Golf in the Garden of Earthly Delight

[Marty Bonnar]

I have no words.



FBD.

[Evan_Smith]

Martin
Is that the new course at Loch Lomond, The Carrick?

[Brian_Ewen]

Its Loch Lomonds 5th , I think ?

Why are those trees there ?

[Marty Bonnar]

Loch Lomond #5 it is, Brian. All carry over that luvverly 'native' area. Only requires a shot with perfect distance and perfect line. Why, wait a minute! Isn't that the PERFECT Par 3!?!?!

Evan, the Carrick is next door and looked to be being readied for an official opening this Scottish Open week. They were planting out the bedding and polishing the granite walls at the entrance as we passed!

FBD.

[Brian_Ewen]

Obviously , I don't have a problem with all the weeds , sorry native areas , but in some way , the rest of the course looks so bluidy manicured that its aesthetically at odds with each other .

Martin , this is a place I just don't get !

[Brian_Ewen]

And if the rest of Scotland is very wet , imagine what Loch Lomond like ?

[Marty Bonnar]

Rather astoundingly, the place was BONE-DRY underfoot. Our host did allude to the (tens of) thousands of pounds worth of drainage which has been installed these past few years...

'Tom and Jay's Chance':


FBD.

[KBanks]

Martin, how do you like Loch Lomond compared to, say, Rosemount, or Gleneagles Kings or Queens?

(Let's call this category Scottish/Non-links).

Ken

[Marty Bonnar]

Ken,
that is a scorchingly good question! Please let me tell you why.

I tell everyone who will listen(!) that if God (or any suitable substitute deity of choice) tells me in my sleep tonight that I must choose only ONE golf course to play for the remainder of my time on the rock, (which may be a day, a year or all eternity), I will always, Always, ALWAYS choose Gleneagles Kings - above even a certain California golf course! That remains the case!

Loch Lomond GC is truly magnificent. It is a marvellous blend of class, style, design, landscape fit, golf challenge, any number of great qualities.

Here, I had typed a great discourse of architectural interest. But, you know what? It wasn't THAT important.

What IS important is that LLGC PROVES conclusively: that trees work on golf courses; that it is possible to build a VERY high quality golf course on CLAY!; that a high quality of friendly service is the BEST way to operate such a facility; that exclusivity might actually be a workable business model; and that Seaside Links courses are NOT necessarily the ONLY model that must be followed slavishly. Garden Smith really, really, really was WRONG!

FBD.

[Jim Nugent]

If you miss the green and traps, can you play your next shot from the weeds?  Or is the hole somewhat like 17 at Sawgrass, where a missed shot either gets teed up again or played from a drop area?  

[Brian_Ewen]

Oor Mr Lyle groaning about narrow fairways among other things in todays SoS
http://sport.scotsman.com/golf.cfm?id=1064512007

"" Just like the K-Club at last week's European Open, I expect it to be a real slog. I know that the fairways have been narrowed, but I bet the rough will also have been grown and the place seems to get longer each year. We seem to play courses that are over 7,000 yards every week now, and it makes for a real grind. There's an obsession with American-style courses, but the officials seem to forget that the conditions are very different on this side of the pond. All of which means the scores are higher, which means spectators don't get to see players making birdies and the players get fed up. And I know it's not just me because the subject is one that crops up time and again in the locker room among the players.""

[Tom Roewer]

Martin - I totally feel the same about Gleneagles Kings.  It could be the most under discussed or appreciated of all .

[redanman]

I don't believe in "One place forever" (A definition of hell) however you can count me in as a huge (20 stone) fan of the King's as well.  Love it. love it love it.

However since it is neither Mackenzie, Coore & Crenshaw nor true links it has its three strikes agin'.

[KBanks]

Martin, the Kings course never palls, does it? A day there, with a second eighteen around the Queens, is one of the best days to be had in golf, architecturally or otherwise.

I am looking forward to seeing how Doak's Archerfield fares in this category.

Ken