Scottish golf courses - all of them: Course no 679

Regular readers of the blog will know that I'm a member of 2 golf clubs, Dunbar GC and Glen GC. That's about to change, as I'm not renewing my membership at the Glen in 2026, since I now play most of my golf at Dunbar. The Glen remains a fine club with an outstanding course and after over 35 years there, it'll be a wrench to leave, but I'll probably get better value for money by paying standard green fees for the odd game there (I only played 4 rounds at the Glen in 2025). Retaining my membership would just be blocking someone from joining who might make better use of their annual subscriptions.

Anyway, when I was the Glen's Match Secretary some years ago, I helped to establish a 9 hole course using some existing holes and a new hole that was intended to provide members of all ages with a shorter course to play when energy/time/daylight didn't permit a full round, or just provide opportunities for general practice/fun golf.

The 9 hole course therefore uses existing holes 1-4 and after playing 4, you turn left to a tee to the left of and half way along the 14th fairway. This tee serves a new 160 Yard Par 3 played to the existing 14th green and from there, existing holes 15-18 complete the 9 hole course. Scottish Golf has measured it for slope indexing and given the club approval to use the 9 hole layout for handicap purposes. So for my "all Scottish courses challenge" purposes, this is a new course, particularly since there's a hole that can only be played as part of the 9 hole course. "All courses" also means all unique and self-standing holes, so Glen's 9 holer counts.

I need to insert a disclaimer before detailing my latest and in all probability my last round over the 9 hole course. I was not involved in naming it as "Fouranback" i.e. 4 holes out and 4 holes back to the clubhouse. I still think that name is too contrived and misses an opportunity to be more creative. I'd have preferred "The Daisy" recognising the little island adjacent to the 14th fairway and the 5th hole on the 9 hole course - though since daisies are weeds, I doubt our greenkeeper would be impressed. Alternatively, I'd have named the course "The Douglas" after one of the Glen's most illustrious and well-known members, the inimitable Robbie Douglas, but Fouranback it is.

So, Fouranback is a Par 34 course measuring 2782 Yards from the Yellow Tees. My first round there was in April 2016, just before it opened officially. That was also my first game after a triple bypass heart operation. My rusty 45 gross wasn't important. The real importance was just the joy of being able to play again after such major surgery. (My brother John didn't survive almost exactly the same operation some years earlier, so being back fit enough for 9 holes was a really emotional experience). I'd also managed a gross 37 on 3 May 2016, so that was the target for possibly my last round over Fouranback, on 18 March 2026.

The 1st hole at the Glen is sometimes described as the worst hole on the course, but for me, that's unfair and misses the point. The Glen is primarily coastal parkland rather than pure links in nature, with the 1st and 18th fairways being almost at sea level and most of the rest of the holes set out high above. So, playing the 1st gets you up to the rest of the course and the topography doesn't allow any other affordable design alternative. It's dangerous enough, since wayward drives off the elevated18th tee can easily reach the 1st fairway. It's only 330 Yards, but your approach shot to the narrow green will be blind and steeply uphill, with the fairway narrowing towards the green. Heavy ball-losing rough awaits anything even slightly wayward, so a straight drive and an accurate wedge (or more!) are required. My approach had finished short of the green, still leaving a 20 yard blind chip. The 1st green is one of the trickiest to read so a bogey 5 wasn't great, but I'd scored much worse! This is a view looking back down the hole. I missed the putt!

The 2nd hole is a 361 Yard Par 4, with OOB up the right of a fairway that slopes down from right to left. The green surface isn't visible for most approach shots and there's a hidden downslope at the front of the green, making distance control quite tricky. Another bogey. This is a side view of the 2nd green, looking out to sea.

The 3rd is statistically the easiest hole at the Glen (and at Fouranback), a 343 Yard Par 4. The fairway dips steeply down 20 feet after around 180 yards, leaving a pitch to an upward sloping narrow green. The greenside bunkering can be awkward and you'll not see the deep bunker top left side of the green when lining up your approach shot. An easy par for me.

The 4th is a difficult uphill 178 Yard Par 3. The tee shot is blind and for me at least, must be played a few yards right (in line with the ball washer by the tee in the distance). The green is long, narrow and slopes significantly top right down to bottom left. I missed the green to the left and had a difficult chip from heavy rough, so a bogey wasn't surprising. This is a view from the tee. The line for me is roughly half way between the trees on the right and the single tree on the left (the sole survivor from a stand of a dozen or more, after a huge storm a few winters ago).

Turn left after the 4th and you'll see a small tee halfway along the left side of the Glen's 14th fairway, serving a 160 Yard Par 3 on Fouranback played to the 14th green. This is a view from Fouranback's 5th tee.

This tee is within range of slightly wayward drives from the 14th tee so anyone playing the Fouranback needs to be careful (as do players from the 14th!). The playing convention here is for Fouranback players to give way if there is anyone already playing their 14th hole. After letting them play on, Fouranback players have priority. This arrangement works well but I took the opportunity to explain that convention to a group of visitors that were clearly non-plussed when in their view, I'd "cut in" on their game. They'd not known there was a Fouranback course and that I'd obtained the Starter's permission to play Fouranback when the Glen's full course was relatively busy. Anyway, hit your tee shot left and get ready for a big score. I'd found the deepest of the 3 bunkers right of the green and was happy enough with another bogey.

The Fouranback then plays out on Holes 15-18 of the Glen's layout. The 15th is a 467 Yard Par 5, which although short in yardage, can be an absolute beast in the prevailing westerly winds. Nine bunkers, 5 of which might be hidden when playing the hole. Penalty areas and heavy ball-losing rough all the way up the right of the fairway add to the difficulty, so a par here was pretty good. This is a view from the back of the green.

The 16th is an almost flat 186 Yard Par 3, normally played downwind and protected by deep bunkering in front of the green. Be prepared for an audience watching from the clifftop car park. I'd an easy par after just missing the green, leaving a simple chip and single putt. This is a side view of the green.

The 17th is a 394 yard Par 4 that can also play a lot longer in the prevailing winds. OOB all down the right of the fairway and the green itself adds to the difficulty so a bogey 5 wasn't too bad. This is a sideways view of the green.

The last hole on Fouranback is the Glen's 18th, providing a memorable finish to any round here. The tee shot is played from an elevated tee with around an 80 foot drop to the fairway. Anything hit left is OK, (assuming you miss anyone playing the 1st!) but a wayward shot right will be OOB. I've even seen balls go into the sea when the tide was out and OOB balls landing between parked cars that bounce back into play, so this tee shot is not for the faint of heart. I'd hit a decent drive but I'd missed the green left, had a pitch to 6 feet and missed the putt. I'd scored better on that hole and much, much worse, so that was my most recent and potentially last round over Fouranback, a gross 40, net 35, with 16 putts. Not great, but still a pleasure and my first round in 2026 with warm dry conditions and a gentle breeze.