Very nice, Tim! You prompted me to revisit photos of my round in 2022 at Lundin, maybe in part because your claim that the composite course would be "worthy of the World Top 100" struck me as a bit of hyperbole. I found the course to be a mixed bag of sorts, though there are flashes of undeniably lovely bones. The green site of Lundin's current 4th, for example, is super. I quite liked current 6th and 7th holes, though neither of those would've been in the Old. Current 17 has outstanding land. I have the current course around Doak 4 or 5, though it doesn't take much imagination to see how its holes routed on the Old--1 through 5, 15 through 18--could punch a couple scores higher, especially if they were restored and presented at a caliber in line with Muirfield (that's asking a lot, but for a World 100 much is expected!).
This site helped me understand the old routing configuration: https://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/oldest-golf-courses/1846-leven-links/
Your article is a great nudge for me to prioritize playing Leven next time I'm in Fife, so that I can put the Old course routing together in my head. Thanks!
Thanks for the post Michael. I think the 9 original holes from Lundin are brilliant, and although Tom D mentions in the Confidential Guide that they got the better of the split, I actually really enjoyed the Leven holes as well. Particularly 1, 2, 15, 16 & 18 on the original routing are all very interesting & unique holes. Taken as a collection, the green contouring throughout feels varied and interesting with front to back slopes (alla 1); some more significant slopes (like 18), and everything in the middle. I also love how well the greens often sit within the surrounds and are often just an extension of the land vs. anything built-up. You could argue 3 & 4 of Leven are just so-so, and the par-3s are good, but not spectacular. That said, the variety of the 4s more than makes up for these minor shortcomings.
The World 100 is a tough benchmark, but if it was played more often, I believe it would at least be in the discussion. For what it's worth, on a head to head with Silloth, I have it a bit ahead, and I LOVE Silloth and vote it in the world 100
