Boat of Garten - Pictures

[Dan Grossman]

I have finally gotten around to posting my Boat of Garten pictures.  Ever since I got my first copy of Doak’s Confidential Guide, I have been interested to see this golf course.  It is indeed a strange place, but has some really neat holes and is a lot of fun to play.

Located near Grantown – on – Spey in the Scottish Highlands, the course is on a very hilly piece of property.  While mainly a Scottish Holiday destination, we actually found the place a bit stuffy.  It was one of only two courses where we were not able to play the back tees (the other was Birkdale).  

Card of the Course (from the back tees)
Hole   Par   White   Yellow      
1    3   189    169       John's View
2    4   360    351       Urie
3    3   163    152       Craigard
4    5   514    509       Birches
5    4   392    289       Lochiel
6    4   403    393       Avenue
7    4   386    370       Bell
8    4   355    342       Plateau
9    3   154    148       Beag
10    4   271    266       Ridge
11    4   379    352       Braeriach
12    4   349    338       Craigellachie
13    5   473    461       Tulloch
14    4   323    313       Spey
15    4   307    289       Gully
16    3   168    162       Craigowrie
17    4   344    318       Bisset's Hill
18    4   437    426       Road
Totals
      70    5967    5648        

Take a look at the fairway contours.  They are the strangest things I had ever seen.  A ton of little round bowls in the fairways.  Poorly struck drives (even straight ones) seemed to get very bad bounces and careens from the fairway.  It makes for interesting golf…

Here are the pictures…

1st Tee


2nd Tee


3rd Tee


6th Approach


7th Tee


7th Green


9th


10th


11th Green


11th Approach


12th Tee


12th Green


15th From Behind Green


14th Tee


16th


From the 18th Tee


Approach on the 18th

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Why is it everytime I see pictures from Great Britain of courses like this, it makes me wish I lived there?

I used to have some really old images of BofG, but lost them a few years back in a reformat. Some really great stuff going on there.

[CHrisB]

Dan,
Thanks for the pics. Firm, "bumpy" fairways lined by trees can be interesting can't they? Your pictures really show the bowls in the fairway that collect the water and green up while the ridges stay brown. I, too, sought out this course after reading the CG, and played it on the way up to Dornoch. My favorite holes are the 6th and the 18th--a tough finish after a bunch of smaller holes.

[Nick_Ficorelli]

Did you get to see the Thomas the Tank steam Engine that travels past the 1st hole every hour or so?

[Brad Klein]

well, that's it, Bill Cosgrove, Glen Rapoport, Tim Liddy and I will have to make sure we get there next week when we head off for our little Northern Scotland odyssey.

BoG was always on the marginal list for us - after Dornoch, Tain, Skibo, Golspie, Brora, Wick and Nairn., But we'll find time for this little gem, now. Thanks for the intriguing images.

[Mark_Fine]

So many courses Brad, so little time  

[Mike_Cirba]

What lovely colors!!!  

Thanks for sharing, Dan!

[Yancey_Beamer]

Brad,
This course is a Walter Woods favorite.
Yancey

[ChipRoyce]

I know this will ilicit a number of conflicting responses, but I have to say, most of the pictures really remind me of dryer / browner version of Essex County Club in manchester, MA - a course I really got to know well during my 4 years as a town resident.

[David_Tepper]

Brad Klein-

Sounds like you have a great trip coming up. While I would not suggest skipping any of the courses already on your list, I would hihgly recommend squeezing in Fortrose & Rosemarkie on the north shore of the Moray Firth (or should I say IN the Moray Firth) if at all possible. One of the more remarkable settings for a golf course you will ever see. Get there if you can.

DT

[Dan Grossman]

The pictures turned out a bit smaller than I wanted.  If anyone wants to see bigger versions of any of those above, let me know and I can try to repost.  (I am still a novice at posting pictures.   )

Brad - I am glad that you enjoyed the pictures.  The course that we played on the same day as BoG was Lossiemouth - Old, which I found to be a GREAT golf course.  There were a ton of great holes out there and I thought the fighter base next to the course was cool.  It was like the perfect guys outing, fighter jets and golf...    If you haven't played it, I would recommend checking it out as well.

[Thomas_Brown]

Hate to dissent, but I found this course to be too much of an American course.  The greens when I played(in 1990) were way too soft.  I'd much rather play a seaside links course.

tom

[JohnV]

I was supposed to play this course in May of 1995, but it snowed that morning.  It looks like a lot of lovely fairways, but it seems to be in need of a serious tree management program.  The shot of the approach on 18 where everything will probably bounce to the right down to the trees that area down to ground level seems to be a good example.