Category: Overall Value (Page 39 of 47)

This is an overall subjective measure of the combination of quality and price, to give an overall value.

36. Alloa. 18th April 2016

April 19, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Good design with many memorable holes and outstanding Ochil Hills view.

Round £38. Par 71. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

The site for Alloa Golf Club, Schawpark, has a long and heraldic Scottish history and is named after James Schaw of Greenock who in 1431 married Mary de Annand, heiress to the Lands of Sauchie, whose ancester, Henri, was granted the lands in 1321 by King Robert the Bruce. The only notable existing relic of the historic estate is the derelict Sauchie Tower dating from the 15th Century.

1st at Alloa with Ochil Hills.

The golf club was founded in 1891, but the current course was designed by James Braid in 1935. The site is blessed with outstanding views of the Ochil Hills and Braid makes sure the hills are never far from sight through the variety of trees on the course. The fairways are invariably tree lined with some cleverly undulating fairways, most notably the stroke index one 8th hole.

The par 3 7th at Alloa, which depends so much on the wind direction.

The 7th at Alloa, which depends so much on the wind direction.

However, this is not a course where you’ll need a dozen balls to get round as many of the tree areas have fairly open surrounds. The course layout also uses the rolling countryside well, with significant changes in direction on each hole (except the 11th and 12th) so respite from any wind is never long in coming.

The treacherous ditch in front of the long 17th at Alloa

I played Alloa GC with long standing member Brian Fearon and our mutual friend Frank Crowe, both Trustees of Apex Scotland, a charity which does such fantastic work supporting people who have offended or at risk of offending. We had 20+ mph winds when we played, so the downwind holes were very welcome. None of us played especially well, but all had enough good shots to keep our golfing aspirations up!

The difficult to hit par 3 15th green looking back to the tee.

The difficult to hit 15th green looking back to the tee.

The course was in pretty good condition, particularly in light of the amount of rain that had recently fallen with the fairways being the highlight for me – I never got the pace of the greens but they were well conditioned.

The course has a very difficult last 4 holes, including 2 par 3s (one being the 18th) and I suspect this stretch has laid waste to many a potentially good medal card. In fact, the par 3s were the highlight of the course for me with the uphill 15th and the last both being very difficult greens to hit – I suspect the members would settle for bogies every time on these holes. The 2nd and 17th holes are par 5s off the white tees, but more difficult long par 4s from the yellow tees – the 17th needs to be played as a 3 shot par 5 for all but the longest hitters as it has a devilish blind ditch just in front of the green.

The par 3 18th at Alloa – a great finishing hole.

Alloa is a good golf course, with many memorable holes and fantastic views – well worth playing.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 71 (3 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 5991 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 100

Stableford 28

Alloa – Moly’s scorecard – 100

35. Milnathort. 20th Oct 2015.

October 20, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Well kept and subtlety challenging course with Lomond Hills view.

Round (9 holes) £10. Par 34. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Milnathort golf course is in the village of the same name in Kinross-shire, close to the M90, with very easy access from Edinburgh or Perth. It was founded in 1910 and laid out by W. Binnie the professional from Kinghorn, the small Fife links course.

1st at Milnathort looking back to clubhouse from the green.

It is basically a “9 hole” course, but with 2 adjacent greens for the long 6th and 15th played from the same tees and fairway, and different tees on the 4th and 13th to the same green. On the day I played the “front 9” card off the yellow, which is par 34 versus the white par 35, due to the 6th played as a very long par 4 of 467 yards.

Moly on the 6th tee at Milnathort – need to get the hips out of the way! Lomond Hills in the distance.

Its a really nice course, which was in great condition due I’m sure to the Indian Summer of September that had just gone. There are some very tough holes, with the first being a demanding opening 400 yard par 4 with a tight tee shot then played uphill slightly to a large double green shared with the 5th. After that things get more straight forward, until the long 6th, the signature hole, with views of the Lomond Hills, then the long par 4 7th, “The Spire”, played back towards the village.

7th approach at Milnathort – “The Spire”

The fairways in particular were a pleasure to play and walk on, and the trees were in full Autumn colour when I played. The greens are generally large and very true.

I played the best I’d done for a while, carding a 42 versus the par 34, including a lost ball at the 2nd, which was one of those shots that occasionally get lost inexplicably – I shot a 5 with the provisional ball.

6th approach at Milnathort

Lovely course, nice little clubhouse, easily accessible, with limited hazards – well worth a visit.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34 (“front” nine) (0 par 5s, 7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2834 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 42

Stableford 20

Moly’s Milnathort Scorecard – 42

34. Scoonie. 15th Oct 2015.

October 19, 2015 / Moly McMillan

An easy walking course with good views and subtle greens

Round £18. Par 67. Value (out of 5) – 2.5

Scoonie is a short and straight forward parkland golf course located on the eastern side of Leven on the Fife coast and has good views out to the Forth Estuary and across to the North Berwick coastline.

The long par 4 6th tee at Scoonie

It is one of 7 courses managed by the Fife Golf Trust which was established in 2011 to take over Fife Council’s directly managed courses. This is becoming a common practice by Local Authorities in Scotland to manage golf courses. The actual Scoonie Golf Club was formed in 1951, and welcomes visitors to their catering and bar facilities.

View through the “forgiving” trees at the 6th.

Originally a 9 hole course it was extended in 1936 with James Braid doing the re-design, albeit it’s unclear what Braid’s exact design changes were, since the course lacks sophisticated course architecture one normally expects from a Braid course in my opinion. Parts of the course in fact seem quite immature with small trees aside wide open fairways, and therefore feels much younger.

The 12th at Scoonie – the subtle and often large greens provide a good challenge

Having said that, there is still sufficient to keep one interested at Scoonie. The greens are subtle and true, with a few of them being very large. I suspect not many visitors, of any standard, will fail to 3 putt at least once during a round.

The approach at the long par 4 15th hole, bathed in Autumn colour.

The course is a little imbalanced with an outward par of 35 with only one par 3, and inward par of 32 including 4 par 3s. There are no par 5s on the course.

My favourite holes were the short par 4 2nd, which had a steep upward incline to the green, where it is better being long on the approach, the short uphill par 3 13th and the final hole which has a lovely green and well positioned front bunker.

The lovely 18th green at Scoonie

On the day, I played poorly on a course which is relatively easy, with a SSS of 64 versus the card of 67 off the yellow, scoring 31 points.

Scoonie is ideal if you’re looking for a fairly easy walking course, with no major hazards coming into play.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

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

Distance (green!) 5133 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 92

Stableford 31

Moly’s Scoonie scorecard – 92

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

Category: Overall Value (Page 39 of 47)

36. Alloa. 18th April 2016

Par 71 (3 par 5s, 11 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

35. Milnathort. 20th Oct 2015.

Par 34 (“front” nine) (0 par 5s, 7 par 4s, 2 par 3s)

34. Scoonie. 15th Oct 2015.

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

33. Drumoig. 16th Sep 2015

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

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