Category: Edinburgh & The Lothians (Page 6 of 7)

66. Turnhouse. 10th Oct 2017

October 12, 2017 / Moly McMillan

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

60. Dalmahoy West. 7th May 2017

May 18, 2017 / Moly McMillan

Pleasant parkland course which would be ideal for the more social of society golf days.

Summary: Cost “between £30 – £55”. Par 68. Score 88. Value (out of 5) – 2.

So it has taken until 7th May to blog the first course of 2017, due to various travel, work commitments and poor weather!

The 8th fairway at Dalmahoy West, a typically open hole on this short parkland course

Marriot Hotels run the Dalmahoy Hotel, Golf and Country Club, which is on the South East of Edinburgh about a 10 minute drive from Edinburgh Airport. The resort has 2 courses; the East course is a championship layout designed by James Braid and hosted the Solheim Cup in 1992; I played the East course in 2014; the West course is a much shorter later addition. Both course are part of a 1000 acre estate surrounding Dalmahoy Manor, which was built in the 1720s and converted to a hotel and golf resort in 1927, becoming part of the Marriot organisation in the 1990s.

The Par 4 5th green at Dalmahoy West

The East course, like the West course, is an open parkland layout, where there is ample opportunity to be wild off the tee but able to recover and retain a flattering score. If you’re like me, this will suit you, as it allows a freedom to be aggressive, especially off the tee. Additionally, there is only one of the par 4s (the stroke index two 8th) which is over 400 yards, so for all bar the shortest of hitters you are hitting short irons into most greens.

The 15th tee, at Dalmahoy West, the start of the trickiest stretch on this resort course. The church to the left of the green is a Scottish Episcopal chapel on the grounds.

The highlight of the layout, is the 3 tricky holes staring from the 15th; water is in play to the right of the par 4 15th, and then in front of the short 16th which makes it important to play long, especially into the wind. The 16th is another par 3, but with 3 well positioned greenside bunkers. I suspect these 3 holes have damaged many a medal scorecard.

The well guarded par 3 17th green at Dalmahoy West

The course was in reasonable condition when I played, with nice greens, however the tees were poor. It was not good value for the price: I paid £23 for a twilight slot based on a price match with Teeofftimes.co.uk, although the rack rate states the price between “£30 – £55”, and it would be robbery if paying greater than £40 here. It would nevertheless be a really good society venue, particularly for societies where golf is rather secondary to the socialising.

I carded an 88, for 34 points, but had a couple of disaster holes: a 7 on the par 4 2nd and an 8 on the par 4 11th. When will I next get a round without major error!

Key Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 68 (1 par 5s, 12 par 4s, 5 par 3s)

Distance (yellow): 5051

Moly’s Gross score: 88.

Dalmahoy scorecard – 88

56. Portobello. 25th Oct 2016.

November 4, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Easy walking 9 hole public course – but a no rake policy!

Round £9.30. Par 32. Value (out of 5) 1.5

Portobello is a short 9 hole pay-for-play course operated by Edinburgh Leisure, which manages 6 golf courses on behalf of Edinburgh Council; an annual 7-day membership to play all courses costs around only £400 – excellent value. However, Edinburgh Leisure’s pricing policy, with all courses priced the same on a pay-per-play basis, makes Portobello very poor value compared with the other more substantial courses (e.g. Braid Hills) on offer. That is a great shame.

1st green at Portobello, with good view of Arthur’s seat over this flat course.

It is a short, open and easy walking course of only 2566 yards, with some excellent views of Arthur’s seat, one of Edinburgh’s signature landmarks.

There is however little variation on this course, with only a couple of playing highlights of note. The 6th approach shot over a bunker some 40 yards in front of the green provides a distance judgment challenge, with the green being one of the few sloping ones. The signature hole is the long par 3 9th at nearly 200 yards and requiring a fairway wood for most I suspect.

Approach at the 6th at Portobello

The only memory of the club which will endure was the chat I had with the starter attendant, who explained the policy of not leaving rakes in the bunkers, due to the theft risk. This is a great shame, and I concluded that a better policy might be to at least put the rakes out in the morning and then take them in when the starter box closes.

The signature 9th at Portobello

The greens were in OK condition, but the tees were poor, and of course the bunkers at the mercy of the previous occupant.

Overall, a good course to learn on, or if you’re looking for a quick 9 holes.

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 32 (5 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance yards: 2566

Moly’s Gross Score: 44

Moly’s Portobello scorecard – 44 (12 over)

55. Silverknowes. 20th Oct 2016.

October 21, 2016 / Moly McMillan

Golf of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish in Scotland

Round £22.70. Par 71. Value (out of 5) 3

Silverknowes is a small suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh on the south bank of the Firth of Forth with views across to Fife. The community evolved around the 1930s and the golf course opened in 1957 after an almost 30 year gestation.

The commending views of the Forth from the first at Silverknowes

The commanding views of the Forth from the first at Silverknowes

In trying to sum up my thoughts about Silverknowes golf course, I couldn’t help thinking about Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote about government being “of/by/for the people”. Arguably, no other country in the world would provide a low cost public golf course on such prime real estate as that on which Silverknowes is laid out.

The approach to the difficult 5th with the clubhouse in the background.

The course is managed as a pay-for-play facility by Edinburgh Leisure, a not for profit charity, which manages the leisure activities formerly run by Edinburgh Council, although there is also a separate private members Silverknowes Golf Club. Edinburgh Leisure operate 6 golf courses, with an annual 7-day membership to play all 6 costing around only £400 – excellent value.

The Arboretum backdrop to the 14th at Silverknowes

The par 71 parkland layout provides an easy walking course with several wide fairways, so you can open up with the driver, without carrying around a bucket of spare balls. However, you do need to keep a keen eye on your line as the lush and green rough make losing a ball possible when you least expect to.

The course has undergone several changes in the hole order over the years, but now has a relatively easy opening 4 holes, but toughens up from the 5th, with the stoke index 1 par 4 7th, being the first of a number of very difficult holes. Indeed, it’s actually worth playing Silverknowes to try out the Par 4 16th, which is one of the most difficult par 4s I have encountered, and that includes the 17th road hole at St Andrews. At over 460 yards, it’s dog leg apex is only about 170-180 yards from the tee, leaving an almost 300 yard second shot – not something many amateurs (or even professionals) have in their bag!

The “par 4” 16th at Silverknowes

The greens and fairways were in nice condition when I played, although annoyingly the bunkers had no rakes available, which caused myself and my partners on the day to have some interesting bunker lies. The tees and tee boxes were also in need of some added care.

There were however many magnificent views across to Fife and the several islands that festoon the Forth, and I would highly recommend playing in the Autumn as the colours of the many variety of trees on several holes make for quite an arboretum.

Unfortunately I found the trees a few too many times on my back 9, coming back in 52, having gone out in 41 – golf the great leveler! This course reflects so much of the ethos of golf in Scotland, and it is worth playing, just to understand that alone.

The urban backdrop a reflection of Golf in Scotland – The peoples game

Some Facts

Course Type: Parkland

Par 71 (2 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance yards: 5942 (yellow)

Moly’s Gross Score: 93

Moly’s Silverknowes scorecard – 93 (41 out; 52 back!)

Category: Edinburgh & The Lothians (Page 6 of 7)

66. Turnhouse. 10th Oct 2017

60. Dalmahoy West. 7th May 2017

56. Portobello. 25th Oct 2016.

55. Silverknowes. 20th Oct 2016.

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