Brora (pictures)

[Philip Gawith]

Part Two of the Highland swing....the course where anyone going to Dornoch should limber up, where Jimmy Miller, unbelievably, was 25 times club champion, and James Braid's Scottish twin to set alongside the magnificent Pennard - two more charming, natural courses you could not hope to find.



The First



The Second



The Third




The Fourth



The difficult part three Sixth



Looking back down the Eighth



The Ninth



The Tenth



The Twelfth



The Twelfth



The Thirteenth



The Thirteenth



The Fifteenth



The Sixteenth



The Seventeenth



The Eigtheenth

[Mark Bourgeois]

Where in purple hue
The Highland hills we view

Thanks, Philip.

[David Miller]

Thanks for passing along the pics--can't wait to get there in September.  Are the slopes on 6 and 18 as dramatic as they  look?

[Philip Gawith]

Yes they are. A very high portion of first-timers will find themselves playing their seconds from well below, and well short, of the hole on both of those holes. The 18th is the longer of the two - you have to carry the ball about 190 yards. The 6th is more like a 170 yard carry or so, but if you play it into the wind, it can be a full 3 iron or more.

They are both pretty difficult holes - if you can par both you are doing very well even when conditions are benign!

[Daryl David]

All those pics and none with sheep!  I didn't think you could take that many without catching some of the wooly creatures.  When I was there last year they were hamming it up in every snap.

[AndrewB]

That sixth green sure is fun.  Do you happen to have a picture of the 11th approach?  I love the way the green falls away to the right there: you want to go right at it because the shot is so short, but you're afraid to because the penalty for missing is so severe.

Thanks for the pictures.

[Philip Gawith]

Daryl - good point! I have posted pictures before on Brora. This time round I focused a bit more on the greens, hence the absence of the wildlife! Actually in my experience they are not that spread out on the course - more concentrated around the back of the 15th. I saw more animals - horses, sheep and cattle - at Yelverton in Devon recently than at Brora. But you are right that they are a feature which is not evident from these pics....

Andrew - Thinking back I think the shameful excuse for this obvious omission is that I played the hole so badly the two times I played it that I was always out of position. The first time I was way out on the left which is dead and not really the place to take a picture from. The second time I shanked it from the middle of the fairway and that was a distraction!

I find it a maddening and excellent hole. Perhaps you can advise on how best to play it!

[Andrew Mitchell]

Great pictures Philip.  These and the previous ones of Dornoch have certainly whetted the appetite for a return visit!

[Adam Clayman]

For those of you who have played this course over many years;

How recent is the cleaner look of the bunkers? Has the bunker's shapes and sizes always been so consisitent?

[David Stamm]

That 4th green looks magnificent!!! What a wonderful course! I can't wait till I get to the highlands and play. This with Dornoch would be one hell of a 1-2 punch.

[Rich Goodale]

Adam

I first played Brora in 1981 and have played it at least once most of the 25 years since.  I do not think that the bunkers have changed one iota, either in size or shape, except that they are probably a little bit more buffed (more frequent revetting, tidier mowing of the edges, etc.).  As you can see from Philip's pictures they are very much gathering bunkers a la Muirfield, Dornoch and most Scottish links courses.  No hairy eyebrows or lacy capes and bays.  A great example is the one at the green of the 3rd.  It's a 447 yard hole usually played into the prevailing wind, and getting a long iron or wood to hold its line and not go into the deep bunker right of the green takes a very skillful shot.

Rich

[Matt Vandelac]

The golf course looks like a lot of fun to play and in a beautiful setting.  Every time I see the pictures from golf's motherland I can understand why a trip there is so worthwhile; not just for the ocean, but the quirkiness and nuances don't allow complacency.  It looks like the fencing is for sheep and the like, but does anyone know what the red signs are for?  The next tee?

[Rick Shefchik]

Can someone explain (again, perhaps) why the sod-faced pot bunker is virtually unknown in America?

We are missing one of the core elements of golf strategy over here.

[Rich Goodale]

I think the red "posts" connecting the wires around the green are the (very low voltage) electrical junction boxes.  When there is little wind you can hear them hum.

[David_Tepper]

David Stamm -

Not only are Dornoch and Brora a great 1-2 punch, Tain & Golspie (which are even closer to Dornoch than Brora) make a fine 3 and 4.

You can have a GREAT week of golf here and never have to drive more than 20-30 miles a day.

DT

[Jordan Wall]

Great pictures, thank you.

It is interesting to note how many of the greens have front and right greenside traps.

[Philip Gawith]

Sean - I think when we played the course had very recently been mown, hence the more defined look you refer to re the fairways. I actually liked the look -  Brora was in better condition than I can ever recall.

[Mickey Boland]

A few contributions from me, including some of the afore-mentioned 4-legged denizens.

Sign on #1 Tee


From below #1 green


#2 from tee area


#4 green


Us and a friend on #6 tee


Par 3 sixth looking from the tee.  That left pin was completely inaccessible, even when we got up around the green.


Kevin and friend on #12


#18 from behind the green


For what it's worth, my group thoroughly enjoyed the course.  Flowed with the land beautifully.  I would definitely call it a must-play in the Highlands.