Immediately after playing Gatehouse, we made our way to St Medan for an afternoon game in splendid sunshine. The most southerly course in Scotland, St Medan was opened in 1905. The seaside location on Luce Bay directly north of the Isle of Man is dazzling. At first glance the treeless course may seem to be links, but this is patently not the case. While simple, the routing is effective. The hub of the design is a large depression containing 1, 3 & 7 greens plus the fairways for 1, 2, 3 & 8. The course makes its way over the hill to the sea on the 4th, a straight line along the beach forms 5 & 6 and 7 takes us back into the depression. Below is an old postcard pre-1971 showing the 5th green under the hill. The 4th is to the far right. The 6th is far left.
Back to the opener, one of three short holes over 200 yards. I used driver for all three! The green is set back of the bunker at the bottom of the hill.
Behind the green up near the 8th tee.
The second plays back up to high ground. The next two holes are something special. The 3rd, a long par three may be the best hole on the course. The narrow green is benched into the side of the hill and makes for a tough target. The scene reminds me of Machu Picchu
A look at the green from near the 7th green.
More to follow.
Ciao