Elie v Balcomie v Eden - A Play-off

[Niall C]

Following last years BUDA where we played some of Fife’s less taxing and more fun links courses I thought it would be an interesting exercise to compare the holes at 3 of those courses in a sort of 3-way matchplay to see which course would come out on top. I followed one simple rule; just choose what I thought was the best hole with no consideration to the overall scorecard.


I’ll be interested to read everyone’s thoughts.
 
Hole 1
While the first at Balcomie has its merits, this is a straight two way fight between Elie and the Eden. The first at Elie is a good strong par 4 starter, more so than the par 4 first on the Eden perhaps, but then the Eden has that fabulous green. Result – Eden.
 
Hole 2
The Eden has another fabulous green complex but the route to it is a bit of an uninspiring slog, and while the Elie hole is picture postcard stuff it is largely an exercise in straight hitting to a plateau green sitting above the eyeline. The second at the Balcomie however is perhaps the best hole on the Balcomie course and therefore gets the nod. Result – Balcomie
 
Hole 3
For me this is a straight shoot-out between the two par 3’s at Balcomie and Elie. Both are excellent in different ways. One is blind and the other plays from an elevated tee. On balance the green complex on the 3^rd at Balcomie tips the balance but ask me on another day…... Result – Balcomie
 
Hole 4
Another two horse race. This time between a cracking short par 4/long par 3 on the Eden and the lovely par 4 at Elie. As much as I enjoy having a slash at a green with my driver, I’m going for Elie, again largely due to the quality of the green. Result – Elie
 
Hole 5
The 5^th at Elie is lovely, the 5^th at Balcomie much less so but I can’t really ignore Colt’s cracking short par 3 on the Eden. Result – Eden
 
Hole 6
Possibly the weakest selection to choose from which doesn’t mean they are at all bad but just not quite the same level as some of the other selections. Result – Eden

[Niall C]

Hole 7
Three contrasting par 4’s. The clear winner however is the dog-leg 7^th at the Eden. Challenging drive followed by a challenging and fun approach. Result – Eden
 
Hole 8
One of the least interesting par 4’s at Elie so it’s not in the running. That leaves the par 3 at Eden or the long par 4 at Balcomie. Normally you’d think a long par 4 against a Harry Colt par 3 would be no contest but in this instance the rippled double green of Balcomie’s 8^th comes out on top of the plateau green at the Eden. Result – Balcomie
Hole 9
Three very different contenders for the 9^th spot. Eden providing a fairly decent par 5, Elie a long challenging par 4 and Balcomie a sporty short downhill par 4. Who doesn’t like a sporty short par 4 ? Result - Balcomie 
 
Hole 10
This time the competition is between two shortish par 4’s at Balcomie and Elie and a relatively long par 3 (for this short hitter at least) on the Eden. Have to say that Balcomie isn’t in the running. Straight uphill to a plateau green doesn’t excite. That leaves what I feel is an under-appreciated par 3 on the Eden facing off against a blind driveable par 4 at Elie. Darwin wrote approvingly of the blind par 3 and I suspect he might embrace the idea of the driveable blind par 4 even more. It certainly gets my vote. Result – Elie
 
Hole 11
The contenders are a par 5 (Balcomie), par 4 (Eden) and a par 3 (Elie). Again three very different holes however the epic green complex on the Eden wins the day. Result – Eden
 
Hole 12
Elie – long par 4, the Eden a driveable par 4 for some and Balcomie a good length downhill par 5. Vies with the selection for hole 6 as the weakest set of holes. Elie wins by virtue of having a more interesting and challenging drive although I was taken by the splendour of the Balcomie green. Result – Elie

[Niall C]

Hole 13
The Eden – sorry no. The spoil heap behind a fairly bland green is just too distracting. That leaves a straight shoot out between two of the best holes on Elie and Balcomie. Once upon a time I used to debate which fairway wood to hit to reach the uphill par 3 green at Balcomie. These days it’s full tonto with the driver just to get it up over the cliff face followed by a scramble to get my par on the heaving rolling green. Elie’s 13^th is no easier and has a plateau green benched into the hillside that actually is playable in different ways. For the longer hitter the chance to hit a short to mid iron directly on to the putting surface with a backboard for safety. For the shorter hitter the choice of a longer club landing on the green using the backstop or alternatively running a ball up the right-hand side of the front of the green. Tough choice. Result – Elie
 
For those that know the Eden won’t be surprised that the selection of the 14^th and 15^th holes are a two horse race between Elie and Balcomie.


Hole 14
The par 3 of Balcomie against the long par 4 of Elie. Nothing in particular against the 14^th at Elie but then I haven’t too much to praise it for either. Not a bad hole but can’t compete against a classic hit or miss short par 3 such as the 14^th at Balcomie. Result – Balcomie


Hole 15
Balcomie’s 15^th isn’t a bad short driveable par 4 with its green partially hidden in a dip and the water on the left but Elie’s 15^th just offers that bit more interest. Yes, it’s another Elie hole where the approach is over a hill to a sloping green and perhaps there are too many of them at Elie, but not in this composite course. Result – Elie
 
Moving on to the closing stretch, both Elie and the Eden gear themselves up for a tough finish while in contrast Balcomie finishes with a bit of a whimper. That’s not to say the last 3 holes at Balcomie are bad holes but they provide a lacklustre finish. Anyway….
 
Hole 16
The choice; a par 3 (Balcomie), a par 4 (Elie) and a par 5 (Eden). Frankly the 16^th at Elie is probably the least interesting hole on the course and is a non-contender. That leaves a straight choice between Balcomies version of Spion Kop with its heavily sloped green and what is one of only two out and out par 5’s on the Eden. Going against type I’m going for the par 5. Result – Eden
 
Hole 17
Having recovered from the shock of picking a Donald Steel hole for the 16^th, we now move on to the 17^th which is a competition between three fairly meaty par 4’s. Shock horror, Donald Steel wins again. Result – Eden


Hole 18
As much as I enjoyed going down the shaft slightly on my driver and having a whack at the green on the Balcomie, it’s not really a good finishing hole. A good hole, maybe, but not a good finishing one IMO. For Whatever reason I’ve never really warmed to the 18^th at the Eden which suggests the last at Elie wins purely by default. Not so, it is a very good hole and maybe one of the best on the course. Result – Elie
 

[Niall C]

So the final score;


Eden – 7 holes
Elie – 6 holes
Balcomie – 5 holes


For those interested in the score card it produces a par 35 out and par 36 in with the yardage being 6,282 yards from the medals and 5,888 yards from the normal tees. There are only two par 5’s and 3 par 3’s with 8 straight par 4’s in the middle of the round. On the face of it that’s not too clever but in mitigation there is a nice variety about that stretch of par 4’s.
 
A few things surprised me about the result and that was that Elie didn’t win and that Balcomie won so many holes. There is no doubt in my mind that Elie is the best of the three courses with Eden slightly behind and then Balcomie trailing some way behind.
 
I’d forgotten how disjointed Balcomie is and how long some of the walks in between holes are, and then there is the rather tame finishing holes that go back and forwards. But I’d also forgotten how good some of the individual holes are.
 
Elie on the other hand is the opposite is terms of the routing where on many holes you fall off the green on to the next tee. The routing also seems to take you on a more interesting journey.
 
On the Eden, I seem to be softening to the Donald Steel holes, apart from the abominable 14^th and 15^th that somehow are getting worse. Still I was surprised the Eden came out on top.


Niall

[Marty Bonnar]

If only the Eden hadn’t been quite so brutally circumcised.
 :'(

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