Castle Course and Those Greens

[Max Sternberg]

Despite the grave reviews, I too enjoyed it during my visit in September. Was planning on playing it on the way into town and then never again (we had the 3-day ticket) but ended up doing two more rounds. Played in anything from a full-blown gale with sideways rain to a still evening with warm temps and sun. Cannot beat the views, especially at sunset, and I thought the green complexes were far from unplayable, possibly with the exception of #4.


The 2nd 9 routing is still a bit odd, forcing that long trek from 11-12 and then from 14-15, but nothing that would justify calling the course unwalkable. The difficulty of the walk is from the elevation changes, not from the distances between green and tee.


Obviously the changes softened the initial layout, but I do think much of the criticism stems from the fact that DMK built a course in Scotland, St. Andrews no less, that feels much more like an Irish links than it does a Scottish one. Perhaps I am alone on this, but I think the reviews would be far different if the course were anywhere else besides St Andrews and possibly even if it were simply outside the purview of the Links Trust.

[MClutterbuck]

Max, do you have knowledge of the actual changes over the years? Were green contours softened?

[Thomas Dai]

CC 2009 by Kyle - http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,40204.0/
CC 2011 by Sean - http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50078.0.html
Atb

[Mark Chaplin]

In the past two months I’ve had the pleasure of lapping the Castle Course around 20 times with either clubs in hand or on my back assisting others. I am currently an employee of the Links Trust so my comments reflect that.


First I note in 2009 Kyle paid £115 on the Castle, £130 on the Old and £165 at Kingsbarns, today it’s £120, £180 and £268 respectively.


The course is growing on me the more I see it, occasionally there’s the odd very tough pin position but the greenkeepers admit some greens have limited pin positions and they need spreading around to help with wear. The vital thing with the Castle and indeed the other St Andrews courses is green speed, the courses are rarely over 10 on the stimp and I’d say the Castle is currently around 8.5-9 so very playable.


The run from 6 to 10 is a superb set of holes. On 6 get the right line and you can finish within 60 yards of the green by finding a chute on the left of the fairway. 7 and 16 can reward long hitting or a good poke with a tail wind.


11 reminds me of the second at Gullane 1, a bit of an up hill slog often into the wind, the reward is getting to better land atop the hill.


I’m not a fan of the hairy humps and rarely does a round go by without a golfer getting tangled after an apparently good shot. If they were cut to semi rough height the ball would be less likely to tangle on the slope.


17 is a wonderful par 3 where the strong hitter can bypass the middleman and hit a draw into the green. However there’s much pleasure is seeing a weaker player hit a 6 or 7 iron just inside the bunker and letting nature propel the ball towards the hole often with a spectacular result.


The drive on 18 is a real “pain” the fairway is narrow as you hit across it and as a caddie unless the player has been consistently driving well you tend to be conservative and set them up a little left, only to watch the player nail the ball straight through the fairway! I’ve seen several well struck blocks get great results.


Finally last week Ian Woosnam accompanied a corporate group and played the usual 4 holes with each group. He joined us on the uphill par five 5th and promptly hit a 340 yard tee shot, mid iron to 15 feet and holes the eagle putt with his Masters winning putter. 6 he got the chute but his second shot spin back from the hole and he missed from 20 feet. 7 saw a long drive leave a wedge to 6 feet and a birdie. 8 the pin was on the top tier and Woosnam on the lower tier, the putt grazed the hole for a tap in par. -3 for 4 holes and he admitted he’d never seen the course before.


Approach the Castle with an open mind and I think you’ll enjoy it.

[David Ober]

I played there three years ago. Absolutely zero fun to play those greens. Single worst course, by far, of the bunch we played in Scotland and Ireland. In order of favorite to least, all things considered with a quick overall "rating" for each that we played:


Old Course - 10 - I was shocked by how much I loved it. Was expecting a let down. Was expecting it to be in mediocre shape. I was wrong on both counts. Just a fantastic, quirky, funky, awesome golf course that I will never forget. Perfect conditions helped. 65(?) degrees. 10 - 15 mph winds. GREAT shape.


Kingsbarns - 9 - I know, I know: Too "Americanized." But for this American, it was like playing Pebble or Spyglass, but with firmer, faster conditions. Very, very playable and "scoreable" from 7000.


Waterville - 9 - Loved the scale and the ability to see my shots move. Like Kingsbarns, a big course that was very "gettable" if you hit the ball well.


Carnoustie - 8 - Jetlagged. Played horribly. Still loved the course and want another go!)


Tralee - 8 - Much better than I had heard. Played with Arthur Spring. What a gentleman he was. Comped us at Ballybunion the next day. Thanks you Arthur! Rest in Peace, friend!


Ballybunion (Old) - 8 - Too many backwards walks from green to tee for me to rate it higher.


Dooks - 8 - An absolute delight for the $$$


Jubilee - 8 - Pleasantly surprised and loved the "tightness." Never felt "too tight," but "juuuussst right." Wind was 10 to 20 when we played, so not horrible.


Lahinch - 7 - course had been "overseeded" in preparation for the Irish Amateur(?) and played slow and wettish. Would love to play again when it was firm and fast, as I'm sure it would rise in my estimation.


Castle - 3 - Truly awful golf experience for our entire group. Hated the course. As a "member's course," maybe it has some value where you could learn how to play certain green complexes, but as a "tourist course"? Just awful.