[hhuffines]

Niall,


I played there the afternoon of Oct 1st. 

[Steve Salmen]

Ten I have played and would happily pay the rack rate to play again:
Muirfield
Dornoch
Elie
Machrihanish
Prestwick
North Berwick
Turnberry (but not since changes)
Nairn
Askernish
TOC

Ten that I have never seen but would happily pay the rack rate (at least once) in order of importance to me:
Western Gailes
Glasgow Gailes
Panmure
Fraserburgh
Trump Aberdeen Course
Machrihanish Dunes
Traigh
Montrose
Monifieth
Gleneagles Queens
I've played several courses in Scotland.  I always try to leave a few so that I have new courses to look forward to playing the next time.  Since I spend most of my time in Dornoch, traveling around gets harder.  I don't know how long, if ever, it will take to play these courses.  Perhaps someone can adjust my want to play list in a better order?  Thanks.

[Niall C]

Niall,


I played there the afternoon of Oct 1st.

Were you playing alone but with your wife accompanying you dressed in a Cabot tee shirt ?

Niall

[hhuffines]

Not me but I did recognize a couple of GCA names in the guest book.


One thing I found interesting was there were several longish walks from green to the next tee.  Our home course had that same problem until Tillinghast visited and pointed that out.  Unfortunately we can't find any evidence of what was done with his recommendations.


Cheers,


Hart

[Sean_A]

I'll go with Ten I haven't seen, or seen and want to go back and play:

Askernish
Portmahomack
Wick
Glencruitten
Spey Bay
Prestwick St Nicholas
Tobermory
Gairloch
West Kilbride
Shetland

Clyde

Any success?  Words and photos if so!

Ciao

[Clyde Johnson]

50% Sean. I'll try not to give too much away...

Askernish - I'll admit to being slightly underwhelmed, though perhaps that's because I'd been really surprised by Iona and The Isle of Barra, which were more of the truly raw links experience that I'd been expecting further North. Askernish felt a little more 'designed' than I was expecting - the short eleventh on the horizon of the water and Barra behind, the multi-route par-five twelfth not something I would have expected from Old Tom...though perhaps I shouldn't be too bothered by the club's understandably liberal marketing. Still, those fine, micro-rumpled green complexes and some adventurous, if not severe, holes are well worth the trek at least once! "Doak: 6"


Hole 16


Spey Bay - Fairways full of micro-contour, flat greens a stark contrast. Undoubtedly suffered from costal erosion at the Buckie end of the course. The best holes play off a pair of parallel, but gently rounded dune ridges. If you love the Moray Coast as much as me, play it. "Doak: 4"



Hole 2



Hole 11 - Not the best light to highlight those micro contours!



Prestwick St. Nicholas - Six holes nearest the clubhouse share an adventure to that of it's neighbour. Working towards Ayr, a wider section of land gives way to an industrial style links, though broader rolls, and the odd shoulder – at the par five eleventh – hint of Old Tom’s ingenuity. Some nice varieties of links golf. "Doak: 5"



Hole 6 - The tee is somewhere just right of the chimney peaking through the trees, and the other side of that dune ridge!



Hole 12



Hole 16

[Clyde Johnson]

Tobermory - Heathy on the hillside. The opening drive is blind over a sharp rise...the adventure doesn't really let-up, and the beautiful views certainly won't. Only the 6th really climbs. Playing across camber compensates for any yardage deficiency. "Doak 4"



Hole 3


Hole 7



Gairloch - Compact! Surprisingly bold fold's host a couple of early green sites. Back-to-back threes jump off the rocky south side of the amphitheatre-like situation. The bay tracking 8th accounts for almost 25% of the 2137 yards. The sort of place that you see a dad pushing his baby in a push chair, while carrying his bag over one shoulder, the other two children running about! "Doak: 5"


Hole 3


Hole 7

[Tom_Doak]

Clyde:


By far, the one I'm most jealous that you got to play is Iona.  I've got to go there.


If you want a really remote target, I recently stumbled across a picture of Whalsay, in the north of the Shetland Islands(!), that puts it high on my list of courses to see.

[Clyde Johnson]

Clyde:


By far, the one I'm most jealous that you got to play is Iona.  I've got to go there.


If you want a really remote target, I recently stumbled across a picture of Whalsay, in the north of the Shetland Islands(!), that puts it high on my list of courses to see.

Thanks Tom. The Shetland Isles are a 300quid-plus flight from Edinburgh in peak season!


I'll replace those played 5 with:
Whalsay
Loch Lomond
Stranraer
Skibo Castle
Westray

[David_Tepper]

Clyde -

Thanks for the Gairloch pics. I have played there once. If I play there again, I will wear a helmet.

DT

[Jud_T]

Played:
TOC
Prestwick


Not Played:
North Berwick
Cruden Bay
Brora
Askernish
Fraserburgh
Kilspindie
Elie
Himalayas

[George Pazin]

I thought the Himalayas were in Asia....


When I joined this site about 20 years ago, I thought a trip to Scotland was imminent. Alas, the golf gods and the business gods have conspired against me. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful. My list is only 4 long:


TOC
Berwick
Dornoch
Prestwick


Beyond that, I'd be happy with just about any other 6, but I don't know if I'd even try for more than those 4. I always prefer a more sedate pace than those who rush around playing 2 different courses a day, trying to cram a dozen courses into a week's play.


I get the feeling that more GCA posters are in England, but I'd also be happy joining any Scottish posters for a round wherever they choose.

[David Davis]

If I could go back every year and only play 10 courses (for free or not) they would be:


Ardfin
Castle Stuart
Cruden Bay
Dornoch
[size=78%]Mach Dunes[/size]
[/size][size=78%]Machrihanish[/size]
[/size][size=78%]North Berwick[/size]
Prestwick
Turnberry
Royal Aberdeen




Tons of great golf in Scotland but the 3 I most want to see still. With the caveat that I'm not sure if I want to see them bad enough to forgo a trip to Scotland playing the above courses just to make those visits even with multiple plays on all the courses above.


Elie
Askernish
Gleneagles

[John Mayhugh]

Clyde,Thanks much for the photos and course descriptions. Talk about some tantalizing Doak 4s & 5s.
Was intrigued by Tom's mention of Whalsay. Some really clever looking holes, especially this one. Wonder why the use of OOB instead of hazard designation (oops, penalty areas) everywhere. It's in the description of many of the holes.
http://www.whalsaygolfclub.co.uk/index.php/the-course/hole-16-lagart

[Clyde Johnson]

Clyde,Thanks much for the photos and course descriptions. Talk about some tantalizing Doak 4s & 5s.
Was intrigued by Tom's mention of Whalsay. Some really clever looking holes, especially this one. Wonder why the use of OOB instead of hazard designation (oops, penalty areas) everywhere. It's in the description of many of the holes.
http://www.whalsaygolfclub.co.uk/index.php/the-course/hole-16-lagart

Probably to stop some dangerous/stupid attempts at recovery...they're still Scottish, even that far North! 

[John Mayhugh]

Clyde,I suspect that OOB only discourages play, not recovery efforts.

[Martin Lehmann]

I get the impression that Trump Links Aberdeen is scrupulously not mentioned in most Top 10 lists. Probably because the course owner is not the most likable person on the planet and because Hawtree doesn't belong to the favorite architects amongst the contributors to this forum. But in all objectivity, the course classifies as one of the more interesting courses in Scotland, and certainly from the recently build ones, and for that reason alone should be on the wish list of anybody interested in golf in general and golf course architecture more in particular.   

[Sean_A]

Prestwick St. Nicholas - Six holes nearest the clubhouse share an adventure to that of it's neighbour. Working towards Ayr, a wider section of land gives way to an industrial style links, though broader rolls, and the odd shoulder – at the par five eleventh – hint of Old Tom’s ingenuity. Some nice varieties of links golf. "Doak: 5"

Thanks Clyde.  I am interested in your industrial comments above.  What does this mean?

Ciao

[Thomas Dai]

One course that I’d like to know more about is Fortrose and Rosemarkie. Doesn’t seem to be somewhere that a course phototour has been done on or have I simply missed it?
Atb

[Bill Shamleffer]

I thought the Himalayas were in Asia....


When I joined this site about 20 years ago, I thought a trip to Scotland was imminent. Alas, the golf gods and the business gods have conspired against me. Nevertheless, I remain hopeful. My list is only 4 long:


TOC
Berwick
Dornoch
Prestwick

George,


I have the exact same 4 that I most want to play if I too ever get to make a golf trip to Scotland.

[David_Tepper]

"One course that I’d like to know more about is Fortrose and Rosemarkie."

Thomas D. -

I have played F&R 3 or 4 times. One of the more remarkable settings (and routings) for a course that I have ever seen. At the far end of the course it almost feels like you are playing golf on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

https://fortrosegolfclub.co.uk/the-course/holes-1-18/

DT

[James Brown]

First Plays:
Askernisn
Skibo
Wick
Turnberry
Troon
Prestwick


Again:
Dornoch (never gets old, I am a member!)
North Berwick
TOC
Nairn
Brora

[Niall C]

[/size]Hole 11 - Not the best light to highlight those micro contours!

Clyde

Spey Bay is certainly a bit of a mixed bag. To my semi-educated eye it's a mix of old a new with the new generally being not quite as good. For instance in the picture above you can just make out a plateau just above the flag and about 100 yards (?) short of the existing green that looks to me like an old green. If I'm correct it must have been a cracker of a hole.

Did you manage to play Garmouth & Kingston on the other side of the Spey when you were up ?

Niall

[Steve Salmen]

10 Scottish courses that I've never played that are top of my list in no particular order:
Machrihanish Dunes
Loch Lomond
Panmure
Western Gailes
Glasgow Gailes
The new course on Harris
Shiskine
Dunaverty
Fraserburgh
Traigh


10 courses I've played and hope to see again, in order of favorites:
Muirfield
Dornoch
North Berwick
Prestwick
Turnberry
TOC
Machrihanish
Cruden Bay
Brora
Elie

[Clyde Johnson]

Prestwick St. Nicholas - Six holes nearest the clubhouse share an adventure to that of it's neighbour. Working towards Ayr, a wider section of land gives way to an industrial style links, though broader rolls, and the odd shoulder – at the par five eleventh – hint of Old Tom’s ingenuity. Some nice varieties of links golf. "Doak: 5"

Thanks Clyde.  I am interested in your industrial comments above.  What does this mean?

Ciao

I probably should have used the word 'industrious'. It's not particularly pretty, but it makes decent use of the natural terrain where possible. Elsewhere, the hand of man is fairly obvious, but efficient enough.

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