{"id":177,"date":"2014-08-09T15:32:50","date_gmt":"2014-08-09T15:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/?p=177"},"modified":"2015-07-07T19:57:46","modified_gmt":"2015-07-07T19:57:46","slug":"10-spey-valley-7th-july-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/?p=177","title":{"rendered":"10. Spey Valley; 7th July 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Breath-taking scenery, but your\u00a0<\/strong>“A” game is required\u00a0if you want to truly enjoy the views!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Summary:\u00a0 Cost \u00a340 (midweek pm).\u00a0 Par 72.\u00a0 Score 102.\u00a0\u00a0Value (out of 5)\u00a0– 4.5<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"140807_Spey<\/a>

Andy’s approach to the 18th with the Cairgorm mountains in view (note the rain on the right!)<\/p><\/div>\n

Detail: <\/strong>Spey Valley, designed by the renowned architect Dave Thomas, is part of the McDonald Aviemore hotel resort.\u00a0 It is a magnificent golf course that feels much more mature than its actual age and is now an established part of the European Challenge Tour, hosting the\u00a0Scottish Hydro Challenge (2009-2014).\u00a0 The scenery of the Cairngorm mountain range is breath-taking and Spey Valley, arguably, has\u00a0the best golf views from any course in the UK.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The formidable approach shot to the 15th green<\/p><\/div>\n

The course is a significant test at over 7000 yards from the white tees with a\u00a0SS of 75, versus a par of 72.\u00a0 It’s a very traditional layout with 4 par 3s and 4 par 5s, with the 5th\u00a0being Scotland’s longest hole at 635 yds (608 yds\u00a0off Yellow!).\u00a0\u00a0The par 3s are particularly challenging and I\u00a0needed a wood from the tee on them all.\u00a0 The heath and the heather are always close by to eat up your precious golf balls, so make sure you stock up well before starting.<\/p>\n

\"Spey<\/a>

Spey Valley’s version of the “spectacles” on the 7th – in range with a driver.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Andy<\/a>

Andy Needham and Alvin Hopley of the Army GC<\/p><\/div>\n

I played with Alvin Hopley (8 hcp)\u00a0and Andy Needham (19 hcp), both of the Army GC<\/a>; we\u00a0played a three-ball match play game, using the 6 points\/per hole format. \u00a0Alvin and I halved, both narrowly beating Andy.\u00a0 In truth the golf course soundly beat all 3 of us and this on a day blessed with sunshine and only a light highland breeze.\u00a0\u00a0 I scored 102, but the local assistant pro advised that many people never break 100 on this monster.<\/p>\n

\"Take<\/a>

Take your A game or lots of balls – probably both!<\/p><\/div>\n

At a \u00a340 green fee, which also received 20% discount because I played free using a Golfcare<\/a> voucher, this\u00a0course is\u00a0also\u00a0incredible value.\u00a0 However, either ensure you take your A game, or just accept that the fee is worth it for the views alone whilst having a drink\u00a0in the\u00a0lovely little\u00a0bar with its nice terrace area.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Key Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Course<\/strong><\/em> Type<\/em>:<\/strong> Parkland\/Heathland<\/p>\n

Green Fees:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>Variable Summer PM (not twilight): \u00a340<\/p>\n

Par 72<\/strong> <\/em>(4 par 5s,\u00a010 par 4s,\u00a04 par 3s)<\/h3>\n

Distance(white)<\/em>:\u00a07071<\/strong> yards<\/p>\n

Moly’s Gross score<\/strong><\/em>: 102<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Moly’s scorecard – 102 with 3 lost balls<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breath-taking scenery, but your\u00a0“A” game is required\u00a0if you want to truly enjoy the views!\u00a0 Summary:\u00a0 Cost \u00a340 (midweek pm).\u00a0 Par 72.\u00a0 Score 102.\u00a0\u00a0Value (out of 5)\u00a0– 4.5 Detail: Spey Valley, designed by the renowned architect Dave Thomas, is part of the McDonald Aviemore hotel resort.\u00a0 It is a magnificent golf course that feels much more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,36,47,65,19,29,32,9,68,14,15,38,2,18,25,56,20,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-18-holes","category-4-star","category-4-5-star","category-commercial","category-course-architech","category-course-owned-by","category-course-quality","category-course-type","category-dave-thomas","category-highland","category-holes","category-overall-value","category-price-range","category-region","category-since-2000","category-the-highlands","category-when-course-established","category-40-59","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}