The New Course at Moray is a very late comer to Scottish golf. Opened in 1979, the design provenance seems a bit muddled. Henry Cotton is officially credited with the design, but it may be the case that his partner, Alex Swan, was the main voice. An old Captain of Moray related that many committee members had a role in the design. It was felt something needed to be done when Cotton suggested the 18
th on the Old should make way for a two tee/green - start/finish closer to the house. The belief was few people would walk the length of a hole to start and finish play on the New. Whomever is responsible for the design of the New Course, thankfully the Old’s 18
th survived. Very similar terrain to the Old, the New is characterized by more gorse lined fairways and less interesting greens. All in all, the New is a less polished effort, but remains a testing and in parts a very enjoyable course.
The opener is a relaxed handshake playing over lovely terrain.
Shorter still, the two-shot 2nd legs a bit right and is reachable for big hitters.
The par 5 third isn't terribly exciting, but I do like the green.
Similar to some other par 3s on the property, the real test of the 4th in these firm conditions is controlling the ball once it lands.
The New wakes up on the very difficult 5th. The drive doesn't suit my eye, but for those who can play a consistent fade this is heaven.
The green is a set piece sited just beyond a burn. The hole took about an extra 5 minutes to play because one and all were stood in awe at the awesome power of the Eurofighters ripping through blue skies above. There were future delays as well .
More to follow.
Ciao