Dumbarnie - a wee taster

[John Mayhugh]

Is it just me, or does anyone else find themselves utterly unmoved to play Dumbarnie having looked at them?

The photos on their website are quite a bit better, but still the overall look is not enticing. Looks really overshaped in photos, which is the same impression I had when I drove past there during construction last year.

I would likely drive on past to have another go at Leven/Lundin or Elie, depending on my direction of travel.

[Marty Bonnar]

Mark,

I kind of understand what you are saying. The course hasn't been hyped to build the anticipation levels so you are left looking at photos to peak the interest. Bunkered magazine did a spread on it not long ago and I have to say it did look good. That said, after my experience of playing Balmedie when it was quite new I think I'll wait a couple of years for Dumbarnie to bed in before playing it. That will also give me the opportunity of saving up for the greenfee !

Niall

If you’re prepared to wear a skirt, a wig and some make-up, we could possibly pass you off as Nancy for the Fife Resident green fee.
F.

[Tim Gavrich]

I got to visit and play Dumbarnie a couple times back in October and enjoyed it overall. It shares the firm turf and wind and water views with the older area links, but it's very much a big modern golf course. Re: comments about it appearing overshaped, I had a similar initial impression, though I would expect that a couple years of a) vegetation growth in, amongst and on the manmade dunescapes and b) wind and weathering will give the whole place a more lived-in feel. It's an enjoyable golf course and I think its enduring appeal will be in its contrast with the older and more intimate links of the area.


Hole 8:

[Bruce Katona]

Martin:

Thank you for posting up the pix.  The lads opining may all be itching to get out and play as the weather (and being semi-quarantined for some us us on the right coast of the Colonies).


Not having one drop of blue and white blood running through my veins; I have discovered and am enjoying Outlander on Netflix.  I have read, that before the outbreak of the wee virus beastie; tourism in Scotland had increased as many folks want to see in person the places the series has visited.  I also wasn't aware of the quite violent past regarding independence - though our family had visited England had been exposed to the the great traditions of beheading & draw & quarter.


Stay healthy FBD.

[Garland Bayley]

While looking at pictures on the website I couldn't help but wonder why they couldn't take shaping cues from the natural landscape appearing between the course and the sea. Frankly, the shaping looks like the most economical effort possible. I doubt in any time frame shorter than centuries will ease the shaping into something that looks like it belongs there.

JMO

[Ally Mcintosh]

I think it might be less the shaping that is offending some eyes; and more the predominance of broad-leave grasses.


One thing I’ve long noted on links courses is that you need time and methodology to replace turf (or sprig and seed) on out of play dune areas otherwise the areas that have been “touched” stand out like a sore thumb purely because of their different grasses and hence colour and texture.


Hard - maybe impossible given time and money constraints - to do that on 300 acres of new course.

[Niall C]

Ally

While I take your point re grasses and that will surely change over time either for the good or the better depending on how they manage it, what jumps out at me is the small conical "dunes" in the off fairway areas. From a distance and all together they look un-natural and indeed shite.

Not that un-natural features on a course necessarily look bad. Most greens, bunkers and nearly all tees look un-natural. That can actually work well where you have some bold shaping or indeed a few straight edges. However I think the trick to that is setting these un-natural features in a natural looking setting. In the context of Dumbarnie, the conical dunes are meant to provide the natural setting and to my eye they fail to do that. That said, the playing areas themselves looking interesting and well worth a play but not just yet.

Niall

[John Mayhugh]

While I take your point re grasses and that will surely change over time either for the good or the better depending on how they manage it, what jumps out at me is the small conical "dunes" in the off fairway areas. From a distance and all together they look un-natural and indeed shite.

This was what drew my eye as well.
What courses in Scotland have these sorts of conical features?

[David Jones]

While I take your point re grasses and that will surely change over time either for the good or the better depending on how they manage it, what jumps out at me is the small conical "dunes" in the off fairway areas. From a distance and all together they look un-natural and indeed shite.

This was what drew my eye as well.
What courses in Scotland have these sorts of conical features?

The only thing I’ve seen close to it is Winston Links in Germany. And that was built by someone who owned a digger company and was keen to show the machines’ efficacy....

[Jeff_Brauer]

I have seen pics of the course and like it generally as well as one can viewing only pics.  A few thoughts cross my mind.....


Given the spectacular site, would an architect try to mimic old courses, or figure that has already been done and try something new?


It would be a hoot if Mr. Clark said something like, "I wanted this new course to look like an old course that had been fiddled with several times by various architects, in order to make it feel like it has been there awhile."

[Ally Mcintosh]

My point was that your eyes are getting drawn more to those conical dunes because they are the particular areas covered by broad leaves when nature would not have broad leaves on the high points of dune structures.


Part of it is also possibly camera angle. I’m willing to bet that most of them have a long side and a steep side.


That said, they look a little randomly placed for how dune ridges / structures would normally form through succession.

[Garland Bayley]

Ally,

I don't think my view has anything to do with the grasses. As the picture below shows, there are natural looking dune ridges between the course and the sea, and unnatural looking chocolate drops on the course.



The unnaturalness of the landscape is highlighted by all "les petite teton" in the picture below.



Whereas, "les grande teton" in the picture below look perfectly natural to me!

[Marty Bonnar]

I’m fairly fond of tetons of any size.
F.

[Niall C]

It would be a hoot if Mr. Clark said something like, "I wanted this new course to look like an old course that had been fiddled with several times by various architects, in order to make it feel like it has been there awhile."

 

[Niall C]

Thank you Garland, chocolate drops was the expression I was looking for and failed to remember.

The only place I've seen chocolate drops in play is up in Moray on one hole on the nine hole Rothes course and again on one hole on Hopeman. In both instances they were placed as a hazard to be carried with the tee shot.

Niall