First Scotland Trip: Recap!

[Brad Payne]

Hey All, first post of real note and wanted to share my Scotland trip, some thoughts and superlatives. 


I just got back yesterday from a 10 day trip that encompassed many of the greats of Scotland.  Overall was my first real experience playing links golf and boy am I hooked!  I get it now and think it's just incredibly fun to play along the ground.  I realize there is a huge skill to being successful in the wind and playing along the ground.  TOC alone taught me I don't even have a clue how to play a bump and run.  First, my ranking of the courses:


1A: TOC
1B: Cruden Bay
2: Prestwick
3. Dornoch
4. Carnoustie
5. North Berwick
6. Brora
7. Golspie
8. Gullane No. 2


I left the Sunday before last and landed in Inverness and drove up to Dornoch to stay with David and Lauren.  Played the following courses with thoughts:


TOC - I know everyone says you don't get it the first time, but maybe I'm not most people.  Loved every second of it.  Played well and at times too aggressive and paid the price for it.  We had a lot of pins just over the front swales and I just don't have that shot.  A good round was ruined by Shell bunker as I drove a few feet from the face and tin cupped it.  I thought I could flop it out...and I was right, but took me 5 tries to do so!  Favorite holes were 5, 12, 13, 14.  I loved 12 as I drove it 20 yards short and still couldn't make birdie as the pin was right over the swale.





Cruden Bay - The views and playing in the dunes on the front were just awesome.  The par 5 6th was such a good hole.  Such a risk reward trying to hit a blind shot to go for it in 2.  Favorite hole on the course.  Plus the views from top of 9 tee box were the best on any course I played.  Favorite holes were 4, 5, 6 and 17.


2nd hole showing huge hill short right of green



Par 3 4th - into the wind plays all of 200+



Skyline 7th between the dunes



Drivable 8th hole with big swale short right



New 9th hole tee



10th hole at Cruden Bay - fun tee shot with lots of room left



Back nine at Cruden Bay



Prestwick - the history and just plain fun of the golf course.  The Narrows (15) was such a great hole.  Hit the fairway or else.  Loved Cardinal and Alps almost ruined my round, but having 18 as an easy birdie helped save my card.  The Elysian Fields area was certainly a lot different than the more rugged dunes around the clubhouse, but 8 and 9 are stout par 4s. Favorite holes were 3, 9, 12, 15 and 17.


Intimidating tee shot at Himalayas



Long Par 4 10th



Short Par 3 11th at Prestwick



Par 5 12th - very reachable downwind and playing firm



Tee shot on the Narrows



Crazy 15th green on Narrows



Short drivable 16th at Prestwick



Alps 17th tee shot



Bunker short of green



Drivable 18th with the clubhouse in the background



Royal Dornoch - was a foggy and pretty breezy day into the wind going out.  Somewhat easier, but not really downwind on the way in.  The par 3 10th and 13th downwind are really tough with firm greens and 20mph behind you.  Bouncing the ball into just about all greens was necessary.  Favorite holes were 4, 5, 6, 8, 14 and 15.  I still can't figure out how to get a ball to stop in regulation on 14.  Ran a ball up 3/4 of the way up the slope and got rejected.


Carnoustie - man is that one going to play tough in a few weeks.  The rough was so thick just 5 yds off the fairway that a 60 degree wedge was the only option in many places, but you could also find thin patches and hit the green.  I thought it was way prettier than many have described and the bunkers are awesome all facing you off the tee with the big stacked sod faces.  Favorite holes were 1, 3, 12, 14 and 18.


Par 3 8th with green sloping hard back to front



Spectacles at Carnoustie



18th with Open grandstands set up for the tournament


North Berwick - definitely the most unique golf course I have ever played.  Many call it quirky, but I think it was fun.  I think the difficulty is underrated on that golf course, but could be because we played the inward 9 into an unusual headwind, which made the closing par 4s really tough.  Favorite holes were 1, 7, 13 and 16.


Quarry 6th


Brora - the land forms were awesome and loved the inward nine.  The closing stretch of 16, 17 and 18 was fun.  17 and is an all world tough par 4.  I didn't love the 5 blind tee shots in a row on the front as a first timer and thought the stretch of 3 - 8 with the exception of 6 was a bit hard to recall all of the holes.  Favorite holes were 11, 14, 16, 17 and 18.


17th at Brora showing great land movement



Golspie - toughest finishing stretch of the hole trip.  15 is such a long par 4 and the green slopes so hard right to left.  16 is a tough par 3 with an awesome plateau green and then another tough par 3 in 17 before 18.  That mound in the middle of the fairway was like none I saw all week.  really cool feature, but makes for a tough uphill blind 2nd shot.  Favorite holes 5, 6 (cool green and site), 7 (crazy green), and 16.



5th green on uphill blind and drivable par 4.



6th at Golspie, crazy green and cool setting between the dunes



16th green in it's plateaued glory



Gullane No. 2 - wasn't my favorite course by any stretch, but still fun.  Could have been I was by myself for this round and the only one of the trip, but was just ok.


Also, to add some superlatives and these are just off the top of my head and not ranked in order:


Favorite Greens:
6th Brora
13th Prestwick
5th TOC
16th Golspie
4th Dornoch


Favorite Par 3s:
11th TOC
15th Golspie
5th Prestwick
6th North Berwick
2nd Dornoch


Favorite Par 4s:
13th TOC
3rd TOC
12th TOC
1st Carnoustie
18th Carnoustie
13th North Berwick
14th Dornoch
15th Prestwick
17th Prestwick
5th Cruden Bay
17th Cruden Bay


Favorite Par 5s:
5th TOC
14th TOC
6th Cruden Bay
3rd Prestwick
12th North Berwick


Thanks for reading and was great to get to meet some GCAers on the trip, Mike, Dave, Tim, Mark and Garland.  I'll add some pics when I get them uploaded to my desktop.

[mike_malone]

We’ll have to try it in the sun sometime. Your rankings at the top reflect my thoughts.

[Jon Wiggett]

Nice post. The Golspie par three you liked is 16 not 15.

[Brad Payne]

Nice post. The Golspie par three you liked is 16 not 15.

Thanks, Jon, updated

[Jim Nugent]

Some excellent photos.  Enjoyed your post and perspectives, Brad. 

[Brad Payne]

good stuff, brad, just would note that for some of us quirky=fun=potentially great architecture, there's no negative connotation to quirky (weird, wild, unique, etc.)

Absolutely, Bill. 100% agree. I think sometimes in the US quirky does get a bad rap, but I think when it comes to Scottish golf it is generally more accepted as courses were built with whatever the land gave them. Give me quirky links golf all day.

[Mark Chaplin]

Brad great to meet you over a beer in St Andrews, sorry I had to shoot and leave you in the dangerous hands of the Australian seasonal greenkeepers!

[Brad Payne]

Brad great to meet you over a beer in St Andrews, sorry I had to shoot and leave you in the dangerous hands of the Australian seasonal greenkeepers!

You too, Mark and hope you and the Mrs. are enjoying the great north!

[Thomas Dai]

Some great photos Brad. Thanks for sharing.
Bit more fairway length grass below the green on the 4th at Cruden Bay than was the case in decades gone by. Nice photos from the new 9th too.
From the photos the rough at Carnoustie is looking ‘promising’ for July time!
Atb

[Tom_Doak]

Nice post. The Golspie par three you liked is 16 not 15.

Thanks, Jon, updated

Also, the Quarry hole at North Berwick is the 6th.  The 7th is the par-4 with the Eel Burn in front of the green.


Otherwise, it was a nice trip report.  Looks like it's been very dry in Scotland the past month or so, was that a topic of conversation there?


I'm surprised you rated North Berwick as low as you did considering how much you said you liked it.  [You even tried to speculate a reason as to why !]  This is not atypical, it's part of the reason the course has been underrated for fifty years.

[Brad Payne]

Nice post. The Golspie par three you liked is 16 not 15.

Thanks, Jon, updated

Also, the Quarry hole at North Berwick is the 6th.  The 7th is the par-4 with the Eel Burn in front of the green.


Otherwise, it was a nice trip report.  Looks like it's been very dry in Scotland the past month or so, was that a topic of conversation there?


I'm surprised you rated North Berwick as low as you did considering how much you said you liked it.  [You even tried to speculate a reason as to why !]  This is not atypical, it's part of the reason the course has been underrated for fifty years.

Thanks, Tom. After 10 rounds some holes started running together! I think North Berwick was a lot tougher than expected as many others are more fun vs overly difficult. Playing up a tee might have helped. Also, when you only see a course once and don’t play particularly well, I think it clouds your judgement. Plus, I lost 3 balls as some of the rough was really thick.


As for it being brown, Ayrshire has definitely been getting a lot more warm sunny days than the East Lothian area. Berwick has even had tee times pushed into the afternoon due to fog a few days before I was there, while it was over 70 degrees at Prestwick. Aberdeen and the Highlands have been warm as well. Can say Carnoustie has had some rain as the rough is thick ahead of the Open.

[Mark Chaplin]

Brad we are playing Sanday 9 hole course today one of the northern Orkney Islands, each green has a fence around it and a wooden gate for access to the putting surface!

[David_Tepper]

"Looks like it's been very dry in Scotland the past month or so, was that a topic of conversation there?"

Tom D. -

I left Dornoch last nite after spending 4 weeks there. It may have been the driest 4 weeks we have ever spent there on our spring visits. The grass in some areas of the fairways was almost turning white.   

In fact, the greens staff was briefly watering some of the greens and recently sodded/seeded areas of the course, just to keep the grass from burning out.

The course was getting very bouncy this past week.

DT

[Tim Gallant]

Nice post. The Golspie par three you liked is 16 not 15.

Thanks, Jon, updated

Also, the Quarry hole at North Berwick is the 6th.  The 7th is the par-4 with the Eel Burn in front of the green.


Otherwise, it was a nice trip report.  Looks like it's been very dry in Scotland the past month or so, was that a topic of conversation there?


I'm surprised you rated North Berwick as low as you did considering how much you said you liked it.  [You even tried to speculate a reason as to why !]  This is not atypical, it's part of the reason the course has been underrated for fifty years.

Thanks, Tom. After 10 rounds some holes started running together! I think North Berwick was a lot tougher than expected as many others are more fun vs overly difficult. Playing up a tee might have helped. Also, when you only see a course once and don’t play particularly well, I think it clouds your judgement. Plus, I lost 3 balls as some of the rough was really thick.


As for it being brown, Ayrshire has definitely been getting a lot more warm sunny days than the East Lothian area. Berwick has even had tee times pushed into the afternoon due to fog a few days before I was there, while it was over 70 degrees at Prestwick. Aberdeen and the Highlands have been warm as well. Can say Carnoustie has had some rain as the rough is thick ahead of the Open.

Brad,

Great write-up and love the photos, especially from Cruden Bay!


Tom,


I'm afraid I'm likely to blame for North Berwick. I was hoping to play for a score and asked if we could play the white tees. It was an Easterly wind, which means going out you really have to make a score. The wheels fell off for me, and I think I must have dragged Brad down with me. By the time we got to the back-9, into the wind, it was playing tough, so on 13 we moved up to the Blue tees.


Hopefully Brad will give it a second chance Although looking at the courses ranked above, and even below, I don't feel the course was slighted in the least!

[Brad Payne]

Tim, I will absolutely give it a 2nd and 3rd and as many as I can play!


Cheers!


Have fun, Mark! I’m not sure if I’ll ever make it to Orkney, but proves you can play golf everywhere in Scotland!

[Jeff Schley]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

[Jon Wiggett]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

Jeff,


for goodness sake get yourself clued up. If you want 'authentic Scottish golf' then why play Kingsbarns when there are so many genuine Scottish courses to play???


I really do wonder what is going through people's head sometimes

[Jeff Schley]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

Jeff,


for goodness sake get yourself clued up. If you want 'authentic Scottish golf' then why play Kingsbarns when there are so many genuine Scottish courses to play???


I really do wonder what is going through people's head sometimes

Yeah there is something anti scottish about that I know.      

[Jon Wiggett]

Jeff,


its like going to Disney Paris to experience the true USA. Its good but still Mickey Mouse

[Mark Pearce]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

Jon's right, of course.  You'll have 5 days in Fife and your idea of "authentic Scottish golf" is four rounds on TOC and one at Kingsbarns?  You'll be within 30 minutes of Lundin, Leven, Crail and Elie, so you could participate in the rank those courses thread.  Or you could play the 14 brilliant holes left at the Eden.  Or enjoy the New.  But you'd rather part with £280 (or whatever absurd amount it now is) to play the least authentic links in Fife?

[Jeff Schley]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

Jon's right, of course.  You'll have 5 days in Fife and your idea of "authentic Scottish golf" is four rounds on TOC and one at Kingsbarns?  You'll be within 30 minutes of Lundin, Leven, Crail and Elie, so you could participate in the rank those courses thread.  Or you could play the 14 brilliant holes left at the Eden.  Or enjoy the New.  But you'd rather part with £280 (or whatever absurd amount it now is) to play the least authentic links in Fife?

Friendly group 
I won't have a car, staying at Rusacks and will walk over each morning to TOC.  A friend, who is Scottish, although I could ask for verification, is driving out from Glasgow to pick me up and wanted to play Kingsbarns on Sunday.  Fine with me as he wanted to play and glad to see him.  At least that is the plan.  BTW I don't drink alcohol either, so it appears the authentic Scottish experience will have to be relegated to weather, TOC, and a pseudo Scottish course.

[Charles Lund]

Brad,


Thanks for the detailed posting with photos.  Glad you enjoyed Scotland.


The first six courses in your course list were part of my 22 rounds on 18 courses list.  I got to play Brora and Golspie a couple of years ago, which also included three trips around Royal Dornoch during my stay in the area.


Out of curiosity, what are some of the other courses you aspire to visit, now that you have had the experience of links golf in Scotland?


Charles Lund

[Jon Wiggett]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

Jon's right, of course.  You'll have 5 days in Fife and your idea of "authentic Scottish golf" is four rounds on TOC and one at Kingsbarns?  You'll be within 30 minutes of Lundin, Leven, Crail and Elie, so you could participate in the rank those courses thread.  Or you could play the 14 brilliant holes left at the Eden.  Or enjoy the New.  But you'd rather part with £280 (or whatever absurd amount it now is) to play the least authentic links in Fife?

Friendly group 
I won't have a car, staying at Rusacks and will walk over each morning to TOC.  A friend, who is Scottish, although I could ask for verification, is driving out from Glasgow to pick me up and wanted to play Kingsbarns on Sunday.  Fine with me as he wanted to play and glad to see him.  At least that is the plan.  BTW I don't drink alcohol either, so it appears the authentic Scottish experience will have to be relegated to weather, TOC, and a pseudo Scottish course.

Jeff,


whilst it is great you are seeing your friend and it is understandable why you are playing Kingbarns it was you who said he wanted authentic Scottish golf in connection with it. I would suggest as a visitor to the country you might show the inhabitants a little more respect as not all Scots are drunks or think none Scottish things are crap.

[Jeff Schley]

Brad great review!  Thanks for taking the time and uploading photos as well.  I'm off to St. Andrews this Thursday for 5 days and will try and play TOC each day and maybe hit Kingsbarns on that Sunday.  Looking forward to it and hope I get cold, wet, and windy conditions! I want authentic Scottish golf.   

Jon's right, of course.  You'll have 5 days in Fife and your idea of "authentic Scottish golf" is four rounds on TOC and one at Kingsbarns?  You'll be within 30 minutes of Lundin, Leven, Crail and Elie, so you could participate in the rank those courses thread.  Or you could play the 14 brilliant holes left at the Eden.  Or enjoy the New.  But you'd rather part with £280 (or whatever absurd amount it now is) to play the least authentic links in Fife?

Friendly group 
I won't have a car, staying at Rusacks and will walk over each morning to TOC.  A friend, who is Scottish, although I could ask for verification, is driving out from Glasgow to pick me up and wanted to play Kingsbarns on Sunday.  Fine with me as he wanted to play and glad to see him.  At least that is the plan.  BTW I don't drink alcohol either, so it appears the authentic Scottish experience will have to be relegated to weather, TOC, and a pseudo Scottish course.

Jeff,


whilst it is great you are seeing your friend and it is understandable why you are playing Kingbarns it was you who said he wanted authentic Scottish golf in connection with it. I would suggest as a visitor to the country you might show the inhabitants a little more respect as not all Scots are drunks or think none Scottish things are crap.

Jon if it isn't obvious, I was trying to be sarcastic with the SNL meme as a joke, as well as tongue in cheek comment that I wanted bad weather so as to get the real Scottish experience.
Nonetheless it shall be enjoyed regardless.
God bless.

[Brad Payne]

Brad,


Thanks for the detailed posting with photos.  Glad you enjoyed Scotland.


The first six courses in your course list were part of my 22 rounds on 18 courses list.  I got to play Brora and Golspie a couple of years ago, which also included three trips around Royal Dornoch during my stay in the area.


Out of curiosity, what are some of the other courses you aspire to visit, now that you have had the experience of links golf in Scotland?


Charles Lund

Hey Charles, thanks for the kind words. I think my list now includes many more rounds on the same courses plus the following in the near future:


Royal Aberdeen
Trump Aberdeen
Turnberry
Western Gailes
Nairn
Royal Troon
Kingsbarns
Castle Stuart
Lundin Links
Elie
Crail


And I’m sure there’s many more. Already planning my return trip, but need to get the girlfriend the golf bug so I can go back more frequently!