[Ran Morrissett]

Loch Lomond is on TV the next four mornings and unlike virtually every other recently built course in the UK, this one is worth watching from an architectural junkie point of view.

Apparently, they've had a lot of rain (again   ) so who knows how it will play but in firm conditions, the players have a lot of interesting decisions to make.

Any comments on the course from those who've played it or from what you've seen on TV?

[Johnny B]

Ran,
I was there yesterday for practice day. It was my first visit. The weather was terrible - rain and gales and start was also delayed today. While I was there a scaffold scoreboard blew down - and this is our summer. All the greens have been lifted and re-turfed during the winter. They were in excellent condition. From an architectural point of view it looked very good, bearing in mind that the site itself is magnificent. Unfortunately it is so wet a running game is out of the question and all greens are very holding - so much so that Retief Goosen was 8 under par after 11 holes. It is being ported as one of the possible venues for the 2009 Ryder Cup.
Regards,    Johnny

[BCrosby]

Sorry Ran, but I can't resist a totally OT post.

The news that Goosen was 8 under after 11 reminded me of a round I saw about 10 years ago.  One of my regular golf buddies asked me to join him for a quick 18 after work. We were joined by a college friend of his who had been an All-American at UGA for 2 years and had played the Tour off and on for about 10 years.  He will remain nameless.  The bottom line is that he lost his card because he hated to practice, he loved to drink and he really, really loved the women.  And apparently they really, really loved him too.

That afternoon he starts his round eagle, birdie, eagle, birdie.  After the 11th hole he is 8 under.  

We are walking to the 12th tee when he asks what time it was.  I tell him it's about 7:30.  He says "Holy #%*@*, I've got to pick up a date," and he heads off the course.  He both tried to stop him, pointing out that if he just parred in he would set the course record.  And there were two reachable par 5's still to play.  He waved and kept walking.

About a month later I ran into him again and expressed my disbelief that he had broken off one of the greatest rounds of golf I had ever seen.  He gave me a broad smile and said that he had no regrets.  The round, he said, was a good one, but his date that night was extraordinary.            

[Tom Steenstrup]

 

The 9th at Loch Lomond. Am I completely off base here or does this appear to have been inspired by a quite famous short par 4?

Tom

[Peter Galea]

Tom,
I don't know if you'd call it famous, but it looks like #4 at Pebble Beach, sans cliff and ocean.

[Tom Steenstrup]

That wasn't exactly was I was thinking about. Again, I might be stretching it a bit...

The angle of the green isn't quite right and the hole is a little longer, as compared to the original, but from what I can read in the Loch Lomond profile, with the pin on the right, the holes play similarly.

[Peter Galea]

Now that I see the photo, it looks nothing like #4.
Guess I've got a vivid imagination.

[kilfara]

In answer to Ran's original question: I liked Loch Lomond, but its position at no. 3 in the latest Golf World (UK) rankings of the Top 100 courses in GB&I is very possibly the greatest travesty in the turbulent history of golf course rankings. Need I say more?

Cheers,
Darren

[aclayman]

I cannot get over how this parkland looking course is located in europe. It certainly looks beautiful and verdant.
Perhaps you could shed some light on why this course has more/less strategic appeal than other courses, types, and styles?

[Eric]

Riviera #10?

[Tom Steenstrup]

Riviera #10, yep Eric. That's the second pic, BTW. That Pete thought it was the 9th at Loch Lomond seems to confirm that they are similar.

Tom

[RobertWalker]

Was the Scottish Open originally scheduled to end on Sunday? What does this mean for the qualifiers on Sunday and Monday?

[Peter Galea]

Not really Tom,
It proves that I'm an idiot, and I get up way too early every day.
I can't tell kikuya from bent/fescue, eucalyptus from pine, smog from fog and Thomas from Weiskopf. Oy Vay!

[Brian Clark]

I like Loch Lomond GC a lot.

There are a number of interesting and memorable holes, and I particularly like the routing where a real sense of a journey has been created. This is especially true of the front nine with there being restraint shown in using the wonderful scenery.

If I remember accurately you play the first few holes while catching only glimpses of Loch Lomond. This builds the anticipation before playing the par 3 5th directly towards the Loch where you get an expansive view of the scenery on the 6th tee. The excellent 6th and 7th play along the edge of the Loch before the routing takes you inland.

As I am probably the only person that is not a big fan on the 18th I think that the course may play just about as well if the nines were reversed.

There is however a slightly uncomfortable feeling that I have about the course - and I really can't explain what it is. It has possibly to do with a few elements that of themselves and in theory are excellent but in practice don't totally work and combine well for me. These elements include; the tree on the 1st fairway, the stone wall on the 2nd, the double green, the shack behind the 11th green, the dead tree trunk on the 15th, and the castle ruins on the 18th.

It may be that in combination with the outstanding maintenance of the course these features become more noticeable than they normally would. Instead of blending into the background and adding almost unconsciously to the experience they perhaps stand out a little too much. Or perhaps the condition of the course in general is too immaculate for its very natural, untamed surroundings.  

[kilfara]

Brian,

I think you've hit upon the essence of Loch Lomond: it's a visual experience much more than a masterpiece of golf course architecture. For aesthetics, it's way, way up the rankings, even if there are a few jarring notes along the way (like you mentioned). But few of the golf holes for me do much more than frame the scenery, if you'll pardon my use of the term "framing" in a sense which is the complete opposite of how we normally use it when discussing golf course architecture!

Personally, I'd guess that LLGC belongs in the World Top 100, but much nearer to no. 100 than to no. 1.

By the way, you couldn't really switch the nines at LLGC, because it's the eighth hole that comes back to the clubhouse, not the ninth.

Cheers,
Darren

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