We played Western Gailes at the end of our trip and while the course itself is not completely unknown or hidden, I rarely ever hear anything about the course on GCA.com. In general I though the course was very good, although the fairways were much wider than neighboring Prestwick or Troon and the course is only about 6600yds, so the Open qualifiers could potentially go low if the wind is down.
The one hole I thought was outstanding (and wish I had taken pictures of) was the 506yds. Par5 sixth hole, called Lappock. The tee-shot plays diagonally over dunes and requires a carry of approximately 225-240yds. The angle is somewhat similar to #13 at CPC. The 2nd shot is blind, over the top of a hill and towards a directionaly marker. The market sits between a higher dune on the left and lower dunes and the ocean on the right. To this point it was a challenging hole as it required two strong shots, but the beauty of the hole is revealed at the top of the hill (about 80-100yds out). The kidney-shaped green is nestled into the dunes on the left. The fairway on the right falls off sharply to the left (towards the green) and allows well struck shots to roll towards the green from probably 50-60yds out. Missing the green 10-15yds right will leave you on the ridge, about 20 feet above the green. So finding that "slot" on the 2nd shot is critical. The green itself is relatively flat, but there is a small dune that creeps in from the righ hand side about half-way into the green complex and it makes putting from the front-right to the back-right an interesting adventure. The player has either pitch it over the dune/mound, or they can putt it over the slope as it's mowed to green height. But putting it makes it difficult to get the ball close.
Has anyone else played the hole or have a picture of the green-side area? It would be a great hole to replicate even if it required moving some dirt. It might be tough to do naturally without similar terrain.