Some of you may already know of Allan Ferguson, a U.S. golf travel writer on Scotland and Ireland. His book is Golf in Scotland: A Travel-Planning Guide . . . . I've found Allan's comments very helpful in planning golf trips to Scotland. Here's some material from his current newsletter that GCA participants may find interesting (published here with his o.k.).
Feature Topic #2 - The New Courses in Scotland One objective of this trip was to take a close look at David McLay Kidd’s new Castle Course at St. Andrews, McLay Kidd’s Machrihanish Dunes, and Mark Parsinen/Gil Hanse’s Castle Stuart east of Inverness. I also revisited Kyle Phillips’ Dundonald course (now 6+ years old) near Troon. Here’s my take on the overall experience . . . .
I’m not prepared to label David McLay Kidd the PT Barnum of golf design. I’m sure he’s forgotten more about golf architecture than I’ll ever know. However . . . on behalf of the great unwashed golf public let me say that I just don’t understand his thinking. Take St. Andrews Castle Course—please! If you go there with a sense of humor, with no expectations other than to enjoy the views of St. Andrews and the sea, I guess it’s a great golf experience. At least the clubhouse is great. But, if you want dunes I recommend Ireland or the northeast coast of Scotland—not the Disneyland dunes of the Castle Course. And if you want reasonably challenging, undulating greens I recommend the New, the Jubilee, or the Old Course in town rather than the fun-house greens on the Castle. A simple observation: most of the Castle greens are about the size of the double greens at the Old Course; the difference is the greens at the Old Course have two holes, not one!!
As for Machrihanish Dunes, their mantra is “golf as it was in the beginning.” As far as it goes, that’s accurate enough—this is rough ground teeming with rabbits, their scrapes, weeds (and blind shots) in something like that order. That’s OK—this is SSSI land (Site of Special Scientific Interest). The greens staff can tend the tees and greens but little else. I have no problem with that. I do have a problem with tees that are often 1/8 mile from the hole you just finished (not one club length “as it was in the beginning”). I would suggest a better subtitle to Machrihanish Dunes might be, “Home of the Five-Hour Round” because this is a bear to walk, not only from green to tee but through the green up and down and around hills and hummocks and swales and depressions and mounds. Supposedly McLay Kidd identified 23 natural holes in the layout and may still be in the process of settling on 18. No question there are some great ones but, for now, I see it as a seriously-flawed work in progress. Official opening is set for July 21 immediately after The Open, but if you are going that way you can play it now at reduced rates. This is a “Build it and they will come” project. Management puts on a brave face with ambitious designs for hotel renovations, time-share lodges, etc. But you can almost sense that, behind the brave front, they have a bunch of fingers crossed, just hoping that, somehow, it’s all going to work out. I am skeptical.
In my view, both Castle Stuart and Dundonald are superior to the McLay Kidd projects. In each case, traditional design concepts encouraging walking and strategic play have been married to modern values regarding sightlines, blind shots, and receptivity to all levels of golf. In negotiating my way around these courses, I was struck by the thoughtful, even helpful, way bunkers and other hazards have been used to both guide and challenge the golfer. At Castle Stuart we’re dealing with a superior tract of land tumbling from high ground to seaside; it is simply incredible. At Dundonald, starting with flat farmground, Kyle Phillips had the good sense to mold funneled fairways without resorting to the faux duneland look. That’s my short take. I could expand, but George Peper did that well enough in the February/March issue of Links Magazine. How interesting it would be to know how these courses, if they exist, will be viewed one hundred years from now.
One More Note . . . Speaking of new courses, in the April 20 issue of The New Yorker golf writer David Owen has penned a detailed, entertaining account of the history and recent redevelopment of Askernish, an eighteen-holer laid out by Tom Morris on South Uist, a sparsely populated island off Scotland’s west coast. It’s another “Build it and they will come” project, but without the grand expectations (or expenditures) of other new courses. Highly recommended reading.
Club News. An extension of the clubhouse at North Berwick West Links has been completed. It’s a beauty with new locker and lounge space for members and visitors. ü It’s all in the family—Martin Huish has replaced his father, David Huish, as the head professional at the West Links. David was the head pro at N Berwick for forty-two years! If Martin stays even half that long, we’re looking at a combined sixty-three years. Who’s the assistant pro?—why that would be Martin’s younger brother, Oliver Huish, an aspiring competitive golfer who just missed qualifying for the European Tour by one stroke this spring. ü Murcar Golf Club is celebrating its centenary this year by hosting the Scottish Amateur Strokeplay, May 28-31. Adjacent to Royal Aberdeen, this is a great little track originally laid out by Archie Simpson of Carnoustie and altered in the 1930s by James Braid. ü Longtime pro at Lundin Links, David Webster, has retired. The new professional, soon to get a new pro shop at the venerable course, is Ron Walker who came over from The Dukes where former assistant Ayden Roberts-Jones has been promoted to club pro. ü Crail’s refurbished and expanded clubhouse should be ready for prime time late this summer. ü Luffness New is usually overlooked by Americans playing golf in East Lothian. That’s a mistake. The course has received lots of tender loving care in recent years and is in superb condition.
Feature Topic #3 - The Northeast Corner of Scotland In Scotland’s northeast corner, the projected Trump development on more environmentally-sensitive ground north of Aberdeen at Balmenie seems to be on semi-permanent hold. As I’ve said to those who will listen, no matter what Donald Trump or anyone else does, the northeast corner of Scotland will never replace (1) St Andrews; (2) Ayrshire; (3) East Lothian; and (4) Angus as a priority golf destination in Scotland. The lesson: Accept your place as a worthy fifth or sixth member of the Scottish golf fraternity (along with Dornoch/Nairn), but don’t listen to the siren song of someone who says they are going to build “the best golf course in the world.” That claim alone should let you know that you’re dealing with a person who, in the long run, will bring only disappointment.
Rather than chasing the unlikely golf dream, I would like to see northeast Scotland do a better job of marketing what they have—and they have quite a lot . . . . Many visitors go there to play Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay, and perhaps Murcar. But rarely do they venture farther north than Cruden Bay. What they’re missing are the excellent courses at Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and Banff (Duff House Royal), to name only a few. Combining these with a Nairn/Dornoch or Speyside locus, the traveling golfer can achieve a sparkling and affordable two-week trip to rival any in Scotland (summarized as Itinerary #8 in my guidebook).