Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: Members (Page 4 of 27)

170. Tulliallan. 25 Nov 22.

November 22, 2023 /

Where exactly is Kincardine Golf Club?

Value for Money (out of 5) – 3.5

I love marketing using “it does exactly what it says on the tin“.

Most Scots know where the Kincardine Bridge is, but few know where Tulliallan is. Tulliallan Golf Club is less than a mile north of the Kincardine Bridge which crosses the Firth of Forth about 20 miles west of Edinburgh, at a cross roads of several Scottish Counties, including Stirlingshire, Fife and Perthshire.

The tough par four uphill 3rd hole, at well over 400 yards, rightly the stroke index 1.

‘Tulliallan’, meaning ‘beautiful knoll’ in Gaelic, was the name of an estate owned by the Lairds of Blackadder, which is unusual given the Blackadder Clan (now defunct) were from Berwickshire. The original 9 hole golf course was founded in 1902 with 5 holes occupying the ground of Blackadder Castle (sometimes called the Old Tulliallan Castle). For the record the New Tulliallan Castle, built in the 19th Century, is home of the Scottish Police College. The golf clubhouse bisects the two castles which are only a mile apart.

The short par four 262 yard 11th, a potential card wrecker or equally a birdie chance.

As with many courses of the age it was fairly quickly extended 18 although I couldn’t find out the architect, which is a shame as it’s a decent layout. The course makes good use of the gently sloping lands and excellent use of the burns. With some blind shots and sparse, but effective, bunkering, it’s slope rating of 122 means its a decent test.

The approach towards the par four 8th, at 389 yards, with water determining strategy from the tee.

The course was wet when we played, but other than some casual water on the first and last it had withstood the heavy rain well. To prevent mud paths, the club had introduced a clever winter routing altering the order of holes 7 through 13. The tee signs had been clearly marked, highlighting good course management.

The greens (here the long par three 4th) were in good condition, despite the heavy rain.

The highlight is the careful ordering of the holes, ensuring each presents a different challenge from the last. There was really good stoke indexing as well, other than the last, which I think should not be SI 18.

The course’s fairly wide fairways, good greens and very nice cafe/restaurant, as well as its decent pricing means its a good choice for a society outing, especially with its central location.

The 15th is the last of the four par 3s, a strong point of this well designed course.

Finally to ‘marketing’. One wonders how many more visitors this course would get annually it it was called “Kincardine Golf Club”? I actually searched and did find a Kincardine Golf Club – one of the oldest in Canada, founded in 1906, only 4 years after Tulliallan was founded.

Facts:

Round List Price £35. Actual Paid £17 through Golfnow.

Course/Slope Rating (white) 69/122.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69  (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5678 yards

Moly’s Tulliallan Scorecard – 82

169. East Renfrewshire (‘Ren’). 18 Oct 22.

November 17, 2023 /

Arboretum type vision creates framing ‘For the Ages’

Value for Money (out of 5) – 5

It takes vision to plant an arboretum as its creator is dead by the time planting has matured, something both sad and somewhat magical. This was how I felt playing one of James Braid’s canvasses – East ‘Ren’.

The beautifully framed par four 2nd hole at East Ren from its elevated tee.

In 1922 when Braid designed this moorland layout there were almost no trees and this is a great example how courses evolve over the years.

The original open heathland vista of East Ren, a picture courtesy of the golf club. The clubhouse is still in use.

Looking at the original open heathland layout of the course in 1922, one wonders whether Braid imagined what the course would become? If he did, he really was visionary, because the course is now a beautiful mix of holes and incredibly framed by fir trees. I could have published pictures of every hole.

The great conditioning of East Ren shown here at the 4th green, the 135 yard par three, which also demonstrates the large bunkering on many holes.

This very bonny golf course was in great condition when we played, despite the recent wet weather. It fully justifies its high placing in lists of Scotland’s finest courses.

The downhill dog leg left 331 yard par four 6th hole.

With constantly changing directions and a great use of the sloping braes, Braid’s course is one that you’ll want to come back to again and again. It’s a tough walk in places, no more so than the severe uphill par three 11th, “Brae Shouther”, at over 200 yards.

Moly at the difficult 200 yard par three 7th hole.

There are also many slight dog leg holes, and the odd blind shot thrown in for good measure. The bunkering is strong, yet the fairways are overall pretty generous. The greens subtle, but not overly sloping.

The approach at the par five 14th hole, with the burn challenging the longer hitters, attempting to go for the green in two.

The use of craftily routed burns, feeding the adjacent reservoir, means strategy off the tee is a consideration. Overall, it’s an architectural gem, clearly benefitting from Braid’s growing experience by the early 1920s.

The beautiful 17th at East Ren, yet another hole with excellent framing.

Almost every hole is materially different from its predecessor, many with outstanding view of the Renfrewshire countryside. This is a ‘must play’ course and in the top handful of Scottish moorland courses.

The excellent short 13th hole, at only 120 yards the shortest hole.

Go out of your way to play East ‘Ren’, which has shot towards the top of courses I would like to play regularly.

Facts:

Round List Price £75. Actual Paid £30 through Golfnow.

Course/Slope Rating (yellow) 68.8/119.

Course Type: Heathland

Par 70  (2 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5845 yards

Moly’s ‘East Ren’ Scorecard – 85

167. Uphall. 15 Oct 22.

July 19, 2023 /

Quirky opening fairway at club with “progressive” ambitions.

Value for Money (out of 5) – 4

As a friendly Starter briefed me, I was pre-occupied by two groups of golfers only 40 yards in front of the first tee – one group on the 16th tee the other on the 2nd green. As a wayward driver, I was trying to remember if I had paid my annual golf insurance. His summarised message had been, “take great care!”.

The good conditioning of Uphall seen from the 1st tee. It’s a hazardous area, with both teeing ground and greens in immediate view – take great care.

Uphall’s first and second holes share a fairway with a green at either end, which I reasoned may have been okay at the turn of the 19th century, when balls didn’t travel so far and times were less litigious. I kept musing on this somewhat dangerous layout, my feelings later reinforced when I met a long standing member who told me “someone’s going to get seriously hurt one day”.

The par 3 third hole – Uphall’s best hole in my opinion, where one has to avoid the Brox Burn.

The golf course (in the village of the same name) sits either side of the A899 with holes 1 to 3, and 15 to 18 on the north side, and holes 4 through 14 on the south. It is near Junction 3 of the M8, and therefore very accessible from any direction.

Autumn colour on display into the trickily placed 5th green, a short par 4.

This Central Scotland location, coupled with the interesting course layout makes for a good society venue, albeit at the time of writing the club are yet to rebuild the clubhouse which was sadly burnt down during the Covid Pandemic.

The mature Uphall parkland on view here as Fran drives at the tough par four 8th hole.

Much of the course lies amongst mature parkland, once part of the Houstoun House Estate. The estate ‘castle’, dating back to 1598, is now a MacDonald Hotel, and sits behind the 4th, 5th and 6th holes.

At just 5366 yards from the yellow tees, with a slope rating of 113, I should have been challenging 80, whereas I didn’t break 100 in the wet and windy autumnal conditions. My score wasn’t helped by losing 3 balls in the leaves. It was very picturesque though with the trees in good colour.

The par three 16th, “burn”, where good club selection is needed at this 95 yard hole (yellow).

With four par threes and only one par five, the courses variety was aided by a good variety of par fours, from the drivable downhill second hole of 293 yards, to the stroke index 1, 14th at over 400 yards.

Moly’s short approach into the par five 11th at Uphall.

The course was in decent condition, with good turf, and is likely a delight on a dry Summer day. I paid only £18 through golfnow.com, a sizable discount on the £30 list price. Overall, I give this 4 out of 5 for value, and worth checking out. Just take great care on the first tee shot.

The short dog leg right par four 17th hole at only 240 yards is a good birdie chance, but be mindful not to run out of fairway like Moly did.

It’s worth noting the Club’s commitment to junior golfers, with its website declaring “a strong focus on the development of our Junior players”, well done.

Facts:

Round List Price £25. Actual Paid £18 using Golfnow.com

Course/Slope Rating (yellow) 65.9/113.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69  (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5366 yards

Moly’s scorecard – high winds didn’t help, but it was a poor day.

165. Lanark. 13 Oct 22.

March 8, 2023 /

Gleneagles – “The Lanark of the North”?

Round £65. Par 70. Course/Slope Rating (yellow) 70.1/124. Value (out of 5) – 5

Moly’s score – 96

In immaculate condition, I still found a rabbit hole at Lanark and one which didn’t afford a free drop. Lanark’s website claimed a brilliant story; “In 1920 the LSM Railway Company decided, only on the casting vote of its chairman, to build its hotel at Gleneagles rather than Lanark.”

The beautifully stunning Lanark golf course evident from the first tee, a 350 yard par four.

Disappointingly, I couldn’t find corroboration for Lanark’s story; for example, the excellent 1951 club’s centenary history makes no mention of the ‘Gleneagles’ decision. Jamie Darling, of Lanark GC, was very helpful in my enquiries, but he too found evidence elusive.

The challenging 4th, here the view from 200 yards, at this 430 yard par four stroke index 1 hole.

The more I researched, the more convinced I am The Gleneagles resort vision existed long before 1920; in fact as early as 1910 by Perthshire born Donald Matheson, the Chief Engineer with Caledonian Railways.    The Kings course opened in 1919, with the final hotel site decided around 1920. Matheson later became the GM of Caledonian Railways, then Dep GM in Scotland for LMS, and seems likely the driving force.

The sixth requires two “Sunday best” shots to get close to the green at this uphill par four.

Lanark, unlike Gleneagles, is one of the UK’s best kept golfing secrets – a quite beautiful moorland course, nestled 600 feet up in the Clyde Valley of South Lanarkshire, only 25 miles from Glasgow’s city centre. The town is an ancient burgh and historically important, evidenced by the golf course being one of the oldest “inland” courses in the world. A full 18 holes was designed by Old Tom Morris in 1897, although some holes are traced back to 1851.

The delightful 125 yard seventh – played downhill to a web of bunkers. The 8th is seen beyond and is the only hole playing the same direction as its predecessor.

This tough course was in majestic condition when I played in good playing conditions yet still struggled to break 100 – I had one of those rounds where you play better than you score. The turf is very firm and certainly played like a links. With beautifully crafted greens and surrounds, I suspect anyone playing to handicap will have made several single putts.

The exquisite condition of the course, seen here at the uphill par three 10th at 147 yards, adorned in Autumn sunshine.

The course is well laid out with constant changes in direction (except the 7th and 8th), so wind is always a strong consideration, especially as the course sits high up in exposed countryside. My only (very slight) criticism is that the approach to the second can be confusing; I hit into the 14th green, to be met by some members telling me “loads of visitors do that!”; later in my round I was advising other visitors the same!

Approach to the 11th, with OOB getting closer at the greenside.

The fairways are pretty generous, but miss these and the rough is at times very brutal. With discounts available through golfnow.com, I paid only £32, which was outstanding value.

I would really love to be able to confirm that Gleneagles is “The Lanark of the North”.  It would be nice if anyone could point me to evidence of the chairman’s decision to validate the club’s great story. For the record, Henry Allan, was Caledonian Railway chairman between 1918-23, are would be the “Chairman” in Lanark’s claim.

It’s worth going out of your way to play Lanark, a wonderful moorland course, arguably one of Scotland’s very best.

Facts:

Course Type: Heathland

Par 70  (1 par 5s, 14 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 6107 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 96

Moly’s Lanark Scorecard – 96

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Scotland Golf Bible

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑