and ensure you play off the fairways – this will pay dividends. Of course if you spy my card (below), you’ll not be surprised to find I didn’t follow my own advice – I lost balls at the 5th and 8th!

Demanding tee shot at the 9th at Huntly

Fran, my playing partner on the day, and I only played 9 holes before being caught in an absolute downpour – but the kind starter gave us a refund for the holes not played – don’t say Aberdonian’s are mean, its absolutely not true. I plan to return and play the back 9 at some point in future.

There are a number of nice blind driving holes on the front 9, namely the 4th, 5th and 7th, and in reality you only need to get a shot perhaps 180 yards out to make these holes pretty straight forward. Of the par 3s the 2nd is a really nice hole, but beware the hidden bunker to the right of the green.

rain stops play at Huntly – I’ll be back!

The course was in excellent condition when I played, and along with the picturesque surroundings, make this course really good value at £18. Huntly is also a nice little town to visit.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (yellow) 4904 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 49 (front 9)

Front 9 at Huntly (Rain halted round)

44. North Inch. 10th June 2016.

June 12, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Historic course with some challenging holes, but let down by its poor condition given its vulnerability to flooding.

Round £15. Par 68. Value (out of 5) 2.5

‘The Inch’ is one of the worlds oldest golfing venues (supposedly dating back 500 years) and sits on the banks of the River Tay in the city of Perth. It is the base for the ‘Royal Perth Golfing Society’ founded in 1833, a year older than the R & A of St Andrews. Although the “royal” connection is there, this is very much a local authoritity pay and play course accessible to all.

4th at North Inch, the first of 6 par 3s on this historic course.

The course traces its current roots to 6 holes in 1803, and it had several holes laid out by Tom Morris himself in the late 19th century; after various course guises it became the current 18 hole layout in 1927.

Given its flat layout and location adjacent to the river it has become very vulnerable to flooding and was submersed under water as recently as 2012. This accounts for much of the poor condition of several fairways I experienced, and whilst the course has made a dramitic recovery, it was nonetheless in a poor condition, which is such a pity given its historical importance to the home of golf. The teeing grounds in particular could do with a lot of work.

The short par 3 9th, showing the poor teeing area.

However, given its very reasonable price of £15, it represents decent value, and there are also some challenging holes to overcome. The back 9 is the tougher of the two, and the 5 hole stretch from 11th-15th provide the toughest golf. The 11th is the worthy SI 1 hole, where only a drive exceeding 250 yards off the white tee can get you to the dog leg apex, still leaving a mid iron to the small green, with the approach shot having to negotiate a 100 yard long ditch along the left side of the fairway.

The long 13th looking back from the green, presents a difficult drive.

The River Tay only comes into view and play at the tough par 4 15th and the very short 79 yard 16th.

I had the most mercurial of golf rounds. I was 1 under for the 6 par 3s, yet 26 over for the other 12 holes, including 4 lost balls off the tee!

The 16th with the River Tay on the left – not really in play.

If you are in Perth on holiday, it’s worth playing “The Inch”, but I wouldn’t go out of your way just for the golf.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 71 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance (white) 5442 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 93

Moly’s amazingly mercurial scorecard: -1 for the 6 par 3s, and +26 for the other 12 holes! Driving was very poor!

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

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!

Category: 1851 – 1900 (Page 13 of 14)

47. Huntly. 3rd Aug 2016 (front 9).

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

44. North Inch. 10th June 2016.

Par 71 (2 par 5s, 10 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

32. Abernethy. 9th Sep 2015.

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

30. Muir of Ord. 30th Aug 2015

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

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