We had the pleasure of playing 10 courses on our recent trip. Some thoughts in order of play. None of them are meant to be deeply analytic and probably will seem obvious to many of you.
Gleneagles Kings has an excellent set of difficult Par 4s. Numbers 4 and 13 are really first rate.
Gleneagles Queens can give Swinley Forest a run for the money among strategic shorter courses.
15 through 18 at Blairgowrie Rosemont is worth the effort to play there.
Cruden Bay is a head scratcher for me. There are 18 good to very good holes, it has great land movement, and is very enjoyable to play. Yet, it did not strike me as one of the very best courses in the world. Perhaps my expectations were too high.
Do not miss Fraserburgh especially if you like natural, organic courses. 10 through 17 in particular is a stretch of variety and interest.
Playing as a one ball off the first visitor’s time at Royal Aberdeen is one of the luckier bookings I have made. The first nine is everything people say. I thought the second nine might have even stronger holes.
It really is true that understanding TOC on the first play is difficult. At least for me. We were fortunate to be playing with members who illuminated the holes, particularly the lines of play on 2 through 7, for me. The green complexes though were even better than advertised.
I am hard pressed to think of a better day on a course than at Elie. It was our second play and lived up to my pre-Covid memories. The weather turned unpleasant on 10-14, but it did not bother us a bit. Number 13 is one of the best Par 4s I have played (even with rain covering my glasses).
Playing Crail Balcomie into a strong wind from the west provides an extra challenge. It too was a return visit and held its place as one of the most scenic courses we have played.
Eden has a great set of greens and is a fitting way to finish a trip.
Sorry if this all sounds a bit personal, but this was our third and probably final trip to Scotland so having returned home, nostalgia is already kicking in.
Ira