Category: The Kingdom of Fife (Page 6 of 7)

23. Auchterderran. 15th July 2015

July 16, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Good value golf on an interesting little course.

Summary: £10 for 9 holes, £12 for 18. Par 33. Value (out of 5) – 3

Nice views from Auchterderrans 6th green

Although Auchterderran golf course, located in the Fife village of Cardenden, was established in 1904, in many ways it feels a younger, less mature course. 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 devilishly difficult long par 3 5th, “Burma Road”

It’s a nice layout in the space available, with a good mix of holes. This is a course for all, with some are pretty straightforward holes, but the 3rd, 5th and 8th are potential card wreckers that will challenge the low handicap player.

3rd green looking down fairway

The long par 3 5th, at 241 yards, called Burma Road, is a very tough par 3, which for most golfers should be played as a 4. It has a small green, and out of bounds down the left. A bogie 4 is a good score in my book. Another tip, which I did not follow (meaning 2 lost balls) was playing safe on the 8th, which has a narrow gap at driving length. Given another chance I would have played a 7 iron off the tee.

2nd green towards adjacent water (not in play on course)

The course is maintained by volunteer members and therefore the condition is not great, but then again the price is very reasonable, so it still represents good value golf. The fairways in particular need a lot of work, but the greens were good and true.

The people I met were very friendly. It’s worth a game, if you have an hour or 2 to spare on your travels.

Key Facts

Course Type: parkland

Full Green Fees:

Par 33 (0 par 5, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance (yellow) 2318 yards

Moly’s Gross score:

Moly’s Auchterderran 9 hole scorecard – 46

22. Kinghorn. 14th July 2015

July 15, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Small Historical Links Challenge at a Bargain Price

Summary: Round weekday £18; weekend £22 . Par 65. Value (out of 5) – 4

Detail:

Kinghorn's second green with views over the course to Burntisland and the Forth Estuary

Kinghorn’s second green with views over the course to the Forth Estuary

Kinghorn Golf Club, was founded in 1887, with the initial 9 holes being designed by Old Tom Morris – the remaining 9 holes were laid out in 1905 by Willie Fernie of Troon. Kinghorn therefore represents a fine historical pedigree of golfing architecture.

Kinghorn 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.

The tricky Par 3 3rd with the wall in play!

This is becoming a common practice by Local Authorities in Scotland to manage golf courses. The golf club is private, like many Scottish clubs associated with public courses.

The course presents a fine test of all aspects of your game, especially your course management – my advice would be that other than the long par 4 8th and 13th holes (the 2 hardest on the course), leave your driver in the bag. Accuracy from the tee will pay dividends here.

An “eagle” at the par 4 6th – putting a joy on these greens

There are some tricky blind tee shots, with the 2nd and the 6th, both par 3s (from the yellow), needing good club selection to reach the green. Although I played from the yellow tees, it was easy to imagine how much more difficult from the white boxes several of the holes were. The SSS is 3 shots different between white and yellow.

Uphill approach to the Par 4 10th

The longest hole on the course – the 8th – a might 2 shots might not reach here.

The greens, and their immediate surrounds, were the highlight of the course condition when I played, and must be amongst the best in Fife; hard, true and very fast, it was difficult to judge your approach shots at times. The fairways were mixed, most were very good but some, notably the 18th, were poor. The tee boxes in particular needed attention. I think if some of the considerable effort placed on the greens, were shared to other areas, the whole course would benefit greatly.

This is a great little course, with magnificent views of the Forth Estuary and if you’re able to play after 3pm during the week in Summer, the twilight round rate of £12 represents great value.

Key Facts

Course Type: Links

Green Fees:

weekday £18 (round), £24 (day)
weekend £22 (round), £29 (day)

Par 65 (0 par 5, 11 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

Distance(white) 4587 yards

Moly’s Gross Score 88

Moly’s Kinghorn Scorecard – 88

17. Scotscraig. 23rd May 2015

June 13, 2015 / Moly McMillan

Great links worth the visit if you’re also playing St Andrews

Summary: Midweek £65 (round); £85 (day); weekend (morning) £80. Par 71. Value (out of 5) – 3.5

Detail:

Scotscraig 18th green and clubhouse

Scotscraig was founded in 1817 by some members of the St. Andrews Society of Golfers (later to be the R&A) and therefore became the 13th Golf Club in the world. Pedigree apart, it’s a great test of golf and has been a final qualifying venue many times when The Open has been at St Andrews. It has therefore played host to many of the world’s best golfers.

It is a fine links course, but with a layout more typical of a parkland course, therefore wind direction impacts differently on each hole, unlike many of the “out and back” links courses on the east of Scotland.

Par 3 6th at Scotscraig

Scotscraig also has a fair number of trees as well. This, coupled with a lot of broom, the indigenous Scottish links shrub, makes for a really nice vista on many of the holes.

The greens had recently been rotavated and treated by the newly appointed green keeper, and so were not typical of the good condition that I’d experienced here several times before – however, the rest of the course was in excellent condition.

Approach to the 7th at Scotscraig

Playing with an old family friend, David Husband, a member of Scotscraig for many years, I was reminded of the importance of local knowledge to playing links courses, especially when the ground around the greens becomes so hard, and the need to play the chip and run, sometimes from up to 100 yards out. Even if you’re not used to this form of the game, its nice to try this shot out.

There are some great holes at Scotscraig, with the par 4 fourth hole, stroke index 1, being the first major test, played to a steep sided plateau green, over a second shot carry from the fairway – settle for a bogey and move on. You also need to be aware from several of the tees of the adjacent greens and tees which criss-cross at times.

The par 3 15th with Moly’s best shot of the day!

There are also 2 really nice mid iron par 3s, the 6th and 15th, the latter to a 2 tier green would be a good “nearest the pin” for a society.

I had a mixed round, with 55 out and 45 home, the latter with an 8, but enough to win my match – but to be fair neither David nor I played to our handicap, on a day when the wind got up sufficiently to make scoring difficult.

A nice club house with good visitor facilities make this course well worth a visit.

Key Facts

Course Type: Links

Green Fees:

Midweek £65 round £85 day
Weekend £80 (morning)

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

Distance(yellow) 6310 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 100

Moly’s Scotscraig scorecard – 100

6. St Andrews Balgove; 26th Dec 2013

December 31, 2013 / Moly McMillan / 0 Comments

Opportunity to score low at St Andrews!

The Balgove course is one of the relatively recent addidions to St Andrews. It is in the complex which shares the Golf Academy, Eden and Strathtyrum courses. Doing a course at the Golf Academy normally includes access to the Balgove 9 hole course, and is used as part of the courses.

1st tee

The course is an ideal beginners course, comprising only one real par 4, with 2 other holes (1st and 2nd) being 220 and 219 yards long but marked as par 4s on the card for some reason. Therefore the SS is really 28 in my opinion, not 30.

Although a vary short layout, the greens are very nicely architected, to give a real feel for a links greens, with some good greenside bunkers as well. The putting surfaces are however very flat, which when coupled to the excellent surfaces, means that birdie opportunities should exist for all levels of golfer.

Balgove double green

The 6th hole, runs alongside the “bigger” courses and is bounded by severe gorse, so lost balls are still possible here.

Overall, this is a really fun little course, which should not take much longer than an hour to play, and as such is a great warm up to it’s more substantial neighbours – don’t get

9th Green

seduced though that you’ll score as well on the neighbouring courses as you will on this!

Key Facts

Course Type: Links

Green Fees: 20 Oct -13 Apr – £8; 14 Apr – 19 Oct – £15; Children £3

Par 30 (3 par 4s, 6 par 3s)

Distance: 1520 yards

Moly’s Gross score: 34

Balgove scorecard

Category: The Kingdom of Fife (Page 6 of 7)

23. Auchterderran. 15th July 2015

Par 33 (0 par 5, 6 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

22. Kinghorn. 14th July 2015

Par 65 (0 par 5, 11 par 4s, 7 par 3s)

17. Scotscraig. 23rd May 2015

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

6. St Andrews Balgove; 26th Dec 2013

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