Castle Stuart goes live

[Grant Saunders]

Sean

Have a look on the website at he picture of 3 green and the first images in the flyover for the 3rd also.

It would have been very easy to have simply placed a couple of bunkers into that bank left of the green. That however would have been predictable. This was one of the later green sites built and it shows the teams openness to new ideas and a desire to continually seek fresh ways to challenge the golfer.

For me, this hole is one of my favourite on the course. At 300 yds long it first appears a bit of a pushover yet I feel there will be as many bogeys as there are birdies here.

I too, like Colin, was involved with this project in 2007.

Grant

[Tom Dunne]

The links tour on the CS website is great, though I wish you could pause the frames as they tend to fly by a bit. I didn't realize there was such a dramatic ha-ha long of the 4th green--this isn't visible from the tee, is it?

As for the 3rd, the green reminds me a bit of an elongated version of the 6th at Ballybunion Old in the sense that it's an angled tabletop affair. Approaching that green with a pitching wedge or a bump-and-run shot is no joke, either. Should be great fun...

Colin, interesting point about the compartmentalization of the course. I think I know what you're saying about that vis a vis Pac Dunes, though I'd say that Bandon Trails does this as well with the distinct environments that the golfer moves through. I'm curious how you think CS compares to Kingsbarns in this regard. I've only played KB once, about five years ago, but I remember that was something of a "shelved" property as well.

[Rich Goodale]

It looks interesting.  Time will tell.

[Mark Pearce]

 
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  A sidenote. Kingsbarns is not what it used to be. It does not have that relaxed scotish feelthat it had in the past.


   Anthony

Anthony,

That is quite the most fatuous statement I have heard in years. What "relaxed feel" are we talking about? There is much about the Scots to know, but being relaxed is not one of them. Go to a Rangers-Celtic match and you will know of which I speak.

Knocking Kingsbarns seems to be a de riguere on this site which I fail to understand. It is a superb test of golf, enjoyable to the scratch man and tyro and a visual delight.

Bob  

Bob,

You always come across as a real gentleman, so I'll give you a pass on this post.  I will say, however, that very few things ever posted on this board are as fatuous as the idiotic and repetitive comparisons some of the American posters on here continually draw between soccer and UK golf.  Your use of the Old Firm game is every bit as, if not more, fatuous than Anthony's comment to which you refer.

[Rich Goodale]

 
 .

  A sidenote. Kingsbarns is not what it used to be. It does not have that relaxed scotish feelthat it had in the past.


   Anthony

Anthony,

That is quite the most fatuous statement I have heard in years. What "relaxed feel" are we talking about? There is much about the Scots to know, but being relaxed is not one of them. Go to a Rangers-Celtic match and you will know of which I speak.

Knocking Kingsbarns seems to be a de riguere on this site which I fail to understand. It is a superb test of golf, enjoyable to the scratch man and tyro and a visual delight.

Bob  

Bob,

You always come across as a real gentleman, so I'll give you a pass on this post.  I will say, however, that very few things ever posted on this board are as fatuous as the idiotic and repetitive comparisons some of the American posters on here continually draw between soccer and UK golf.  Your use of the Old Firm game is every bit as, if not more, fatuous than Anthony's comment to which you refer.

Mark

I agree that Bob's comment about the Old Firm was fatuous, but a less fatuous person you will never meet than Mr. Huntley.  The fact that as an R&A member he effectively gets comped at Kingsbarns (Art Dunkley and Mark Parsinen cut a deal with them which makes Kingsbarns the R&A relief course) has probably gone to Bob's head......

I think Kingsbarns is a superb golf course, and one of the design marvels of the past 50 years, but Anthony is right about the atmosphere--it is a CCFAD ("Country Club for a Day" for newbies) rather than a proper Club.

Ambience is one of those things that only time can buy.

Rich

[Philippe Binette]

Too bad, it's too short for the open 7007 yards 

seriously looks awesome.

I can hear some supers looking at some contours and say, we can't mow that, but in Scotland they will...

[Tom_Doak]

Philippe:

Once the contour is grassed, they are either mowing it or not, so those same superintendents are less likely to stick their foot in their mouth and say it can't be done.

[Paul Jones]

The pictures of the course look great.  The clubhouse reminds me of Royal Birkdale, which is not what I would have envisioned, but still looks like a cool building.

I am looking forward to making the trip again and adding this course to the list of places to play.

After I play it, I will judge on if the cost is too high or not.

Paul