I am back from Scotland and have some thoughts on Askernish. As an FYI, I played one round with modern clubs and one with 1930's era hickories. The course was very challenging with the modern clubs, but still very playable and fun with the hickories.
The course reminded me a bit of Maidstone in a few ways. The most striking was the fact that the "meat" was in the middle. Askernish starts out in a farm land type of environment and then makes its way to the dunes. The dunes holes are quite simply fantastic. And then back to the farm land after hole 16.
While in the dunes, I think you are exposed to some off-the-charts amazing golf holes. I'll highlight the ones I found most interesting.
7 is an all world par 4...long, uphill, an ass kicker. You all have probably seen pictures of it.
9 has one of the most thrilling approach shots I've ever seen. The hole is a 324 yard par 4, but going straight at the semi-blind pin is, most likely, not the best idea. If you play up the right side of the fairway/dune, you will have about 150-160 in to a shallow island type of green. But the island isn't surrounded by water, rather steep dune walls that take you 20 feet or so below the surface of the green. You can recover from a missed green, but it might not be pretty. I wouldn't know precisely how the recovery shot would work as I stuck a modern 6 iron and a mashie on the green.
11 is quite simply one of the world's truly great par 3's. Scenic, interesting, with teeth galore. It is 214 yards over a dune valley that is maybe 50 feet deep. The green is set up on a ridge that has the Atlantic Ocean as a back drop.
The first time I played it with modern clubs the wind was straight in my face at least 25 mph, probably more like 30. I hit driver and came up a bit short of the green with this pitch.
Stunning!! The second time, with hickories, I got to experience what a recovery shot from the wall of that dune was like. As you might suspect, it was blind!
12 is perhaps one of the best par 5's I've played. Dual fairways with different risk/reward characteristics. One fairway is blind off the tee, but the approach is pretty much clear. While the other is visible off the tee but your second into the green will be blind. Most likely you'll lay up to the top of a ridge and have a thrilling downhill 3rd shot into a green that slants away from you. Really fun!
16 is a totally kick ass par 4. Tee shot plays down into a very wide and undulating valley.
The green is totally blocked off by Old Tom's Pulpit, which you must go up and over to reach the green.
(side view of green)
The first time I hit driver then pitching wedge and was a bit long on the blind approach. The second time I hit a good drive down the pipe and then lobbed a niblick up to the top of the pulpit (which I was told was next to impossible to hold) and I figured it would hit the shelf and roll down to the green...but I guess my ball striking is off-the-charts amazing (
) and the ball stuck dead on that shelf and I had to putt it down the hill...not an ideal way to play the hole.
Really fun course with a handle full of stunningly good golf holes.