Part IV
Brora was a mostly cloudy, sometime foggy, day in a streak of two weeks of sunny hot weather. It made some of the early holes more challenging than they might otherwise be on first playing them.
When we stepped on the first tee, five young men (of maybe 10 years of age) came up behind us and sat on the bench. I asked them if they were going out as a 5-ball. Oh no, they were certainly playing as a 2- and a 3-ball. As I teed up on the white medal tee, there was quiet muttering from the boys, until one got up the courage to say: “But, sir, you canna play from those tees. It’s not permitted. The yellow tees are for regular play.” Of course, I moved up to the 5872 yard yellow tees, thinking I’m going to overpower this course. But such politeness and knowledge and etiquette from 10 year-olds was refreshing.
And, although I shot a 72 against the par of 69, the course was no pushover. A real fun golf adventure full of blind shots, small, difficult-to-hit greens, electric fences, flocks of wandering wild life, and mischievously placed burns.
Notwithstanding the grazing sheep on the course, they maintain an out back mowing pattern on the fairways – very curious.
For those who like their bunkers penal, Brora’s fairway bunkers would be ideal. After the sheep trod around in them and s@!t in them, they are no bargain. For the rules mavens, there is a local rule that sheep and cow droppings can be played as casual water?
The 13th, a mere 108 yard par 3 named Snake sticks in my mind for the lovely setting, meandering burn, and multitude of pot bunkers.
The 17th, Tarbatness, was a fine challenging long uphill par 4 of 438 yard with a centreline fescue covered mound in the landing area. Why did I think that a 5800 yard par 69 course would be too short?
I didn’t think I’d be a fan of a closing par 3, but the Home Hole was certainly a challenge – uphill and semi-blind at 190 yards. Not paying enough attention to the yardage book, I tried to punch a running 5 iron in. Much to my chagrin, there is a very deep closely mown gully across in front of the green. Seemed to be a popular spot based on the number of divots. Trying to hit it long is not a good idea either, as there is a fall off behind the green too.
Royal Dornoch So much has been written, I’m not sure I’m adequate to expand on it. Golf was talked everywhere in the village we went. We stayed in the 2 Quail Restaurant and Rooms. A fine establishment with fine hosts. How can you go wrong when they’re members of the club and selling Rich Goodale’s Dornoch book (even though they didn’t know Rich).
Dornoch was an opportunity to meet and play with some GCA’ers – Tony Muldoon, Willie Dow, and Chris Kane. Here are the Foxy group on a famous tee.
There was a brief moment there where I thought – hmmmm, to be 21 again and working in St Andrews for a year like Chris might not be all bad. Willie was such a fine gentleman and walked 36 holes that day – an admirable feat – with flashes of a fine game. Thanks to Tony “Chicken Wing” Muldoon for bringing us together.
As for the course, upon playing it for the 4th time, some further observations:
- The size of most of the greens and the requirement to be on the right part of the green or 3 putts ensue (let me not remember the number of them)
- The fairways sloping left to right towards the bunkers on the right to left 3rd hole. The green laid on the land.
- The perched green on 4 with the ridge running diagonally away. One place where bump and run will not work well.
- Hitting the ball off the back of the front bunker on the approach to the 8th and running it down to the flag.
- The subtle front to back slope at the front of the par 3 10th green that caused even wedge shots to shoot to the back of the green and down the slope.
- The difficulty in finding a good driving line on the uphill 16th.
- The bunkering on the 5th hole.
This is Willie on the 5th holding, I’m told, a famous umbrella, well known to at least one frequent poster on this site.
A certain churlish GCA’er (with tongue, no doubt, firmly planted in cheek) suggested that we might pass some critical remarks about the routing of the course where the 14th tee is immediately behind the 12th green, whereas the 13th tee is located some yards back and to the left. There was little support for this debate.
And, what could be a more fitting conclusion to two weeks of links golf than Royal Dornoch’s 18th. For me it’s about playing the courses. Painting my temporal passing on the fine canvases that are links golf. Thinking, this is your last drive on a links course for a while, so smooth it out there. A 260 yard bullet up the centre – slightly uphill and blind, so sadly, I can’t watch the roll out through the bumps and hollows. Followed by a pure arcing 7 iron from 165, with a little draw to 15 feet left of the flag. The putt for birdie missed. But, who cares – two pure shots on one of the world’s finest courses and finishing holes. What better way to end.