Top 3 Scottish moderns ?

[Robert Thompson]

Niall: Not my experience, but I won't argue. At Aberdeen it blew one direction all day, as was the case at Castle Stuart, and the Old Course. Those were the three windiest days. But even then, i think a routing that changes direction is preferable to a singular routing.

And I've been back for a couple of weeks now. Played Old, Eden, Elie, Crail, Lundin, Aberdeen, Trump, Fraserburgh, Castle Stuart and Fortrose. Wonderful trip.

Robert

As a confirmed links lover who has played most of his golf on links over the last 15 years, I've come to the conclusion that designing a routing to give different winds isn't a worthwhile objective. For a start, in a 3 to 4 hour round, the chances are the wind is going to shift direction repeatedly such it could about face by the time you are finished. Even two consecutive holes playing the same direction tee to green can be different if for instance in the first hole you drive to the right side of the fairway whereas the next hole you drive straight or to the left. Even assuming the wind stays constant, the subtle changes in angle of approach shots is enough to make a difference.

Apart from that enjoy the challenge of a "hard" outward half where you have to knuckle down followed by an "easier" inward half where there is a chance to make some headway on your score, or indeed vice a versa.

BTW, are you still on your Scottish tour and what courses have you played/still to play ?

Niall

[Sean_A]

oK, I played a few more modern Scottish links other than Castle and Trump.  Without a doubt Castle Stuart is my #1.  Despite the horrid rough I would go with Renaissance #2. I still haven't had a good think about Dundonald (Castle, and Carnegie definitely fall short of top 3), but I reckon Trump Aberdeen is #3.  At the moment all would make my quality only top 25 GB&I, but I couldn't include any of them among my real favourites. 


Ciao

[Niall C]

To put it in perspective, I just played Dormie which I had mixed feelings about, but I thought it better than either of those two mainly because of the diversity of holes and sensible green surrounds.  In other words, Dormie allows for a variety of play which neither Castle or Trump do and I find that very disappointing for so-called links. 

Of the newbies, the ones I really want to see are Renaissance, Mach Dunes and Dundonald (which I think looks very good).
Ciao 

Now that you've played Renaissance and Dundonald, how do you rate them in terms of green complexes/short game options ?


Niall

[Sean_A]

Niall


Its hard to judge between the two so they must be somewhat similar.  That said I think Ren is probably a bit tighter around greens with bunkering, but Dun has more raised greens where a slight error results in balls slinging off the wings.  All in all I think Ren is slightly tougher for recoveries but that is probably down to better turf and faster greens as much as anything.  But, each course has a good mixture of greens and surrounds.


Dundonald didn't exactly impress me, but it is good golf, generally with some room to miss and a few highlights such as 6 and 16.  For me, the course is held back by too much water and too many sharpish doglegs. However, I suspect the property called for more doglegs because while the course felt spacious there isn't that much room if getting two loops back to the house was a priority. The club should really consider offering 9 hole rates. 




Ciao       

[Niall C]

Ignoring difficulty, which offered the more interesting and varied shot options around the greens ? For me, an average golfer who doesn't hit may greens in regulation, that's a big thing.


Niall

[Sean_A]

Ignoring difficulty, which offered the more interesting and varied shot options around the greens ? For me, an average golfer who doesn't hit may greens in regulation, that's a big thing.


Niall

Niall


I would probably say Dundonald simply because bunkers aren't featured as much and some greens are built up at Dundonald.  But I would need a lot more experience with each course to hold a definitive opinion.


Ciao

[Jud_T]

Sean,

What would keep Castle Stuart off your favorites list aside from price?

[Sean_A]

Sean,

What would keep Castle Stuart off your favorites list aside from price?

Nothing.


Ciao

[Alan Ritchie]

I have just returned from my alleged summer holiday trip back home and had the pleasure of playing trump for the first time. yes there are weaknesses such as the over bunkering ( and occasional over difficulty of bunkers eg left of 4th green!) and overdoing of some greens but overall I found it completely world class. it's a far more exacting test than castle Stuart but I didn't lose a ball and overall I found it very fair.. you  get punished for bad shots that leave you kicking yourself as opposed to feeling hard done by.  I feel it is a great addition to the world of golf and not to be missed.

as for the scottish moderns, I only have kingsbarns and cs to go on. I would rate trump only a fraction above cs with kingsbarns  a shade behind.