A wee taster of #7

[Marty Bonnar]

or 'The Castle' as the Links (dis)Trust have it appelated. 'restore the natural contours' - eh? I mean, really!

http://www.standrews.org.uk/golf/the_courses/castlecourse_winter06.html

Pretty-looking golf course though...

FBD.

[David Sneddon]

Martin,

I think the natural contours were the farmer's furrows - might make for some interesting lies  :-)

All I can remember of that property from the late 60's were a farmer's field and a holiday trailer (curryvan) park

We are planning a trip for 2009 and no doubt #7 will be on the play-list.

[Philip Gawith]

When does it open to play Martin?

[RJ_Daley]

The photos and what you are saying about the original land quality and characteristics puts me in mind of Whistling Straits.  The last photo looks a lot like #6 at WS.

[Guy Phelan]

pretty place...thanks for sharing!

[Marty Bonnar]

David,
your memory is functioning well. Very flat farmers field and the 'Holiday Home' Park is still adjacent.

Philip,
I think it's slated for next year, but I'd bet this summer and this year's dunhill might see some 'sampling'. Shame none of David's lads post here anymore....hint, hint!

Uncle Dick,
the original land was rather similar to Kingsbarns - agricultural, improved pasture and arable mostly.

Now that they see what DK has done here, I hope - PLEASE! - that the Links Trust might take a look at the Strathtyrum and Balgove and re-model them. They are on MUCH better land than #7 already, but are dismally dull golfing experiences. Visiting golfers to St A could leave with better memories of the old toun having played 7 DECENT golf courses!

Guy,
consider it my gift to you!

FBD.

[Joe Hancock]

FBD,

Was that land any better than, say, the typical topography found in, say....Florida?.....

Joe

[Marty Bonnar]

FBD,

Was that land any better than, say, the typical topography found in, say....Florida?.....

Joe

You wee 'agent provocateur', you! BTW, THERE'S a website worth 'exploring'... (But not in the office...)
http://www.agentprovocateur.com/
As it is, I am happy to be dragged in to your sordid little scheme. I would say it's fair to suggest a similarity to the 'typical' Florida topography. Although, apparently (I hear), Florida actually has hills, too. At any rate, me and Sweeney are happy to recommend Highlands Reserve.

FBD.

[Tom_Doak]

I am excited to see what David has done with the property and he has indeed created a lot of new contours, but I must differ that the property was "flat" to begin with ... there was at least 20 meters of elevation change from the highest holes by the road down to the holes along the clifftops.  They have shaped the bejeezus out of it but they did have some elevation changes to work with.

[ForkaB]

Tom

I think there was a similar amount of elevation change at Kingsbarns, too.  Gently sloped land, but flat, no.

Martin

I disagree with you regarding the Balgove and Stratrhtyrum courses.  They are simple, yes, but the greens have adequate interest for the purpose of the courses, which is to accomodate beginners and casual players.  Every golf complex(particularly those serving a wider community) should have such courses.

Rich

[Marty Bonnar]

Sheesh!
You boys are one tough audience. Okay so 'flat' was maybe the wrong word to use, but I meant 'flat' as in relatively featureless terrain, not as in level, horizontally planar ground. I promise to be more DEFINITIVE in future.

Anyhey, here's the OS map of the area:



Pretty REGULAR contour-spacing, I think you'd agree...

Rich,
agreed re Strathtyrum greens, but GIVEN THE AVAILABLE TERRAIN, it is still one crapo golf course. Even beginners and 'casual players' (do they exist in St A!?!) deserve a quality product. The Balgove is just a glorified practice area and thusly is exempt from serious criticism.

FBD.

[Joe Hancock]

FBD,

Based on the relative lack of features, and the similarity to some landforms in Florida, I regret that I will not be playing the 7th any time soon. In fact, based on that one bit of evidence you provided, I may condemn all golf within a 100km radius of said topo map area. I trust my condemnation doesn't result in any loss of access to great golf in the near proximity that I may have inadvertantly condemned with above statements.

Regretfully,

Joe

p.s. Tongue-in-cheek, sarcasm, etc.

[Tom_Doak]

Martin:

Those lines are five-meter lines, so there is in fact 40 meters of elevation change on the property.  I thought there was more than 20, but with everyone using the term "flat" I didn't want to overdo it.  I'll concede that David started with "farm" contours, but his main issue was really that the ground wasn't sandy at all, as most of Kingsbarns was.

Rich:

I was out on the site at Kingsbarns before they started.  It wasn't "gently sloped" so much as there was a bowl of sandy ground down below where 6-7-16-17 were, there were the coastal stretches for 3, 12 and 15, and then there were the upper fields which were not dead flat, but much flatter than what David is working with on #7.  That is why both David and I are great admirers of Kyle's work at Kingsbarns.

[TEPaul]

Those photos make that course look super fine. It's wonderful to see stuff that looks like that get built today. I predict the new name for that kind of construction is going to be "de-construction". If architects continue to do too much stuff like that after a while Mother Nature is going to be out of the golf and golf design business.

Why is Nature a mother anyway? Anybody know the real reason for that? And why is a Queen in chess so powerful while the King isn't any more effective than the lowly pawn with no more ability to defend himself than a gnat? Who the hell even invented chess anyway? Was it some Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug back in 5,000 BC?

When it comes to a world run by women here's a great quote from my Portable Curmudgeon book;

"Friendship among women is only a suspension of hostilities."
Antoine De Rivarol