Scotland’s first synthetic greens course, probably.
Price: £8. Par 27. Value: 4/5.
Moly’s Score: 31 (+4)
The backstory is in Blog 185, the main Broadlees course. In summary, since 2004, Robert and Barbara Anderson have built a diverse golf operation – range, 9-hole course, crazy golf, footgolf, academy, café and Santa’s grotto – to compete in an area stocked with golfing alternatives, many of them subsidised.
In 2021, they added something possibly unique in Scotland: a 9-hole par 3 course with synthetic greens and tees, playable every day of the year regardless of weather or ground conditions. The commercial reasoning is sound: a course needing no greenkeeping on its playing surfaces, generating income in January.
From the start the scene is stripped back entirely with open ground, single windswept tree, and a synthetic “green” looking like a piece of discarded carpet. Not aesthetic, but very interesting, with the graves of golfing Architects stirring?
Synthetic tees matter commercially as much as the greens, as grass par 3 tees are brutally punished and need constant repair, reseeding, levelling and divot mix. The cost of upkeep of mats is negligible, plus they play consistently.
Holes range from 85 to 138 yards, so this is great wedge practice. They are not architecturally interesting in any way. But the holes have several water hazards to contend with.
The key question is “how do the greens play?”. The answer is situational. In wet March conditions the green surrounds were too soft for a chip and run approach. The only option was to fly the ball onto the front of the green and allow it to release. The surface bounces more than ‘checks’ on full shots, so that requires careful judgment. Land too deep into the green and the ball runs through; land short and it stops on wet grass short.
Short chips around the green, played softly, were a different matter — the synthetic pile had enough give to generate some check, certainly more than expected. A useful discovery, though it came too late on the card to rescue early bogeys. On the greens themselves the ball rolled true, although breaking differently from a grass surface.
I shot 31 gross, four over par. On the two holes where I holed from outside ten feet I correctly read that the ball would not break as much as expected. It was an education. I’m sure regular players hole lots of putts.
At £8 for nine holes (2023) this is great ‘novelty’ value. I would think there is a commercial opportunity to price a combined fee with 9 holes on this course and 9 holes on the main Broadlees course.
Value: 4/5, to play Scotland’s first and possibly only synthetic greens course
Facts:
Course type: Par 3, synthetic tees and greens
Par 27 . Distance: 972 yards.
Moly’s Gross Score: 31 (+4)
See also: Blog 185 — Broadlees Golf Course
