Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: 3 star (Page 9 of 15)

72. Crieff Dornock. 2nd Nov 2017.

November 3, 2017 /

Pleasant 9 hole course well suited to holiday or “warm up” golf     

Summary:  Round £12.   Par 32.  Value (out of 5) – 4

Crieff Golf Club’s main course, Ferntower, is one of Scotland’s highly regarded inland courses.  The other course, the 9 hole Dornock layout, benefits from the same fine clubhouse and facilities, green keeping staff and well stocked pro-shop, making this a first rate choice for a holiday round of golf if you have a couple of hours to spare.

The 9th green at Crieff’s Dornock course, with the clubhouse in the background.

The club was established in 1891, and Old Tom Morris designed the main course, but the Dornock course only opened in 1980.  The open and beautiful Perthshire parkland on which both courses sit was part of the Victorian Spa ground of the well known Crieff Hydro.  Crieff is the gateway town to The Trossacks and both manicured courses are just what one might expect to find here, a destination well worth visiting.

The par 3 8th hole, one of the more challenging holes on Crieff Dornock

The Dornock course is short, and other than the first hole where out of bounds encroaches on the right, the fairways are very generous, so there is no need to carry too many balls.  The greens are firm and very true and better than most 9 hole courses I’ve played.   The course runs along side the Ferntower course, with some adjoining fairways.

Fran getting out of the bunker at the 8th at Crieff Dornock

The course is made up of 5 par 4s and 4 par 3s, and it’s the latter holes that are the most challenging, since the par 4s are short and prove good par or birdie opportunities.  This was very welcome for me after my difficulties playing at Tain last week.  On the day, I shot 39, +7, and that included a lost ball (under leaves!) on the fairway at 7.

Moly on the 6th green at Crieff Dornock, with the typical beautiful parkland surrounding.

Dornock was in very good condition when I played, plus dowsed in glorious winter sunshine, with zero wind, which always helps keep the score down.

This course is highly recommended – it was only £5 for a winter 9 holes, and still good value at £12 for 9 holes in Summer.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 32 (5 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (black): 2270

Moly’s Gross score: 39

Moly’s Crieff Dornock scorecard – 39 (7 over)

71. Anstruther. 31st Oct 2017.

November 1, 2017 /

Take on  the UK’s toughest par 3, “The Rockies”.     

Summary:  Round £28.   Par 31.  Value (out of 5) – 3

Anstruther Golf Club sits on the Fife coast between the villages of Anstruther and Pittenweem about 9 miles south of St Andrews.  It was established in 1890 with 7 holes with 2 further holes (the current 1st and 9th) added in 1892.  Old Tom Morris advised the club in 1896 to extend the course, but it’s not clear whether he did any re-design.

“The Rockies”, UK’s toughest par 3!

The course provides excellent views over Anstruther Harbour and out to the Isle of May, Bass rock and the North Berwick coastline.  However, I would recommend playing this course solely to play the par 3 5th hole, which was voted in 2007 as the “toughest par 3 in the UK” by Todays Golfer magazine.  “The Rockies” is a coast hugging 245 yards into the prevailing wind, having a blind tee shot from an elevated position into a small green surrounded by a fairly steep cliff bank on one side, with the coastal rocks on the other.  I imagine many a member has never parred this hole from the white medal tee, or even the main yellow tee at 237 yards.  Cynics could conclude that it’s the hardest par 3, because it’s really a par 4!  Disappointingly when I played the tees were placed about 40 yards forward from the bottom of the cliff side, completely altering the hole.  Given that the Golf Club make such a big thing about the hole in there website advertising, they should always use the main tee area in my view.

The nice looking par 3 6th hole at Anstruther.

The 5th hole makes up a bit of  an “Amen’s corner”, along with the par 3 6th and par 3 7th holes, but other than these holes the course is a little featureless to my eye, other than the 2nd hole which is a short par 3 played towards the coast and called “Monument” due to the adjacent WWI War memorial – a “baronial tower”.

The WW1 “Baronial” War Memorial adjacent to the well guarded Par 3 2nd hole at Anstruther.

One interesting quirk is that the course was closed during WW2, during which time the course was trenched and numerous poles erected to prevent the landing of enemy aircraft.  There are also some small wartime gun placements and shell stores which are integral parts of the course.

The course was in pretty good condition when I played and, along with the first light breeze I’d played in for a while, I shot 39, 8 over, and about exactly to handicap (17).

The rather featureless 8th tee shot at Anstruther, with some WW2 relic buildings in the background

 

Other than the magnificent par 3 5th, the clubhouse restaurant is apparently highly rated and given its delightful location is another reason to visit.

Facts:

Course Type: Links

Par 31 (4 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 2252

Moly’s Gross score: 39

67. Bridge of Allan. 11th Oct 2017.

October 12, 2017 /

A 9 hole course from bygone days worth experiencing. 

Summary:  Round  £20.   Par 33.  Value (out of 5) – 4

There can’t be many golfers who play Bridge of Allan for the first time that find the par 3 1st green with their tee shot; less than 5% I suspect, probably much lower.  It’s not that it’s the most difficult par 3 ever, it’s just also so unusual.  It’s 223 yards up a steep slope (40% they say!), with a blind plateau green that has a dry stone dyke across the fairway about 30 yards in front of the green.  Welcome to one of Old Tom Morris’ famous holes.  Thankfully not all of Old Tom’s holes are as demanding as this, otherwise golf in Scotland may not be as popular as it is!

The very demanding first shot at Bridge of Allan – the long par 3.

Old Tom Morris designed this nine-hole golf course in 1895, in the affluent Victorian spa town of Bridge of Allan and the course has commanding views of the surrounding hills and countryside, including Ben Lomond, and also Stirling Castle which is only a few miles away.

According to the golf historian, Robert Kroeger, in his book ‘ The Golf Courses of Old Tom Morris’, Bridge of Allan is “the best preserved in that the layout and length of holes and greens are exactly the same as they were in 1895”.  So for historical reasons alone, it’s worthwhile playing here, and that is why I’ve said this is a 4/5 for value.

Fine views from the 1st, which also shows the typical flat greens

However, I suspect the course will not be to everyone’s taste.  Most of the holes have out of bounds (OOB) in play, mainly for the right handed hooker.  OOB areas are also tight behind some greens, especially the 4th which also has a dyke in front of the green.  There are hardly any flat lies as the course is so hilly.  The greens are however pretty flat, which meant that when I played 2 greens were out of action due to being waterlogged.  Of course, Old Tom mainly designed links greens, which naturally drain much better than parkland.

The semi-blind par 4 7th at Bridge of Allan

Old Tom makes much use of existing dykes which are in play on several holes and also blind tee shots by carefully using existing tree lines – this is especially true on the 6th and 7th holes, which need to be played more than once to get a feel for the line from the tee.

I had a difficult time on the day, including three 7s in my 13 over for 9 holes.  My day was typified by hitting a magnificent drive (probably about 240 yards) at the 7th, but I never found my ball as it was very likely plugged.

The difficult par 4 8th, another uphill hole at Bridge of Allan

The course was very wet when I played which was a pity, but the fairways were in good condition.  I think that it must take several rounds here to get used to the tricky layout.  The highlight holes for me in addition to the 1st were the 4th, 5th and 7th.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 33 (0 par 5s, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 2517 (9 holes)

Moly’s Gross score: 46.

Moly’s Bridge of Allan Scorecard – 46

66. Turnhouse. 10th Oct 2017

October 12, 2017 /

Nice layout with good greens with upside for plane spotters! 

Summary:  Round  £35.   Par 69.  Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Turnhouse golf course was laid out with 9 holes in 1897, and extended to 18 holes a few years later.  The original course designer is not known, but James Braid carried out a redesign in 1928, characteristically focused on the use of bunkers.

Views of Edinburgh airport from the 5th green at Turnhouse

The course sits on Lennie Hill, very close to Edinburgh airport and easily accessed by road.  There are good views of the Pentland Hills to the south and to the Fife Ochill Hills to the north.  For a parkland course designed in the 19th century it unusually has two 9 hole loops, starting at the clubhouse.

The nice par 4 6th hole at Turnhouse – where I had one of my 3 birdies

Turnhouse has a classic parkland feel and there is a good mix of some generous and some tighter fairways.  I thoroughly recommend the excellent online course planner available on the club website, especially as there are several blind tee and second shots.  A good example is the long 4th hole which has a nasty blind bunker on the right hand side of the fairway at about 430 yards awaiting a well struck second shot – bear in mind out of bounds is tight along the left of this hole.

The fast Stroke Index 1 10th green at Turnhouse, a tough start to the back 9.

The planner might also help gauge driving distance on some of the tighter holes, with the formidable 13th tee shot being actually easier that it looks, with only a hybrid or fairway wood being needed at the tee, with a larger landing area being available than at first sight.

The greens were surprisingly well drained and quiet fast – I putted off  the 9th green where the pin had been placed on the right – beware!     Overall the course was in good condition, with only the tees perhaps in need of some effort.

The frightening looking 13th tee shot at Turnhouse – take a hybrid to guarantee playing from the fairway.

I had a most mercurial round.  I only hit 3 greens in regulation and birdied all 3 of them! (4th, 6th and 11th)  – my stableford had three 4 pointers but no 3 pointers!

There is an interesting quote on the club web site about the hazards in the development of parkland courses around the turn of the 20th century, and worth sharing:

“In those early days, golf courses were shaped by natural terrain and while links courses had sand bunkers, inland courses relied on gorse, whin and dry stone walls for hazards. At Turnhouse there is a record of turf dykes about three feet high being built forty or fifty yards from the tee across some fairways and in January 1908 an instruction was issued to remove steps over the walls and have gaps made in their place.”

Turnhouse was a most pleasant surprise and one of the lessor known Edinburgh courses well worth a visit.

Facts:

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69 (2 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5926

Moly’s Gross score: 91.

Moly’s Turnhouse scorecard: 91 for 31 points

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Scotland Golf Bible

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑