Between Prestwick and Dornoch...

[Charlie_Bell]

What single course OTHER THAN North Berwick or The Old Course would you choose if heading from Prestwick to Dornoch?

[Ed Brzezowski]

Dude get a map, Western Gailes would be on my list, or Nairn

[Tom_Doak]

If you are actually going from Prestwick and Dornoch up the west coast, there aren't many choices on that route between Ayrshire and Inverness.  You'll drive right past Loch Lomond but I will assume you'd rather play another links.  Castle Stuart is the best links in between. 

I'd choose Brora [just past Dornoch] over Western Gailes [close to Prestwick] if you just want to add a day at one end or the other, instead. 

[John Cowden]

Western Gailes and Brora are both treats and a delight to play.  WG a bit more refined, if you will, where one can putt from many a green side bunker.  Brora scruffier, a bit primitive by comparison, unrefined.  I can't tell you which I'd prefer as I'd play whichever was closest that day.  What would make one choose WG over Brora, or vice versa, under any other circumstance?

[Sean_A]

Don't forget about the wee Boat.  Its probablly a bit better placed to break up a trip then any of the other three (Brora, WG, Stewie).  Boat is also a bit of a break if you are on a links sojourn. 

Ciao

[Josh Stevens]

Or if you want a change from links, go up the middle and try Blairgowrie and Pitlochry, two fabulous Highland courses

[Tom_Doak]

FYI  ratings from The Confidential Guide:

6 6 5 7  Western Gailes
7 7 7 7  Loch Lomond
6 7 5 6  Nairn
7 8 8 7  Castle Stuart
7 7 7 6  Brora
5 - - -    Boat of Garten
5 - 5 4  Blairgowrie
5 - 4 -   Pitlochry

The four ratings are [L to R]  my own, Ran Morrissett's, Masa Nishijima's, and Darius Oliver's.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Tom, are those numbers on the original Doak Scale in TCG (and therefore perfect for answering the thread question)?

[Brent Hutto]

Or if you want a change from links, go up the middle and try Blairgowrie and Pitlochry, two fabulous Highland courses

I thoroughly enjoyed a two-day stopover at Pitlochry while returning from Dornoch to Glasgow in 2008. I have some pictures and comments about the course in the following thread...

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=35128.10

[Niall C]

Charlie

On the assumption you are going direct (driving ?) from Prestwick to Dornoch you will be taking the A77 to Glasgow, followed by the M80 that leads on to the M9/A9 to Inverness. From there it is a relatively straight forward journey to Dornoch. On that basis you wouldn't be going by Loch Lomond but you would be going by Gleneagles and about a hundred other courses (huge generalisation on my part) and not really possible to discuss them all in one post.

Ignoring anything south of Prestwick, there are about 10 or 11 links courses a short distance to the north of Prestwick and before you get onto the A77 that vary in quality from good fun muni's to Open Championship course and most being at least an Open Qualifier. Happy to give you a full run down.

There are 30 to 40 parkland and moorland courses in and around Glasgow, many of which are worth playing including Colt, MacKenzie, Braid and Old Tom Morris courses. Nearly all are members clubs but happy to take visitors.

Beyond Glasgow there are several courses worth stopping off at on the way north including some of those already mentioned such as Blairgowrie, Gleneagles, Pitlochry and Rosemount. To that I would add Glenbervie, Grantown on Spey, Kingussie and Elgin. I'd also urge you to look out some of the funky nine holers that proliferate up that way including Strathtay, Nethy Bridge, Covesea, as well as the ones north of Inverness.

If you are going to look at Castle Stuart then suggest you come off the A9 at Aviemore and take the A95 to Lossiemouth/Elgin and from there work your way along the coast to Inverness. And while I don't seriously expect you to take my advice over Tom D, I'd question what you are really after, do you want to play the best links or a good modern design, because if its the former then (IMO) its a choice of between Royal Troon, Moray Old (Lossiemouth) and Nairn and Castle Stuart (slightly ahead of Dundonald) if its the later.

Niall

 

[Rich Goodale]

Western Gailes for the golf if you can manage seven hours of golf deprivation before reaching Dornoch.  Dornoch Struie for the views and the architectural quirk if you can manage 3 hours of deprivation whilst being within a 3-wood of the first tee of the championship course.  Going past Dornoch to play Brora puts you straight into the finals of the Tom Doak Masochist of the Year award.

[Matt MacIver]

...but you would be going by Gleneagles...

I have no idea of the routing but I was hoping someone would mention Gleneagles. Kings is one of my favorite courses all-time with so many fun holes I can't say enough about it. Might be nearly midway for a stop and certainly you'd be able to have a decent meal.

[jeffwarne]

I'm assuming that Charlie's looking for a course to break up the trip, obviously there are multiple good choices near Prestwick as well as Dornoch.
Am I the only one who thinks Western Gailes is a bit overrated?
Good golf to be sure, but there's plenty of good golf in that area.
Glasgow Gailes had far more interest to me, and an incredible set of greens.

While Brora's one of my favorite places in the world, I'd like to think Charlie's going to slip away and add that course anyway , so I'd say he'd need to detour off near St. Andrews to Elie, Lundin or Crail, or stay on the beaten path with Gleneagles.

The obvious choice to me is Boat of Garten, and enchanting heath/links in the woods. I did just such a stopover heading down from Dornoch to Edinburgh.

A less obvious choice, but a good one is Fortrose and Rosemarkie, an easily walkable compact seaside gem which might make a nice late afternoon /early evening play after 7/8 of the drive is completed

[Jud_T]

I expect we'll get a lot of this sort of chatter once the book is out (release date yet?), but it's interesting that Darius is the lone wolf who has Western Gailes above Brora instead of the other way round.  Bit of conditioning snobbery perhaps?  I was always pissed at myself for skipping the round at WG (a 2nd 18 after Prestwick having just stepped off a redeye was a bit much for me), but perhaps now I can sleep at night.

[Phil McDade]

I'm with Jeff -- Boat of Garten is a seriously under-rated course, short by today's standards but a tough course nonetheless, where accuracy is well rewarded both off the tee and on approaches into those small greens. A bit of quirk here and there as well, and a chance of play a solid Braid course over some really interesting terrain.

[Mark Bourgeois]

I expect we'll get a lot of this sort of chatter once the book is out (release date yet?), but it's interesting that Darius is the lone wolf who has Western Gailes above Brora instead of the other way round.  Bit of conditioning snobbery perhaps?  I was always pissed at myself for skipping the round at WG (a 2nd 18 after Prestwick having just stepped off a redeye was a bit much for me), but perhaps now I can sleep at night.

As strong an argument as any for why the books might be better with no numbers at all. 6 v 7 = splitting hairs

[Jud_T]

Well technically a 7 is a course worth playing if you're within 100 miles while a 6 is worth playing if you're already in the area, so it's directly applicable to the question at hand.

[Matt MacIver]

I was always pissed at myself for skipping the round at WG (a 2nd 18 after Prestwick having just stepped off a redeye was a bit much for me), but perhaps now I can sleep at night.

Aside from a few really,good,holes I didn't really get all the pre-hype over Western Gailes. Best advice I got was make WG my arrival day round and save the others for when I'm well rested. But I'd gladly play 36 at Prestwick vs another round at WG. 

[Niall C]

Jeff

Re Gailes v Western - for some reason Gailes isn't really quoted as far as North American visitors are concerned as they tend to go for Western (lack of sea views perhaps ?). On the other hand Gailes maybe gets more than its fair share of continental visitors although I understand that this has slowed down with the number of cancelled routes in and out of Prestwick. Locally Gailes tends to be considered the better course.

I wouldn't pass up a round on either of them.

Niall

[Nigel Islam]

FYI  ratings from The Confidential Guide:

6 6 5 7  Western Gailes
7 7 7 7  Loch Lomond
6 7 5 6  Nairn
7 8 8 7  Castle Stuart
7 7 7 6  Brora
5 - - -    Boat of Garten
5 - 5 4  Blairgowrie
5 - 4 -   Pitlochry

The four ratings are [L to R]  my own, Ran Morrissett's, Masa Nishijima's, and Darius Oliver's.

Cool insight into the format of the new Confidential Guide!