Bonnybridge GC - Course no 432

I played this really good 9 hole parkland course just west of Falkirk on 27 July 2011 on another hot sunny day.   The course is 3066 yards Par 36 off the White tees, but since the scorecard doesn't give Yellow tee yardages, I'm guessing that the course I played was around 2850 yards.  The layout is gently undulating, with blind or semi-blind shots on several holes adding to the interest and difficulty.  Although parkland in nature, the course was pretty dry after the recent hot spell, so the fairways were running fast.  The greens also deserve special mention, as they were in really good condition, fast and true running.  Indeed, if I can have only 12 putts over 9 holes, they must be really good!

I'd turned up without booking in advance and was dismayed to see that there was a men's competition on all day.  But as soon as I said I was playing every course for a cancer charity, I was invited to play as soon as I liked and the green fee was waived and one of the club's officials gave me some hints on the course layout etc.  I really appreciated that help and support, so thanks again to Scott Bruce (a great name, by the way!) and to the other club members I met on the day.  

The 1st Hole, a 367 yard Par 4 (off the White tee) is gently downhill, with a blind tee shot and semi-blind second.  A good drive there, but I just missed the small green to the left and rescued par after a good lob wedge and short putt.  The 2nd is a short Par 5, played blind over a steep hill, with a blind downhill second.  I'd only a short pitch and run to the green and holed my birdie putt from 20 feet.  The 3rd was an uphill 392 yard (off the White tee) Par 4 Stroke Index 1, requiring a blind tee shot over a hill.  I'd hit an 8 iron second shot, avoiding the lateral water hazard to the right of the fairway and behind the green but this ran through the green into heavy rough.  Another single putt gave me a bogey after I'd struggled to get out of the rough.  This is the 4th, a tricky 193 yard Par 3, played to a plateau green avoiding a lateral water hazard to the left of the green.  I'd missed the green on the left, ending up between the green and the hazard, so another bogey there after I'd missed a short putt.  The 5th is a downhill Par 5 of only 483 yards (again off the White tee) with a semi-blind drive.  I'd found a shallow fairway bunker with my drive, escaped with an easy 7 iron and found the green with my 7 wood, avoiding a lateral water hazard in front of the green, so another good par there. 

This is the 6th, my favourite hole at Bonnybridge.  This is a short Par 3, playing to around 115 yards off the Yellow tee, with mounds in front of the green, bunkers and heavy rough all adding to the difficulty.  I'd hit an easy 8 iron over the flag to 20 feet, and I missed the tricky downhill putt, but another Par on the card.  The 7th is also good, requiring a long drive and an accurate pitch uphill to an elevated plateau green.  I'd just missed the green to the left, ending up in a bunker a few feet from OOB, but a good bunker shot and single putt meant I'd escaped with another Par.   The 8th was a short slightly crosshill Par 4, playing to around 290 yards off the Yellow tee.  This was my worst drive of the day, a slice that finished in the middle of the 7th fairway, leaving a wedge to the green, 2 putts and another Par.  The last hole at Bonnybridge is a 400 yard slightly uphill Par 4, with a semi-blind tee shot.  I'd just missed the fairway to the left and could only hack out from under low-hanging tree branches, so I finished with another bogey. 

I'd gone round in 39, 3 over par, with only 12 putts.  Bonnybridge is not too demanding if you hit the ball straight and scoring on the day was certainly helped by the excellent condition of the course (and the greens in particular).  I'd enjoyed the round and the friendliness of everyone I'd met, so I'd recommend a visit here.

Lochmaben GC - Course no 431

Polly and I played here on 21 July 2011.  Lochmaben is an 18 hole parkland course in rural Ayrshire, playing to 5933 yards, Par 70.   We'd passed it a few weeks ago after playing at Colvend and liked what we saw, but on closer inspection, this course was slightly disappointing.  The layout is interesting, as befits a course originally designed by James Braid, with a number of holes bordering a small loch, but I'm afraid the experience did not quite live up to our expectations.  The main problem was that the greens were not in great condition.  Maybe we just caught it on a bad day, but courses relatively close to Lochmaben that I've played recently have had better greens.  It may sound trivial, but the scorecard was another irritation.  Its shiny surface meant that my pencil would not leave much of a mark and although the card did well to include Junior yardages, this meant that there was only one set of men's yardages, despite there being separate White and Yellow tees. 

Lochmaben had been a 9 hole course until it was extended in 1995.  The changes have created a reasonably good layout, but the balance of the course is odd, with the front 9 being almost 1000 yards shorter than the back 9.  I'd started reasonably enough to be 3 over after 6 holes.  This is a view of the 7th green.  The 7th was a flat and low-lying 291 yard Par 4, slight dog leg right.  I'd intended to go up the left side of the wide fairway, but poor alignment left my drive headed for tall trees protecting the corner of the dog leg.  I thought I'd cleared them, but my ball had clipped one and gone OOB, costing me a 6 at an otherwise easy looking hole.

This is the 8th, my favourite hole at Lochmaben, a 120 yard Par 3 played over a corner of the loch. Unusually, the ladies tee requires a longer carry over the water, but from the men's Yellow tee I only had a 9 iron, which seemed to cover the hole all the way. In reality, it went about 8 feet beyond the hole, but a rare single putt secured the birdie, leaving me 4 over after 8 holes.  The 9th was anorther good hole, a 295 yard Par 4 with a stream in front of the green and OOB along the right of the fairway.  I'd hit a good drive and had only an easy sand iron to the green off a perfect flat lie.  I'd have been wiser to take a different club, as I didn't make a good connection, sliced the ball into the OOB and closed with a triple bogey 7 for an outward 40.

Scoring was much harder on the back 9 given the extra yardage, made all the more difficult by the condition of the greens.  I did well not to 3 putt, but 47 on the back 9 was still disapointing.  This is the 18th green and clubhouse.  I'd just missed the last green to the right in 2 and had only a short pitch to the hole.  However, I fluffed that one in full view of some members looking out the clubhouse windows, so an unimpressive finish.  An 87, net 77, with 32 putts was eminently forgettable.  Lochmaben is a reasonably good course with some interesting holes, but I don't think I'd want to play there again.

   

Inverurie GC - Course no 430

Polly and I played here on 13 July 2011, the last of 12 rounds I'd played in 12 days.  I'd not known much about the Inverurie course before we played it, other than that it was an 18-hole parkland course, measuring  5430 yards, Par 69, from the Yellow tees.  By chance, we'd saved the best until last, as this turned out to be a really good course, in excellent condition.  The hot and sunny weather helped too, but we both thought that this was probably the best parkland course we'd played in recent days.

The course is moderately hilly, starting with a short downhill 285 yard Par 4.  I'd hit a really good drive and had only a short lob wedge to the green, holing the short putt for an opening birdie.  The next couple of holes are uphill and downhill respectively, making club selection tricky.  I over-clubbed both approach shots and was badly stymied on the 3rd by trees and under-clubbed on the 4th, a testing Par 3 to a plateau green, so I was 3 over after those 4 holes.  The 5th is a good uphill 495 yard Par 5 that plays longer than it looks, so a par there was good.  I then did the next 4 holes in 1 over, getting to the turn in 4 over par.  My one criticism of the course is that the fairway bunkering does not generally not pose much of a test.  For example, I'd found a bunker at the corner of the dog-leg on this, the 334 yard 6th, but from there it was easy to hit the green with a 6 iron.  Later on, I found a fairway bunker on the 17th and got out using a 7 wood.  Maybe some deeper bunkers would set more of a challenge.

There were certainly lots of trees on the front 9, but if anything, the back 9 was even more wooded, with some holes reminding us of the excellent heathland courses at Blairgowrie, with their mixture of pine, silver birch and other trees lining the fairways.  For example, this is the 15th, a gently downhill 162 yard Par 3.  I should have taken a 7 iron but instead opted to go down the grip with my 7 wood, a really stupid choice, as I hit the ground well behind the ball and only moved it 30 yards forward.  I got down in 3 from there but what a poor shot.

There are some really cleverly designed holes at Inverurie, my favourite being the 13th, a 254 yard par 4, aptly named "Dinna [don't] Ditch It" requiring a draw off the tee short of a ditch immediately in front of the green and OOB behind it.  The fairway is quite narrow and the tee shot is semi-blind, with a large tree to the left of the fairway around 100 yards out.  This is where my drive finished, a yard short of the hazard.  A short lob wedge to within a foot, a tap in putt and I'd birdied the hole.  Now if only I could remember how I hit that soft draw!

I'd recovered from my mistake at the 15th by parring the 16th, a 436 gently uphill Par 4, and the Stroke Index 1 hole, so was 8 over with 2 holes to go.  I'd escaped from a fairway bunker on the 17th with my 7 wood, just missing the green but still took a bogey after missing a 4 foot putt for par.  This is the 18th at Inverurie, an uphill 334 yard par 4.  I'd hit a good drive and 8 iron to the front of the green, leaving a long uphill putt with what looked like a double break.  Unfortunately, I left that putt over 6 feet short and missed from there.  I'd gone round in 79, net 69, matching the net par, with 29 putts.  Not bad, but this round could and should have been better.  I'd won against Polly, taking our final score to 7-6 in her favour.

We'd both really enjoyed the layout and excellent condition of the course and I'd strongly recommend it.

Tarland GC - Course no 429

Polly and I had finished our round at Alford by lunchtime on 12 July 2011 so we'd time for another new course nearby, the short 9 Hole parkland course in the village of Tarland in rural Aberdeenshire.  I'd been thinking about playing at Lumphanan (another local 9 hole course) after the round Alford, but the Alford greenkeeper told me it was very hilly and he recommended we try Tarland, which he said was much flatter and in good condition.   It had turned into a warm sunny afternoon and I really didn't fancy a hilly course after all of the games we'd had recently.  We'd also booked to play the next day at Inverurie, so I'll do Lumphanan another time.   Polly opted for a good book and a gin and tonic on the clubhouse veranda. There was a mens' medal competition on, but the course wasn't busy and as at most small village clubs, visitors were still welcome.

The Tarland course is 2764 yards, Par 33 off the Yellow Tees and was in really good condition, with excellent small greens, once you found them.  The 1st was a 293 yard Par 4 with a couple of hillocks in the fairway to add to the difficulty.  I'd hit a poor drive short and left, but a reasonable 7 iron to just short of the small green, a good pitch to within a foot and I'd parred the opening hole quite easily. The 2nd Hole seemed equally straightforward, a 338 yard Par 4, slightly uphill for the second shot.  I'd missed the green to the left but this time I was above the level of the green and the pitch was quite fast downhill, so that cost me a bogey.  This is the 3rd, a slightly downhill 170 yard Par 3.  I found the green with my 6 iron tee shot and had another par, but thencame  to grief on the 4th.

The 4th, as shown here, is an awkward 373 yard Par 4 with a semi-blind tee shot over a small hillock in the fairway.  I'd been waived through by 2 ladies searching for a ball in rough to the right of the fairway.  I sometimes find it tricky to hit a good shot after being waived through, this was one of those times and I hit my tee shot left into equally heavy rough.  I found it OK, but the lie was poor and I'd 170 yards or so to the green.  I gambled with the 7 wood but only just cleared a lateral water hazard around 30 yards short of the green, my ball finishing in another poor lie a few inches from the stream.  Playing back-handed wasn't really an option so I ended up balancing on my left foot, my right in mid-air above the water, trying to play a pitch and run.  I was desperately hoping not to fall backwards into the hazard, since by then the ladies behind me had a good view of the proceedings.  I was happy enough to hit the ball short of the green and preserve some dignity with another pitch and a couple of putts, but a double bogey was not what I'd been hoping for.

The 5th was a 212 yard Par 3, with the left side of the green obscured by trees around 50 yards or so from the tee.  The flag was on the right side of the green but even so, this was a really difficult hole and I was happy enough with a 4.  The 6th was a 410 yard Par 4.  I'd missed the green with my second and had only a short lob wedge to the flag.  Where the sh--- came from I don't know, but that cost me another bogey.  I'd caught up with 3 senior Tarland members by then, but bearing in mind my mistakes on the 4th, I declined their invitation to play through.  The 7th was an uphill 172 yard Par 3, not made any easier after I'd watched these guys play the hole, as I think their best was a 6.  I'd waited until they were on the next tee and hit a good 7 wood to the light rough at the back of the green, leaving a 20 foot downhill putt with around a 2 foot break from the right.  This was one of the most difficult and sloping greens on the course so it was great to hole that putt for a birdie, as witnessed by the greenkeeper, taking a deserved break from bunker repair work after the heavy rain that had affected the area in recent days. 

The 8th was a 428 yard Par 4 with the fairway sloping steeply from right to left.  I'd hooked a drive and took 3 more shots to find the green, bit a good putt limited the damage to another bogey.  And so  to this, the 9th, a 368 yard Par 4.  This was my favourite hole at Tarland.  The tee shot is from an elevated tee, giving a final chance to open the shoulders.  I'd hit a good straight drive and had only a 9 iron to the green.  However, I had seen that there was a stream running across the fairway a few yards in front of the green, so I opted for an easy 8 iron, finding the middle of the green and leaving an uphill 20 foot putt.  I left that one less than 2 feet short and stopped to waive at Polly, still sitting by the clubhouse relaxing in the sun.  Now I'm usually not bad with straight short uphill  putts, but instead of concentrating on it, I left it short again for a careless closing bogey.  I'd gone round Tarland in 39, or net 34, 1 over the net par, with 14 putts.  The course had been in  great condition and wasn't too tricky but I'd definitely left shots out there.  I'd need to play concentrate and play better at Inverurie the following day.

I liked the Tarland course and would recommend it if you're in the area and have an hour or so to spare.  It's easy walking and a fun course.

  

Alford GC - Course no 428

Polly and I played here on 12 July 2011 after we'd played with some friends at Dunblane New GC the day before.  Alford is a very flat 18 hole parkland course in rural Aberdeenshire, measuring a modest 5111 yards off the Yellow tees, Par 69.  The heavy rain over recent days that had had such devastating effects on the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart had also affected Alford and we heard that some houses in the village had been flooded, which is a real shame.  The course, being so flat and low-lying is apparently prone to flooding and had only re-opened for play on the 12th after being closed for a few days.  A surveyor was busy at work as we played to investigate ways of improving the course drainage, but with the surrounding land being so flat, I suspect that it might be difficult and expensive to make significant improvements.  The Pro had advised that the course might still be saturated underfoot but although there was little run on the fairways and the odd puddle remaining, the course was remarkably dry and playable.  The  greens were also in excellent condition, so we had a really enjoyable round.

With only one Par 5 (a flat 501 yards) and Par 4s ranging from only 260 to 385 yards,  Alford isn't anything like as difficult as other courses we'd played recently.  From the 1st Tee, also the "highest" point on the course, I was hitting the ball well.  I had an easy par at the short 260 yard Par 4 Ist and an unlucky bogey at the 2nd after my ball got stuck in a greenside puddle.  I'd just missed the green with my tee shot at the 158 yard Par 3 3rd, but chipped in for a birdie.  I'd reached the turn in 38, or 4 over par and had set the the target of keeping a 6 or worse off my card.  We both found the course a bit bland after our recent rounds over more dramatic courses, but what Alford lacked in drama it made up for by being in super condition, with it's own quirkiness.  There are a few courses that run alongside railway lines and some that are split by railway lines, but I can't think of any other courses where a narrow gauge line runs so close to the play, right through the course.  This is me on the 144 yards Par 3 16th, waiting for the local train (popular with tourists) to pass within feet of the green and along the side of the adjacent 13th fairway. 

I bogeyed  the 16th and not because of that unique distraction.  I'd missed the green to the right narrowly avoiding a water hazard, but with only 2 holes left, I was only 7 over and hadn't taken a 6 or worse.  I bogeyed the 17th after three-putting from no great distance and did exactly the same on this, the 18th hole.  I'd beaten the net par by a couple of shots, going round in 77, net 67, with 33 putts, avoiding a 6 or worse.  However, this was a score on a forgiving course that could and should have been much lower.  We'd certainly enjoyed the course and the novelty of close-passing trains, but with so many to choose from, I doubt I'll play the course again.

Hilton Park GC - Allander Course - Course no 427

Polly had decided not to play the Allander Course after our round over the larger of the 2 courses at Hilton Park GC on 8 July 2011.  The Allander is a 5469 Yard Par 69 off the Yellow tees and like its neighbour, is a hilly heathland course.  However, the Allander is much the easier course and with no-one in front of me (until the 8th) I was able to play quite quickly.  The heat of the morning had been replaced by warm cloudy overcast conditions so it was easy enough to rattle round and just as well, given the weather that developed later in the round.  I was also playing fairly well, with a run of 4 successive pars on the front 9 enabling me to get to the turn in 39, only 4 over par.  This is the excellent 5th Hole, a 370 yard Par 4 dog-leg right.  I'd hit a reasonably good drive but my 2nd shot was semi-blind and I really didn't fancy going straight for the green with my new ball.  Instead, I chipped an 8 iron up the fairway, with the intention of playing a short pitch down to the green.  I didn't see that the fairway fell away to the right and ran all the way down to the green so I was really surprised to find my lay-up second shot had finished on the green quite close, leaving me 2 easy putts for par.  If I played this course again I'd use the same tactic, as it's much safer than trying the direct approach.

I was waived through by a Ladies 4-ball on the 10th, just as the rain started.  The first bolt of lightning and roll of thunder (some miles away) was on the 11th, a downhill 524 yard Par 5.  I played the hole far too quickly and took 7 whilst deciding whether it was safe to continue and almost ran the short 285 yard Par 4 12th Hole (another par) as the weather worsened and the lightning got closer.  I bogeyed the uphill 13th and although the rain had got worse, the lightning seemed to have stopped, so I decided to try to finish the course.  The 14th is a 331 yard downhill Par 4.  I'd hit a good long drive and only had a flick with my sand iron.  This the result leaving me with an easy tap in for my only birdie of the round (the rain by this time was torrential, as the photo shows!)

By then I'd caught up with Bob, a local member, who kindly invited me to join him for the last few holes (and subsequently very kindly made a donation to Cancer Research UK - every contributions helps the cause and makes our golfing efforts even more rewarding!)  The rain and lightning stopped just as quickly as they'd started and my good play continued, with further pars on 15 and 18.  I'd gone round in 79, net 69 to match the par of the course, with 30 putts.  The Hilton Course is a far more substantial test, but the Allander is good fun to play and although still quite hilly, it's not nearly as testing a walk.  Together, these courses offer a great day out. 

I'd played 9 courses in the past 7 days and had gone round the last one in net par in just over 2 hours, but it was time for a couple of days' rest before resuming the Challenge at Alford and Inverurie.

Hilton Park GC - Hilton Course - Course no 426

Polly and I played this excellent 18 hole heathland course just north of Glasgow on 8 July 2011, this being the longer of the two 18 hole courses at Hilton Park GC.  The Hilton Course is 5942 yards off the Yellow tees, Par 70 and is a really good test.  8 July was a baking hot day after the heavy rains in recent days, so the course was soft and playing to its full length.  We'd been advised that the course was quite hilly.  With peat-based soil and tree lined fairways, the course was in great condition, with excellent fast-running greens, despite the recent rain.  I'd really need to play it again, but my impression is that some of the longer holes were quite similar, with tee shots from elevated tees, played downhill to narrow tree lined fairways, some with streams running across, before long uphill second shots to elevated greens.  For example, this is the 369 yard 11th Hole, which plays a lot longer thahn it looks.  I played the Hilton Course pretty well and  found it easy to bogey most holes.  However, pars were quite elusive (I only parred 2 of the Par 4s and 1 of the Par 3s). 

This is the excellent 17th, a steeply downhill 184 yard Par 3.  I'd found the course quite tiring and the heat and humidity didn't help.  Being so steeply downhill, I knew the hole would play short, but I still played my 7 wood.  Bad idea, since it went long and right, leaving me an awkward pitch over a bunker to a green well below my ball that also sloped away from me.  I played a decent lob wedge but couldn't stop it from rolling off the front left of the green, taking double bogey from there.  That left me needing a par up the last and for Polly not to score a Stableford points for me to avoid losing our Summer Competition by 7-4.

This is the last on the Hilton Course and another steeply uphill hole, this time a 360 yard Par 4.  I hit Driver, 8 iron to the back of the green, but the green is huge and sloped steeply downhill, from back to front.  Meanwhile, Polly was on the green in net 3, so I really had to hole a 60 foot downhill putt with a 4 foot break (to quote the Scottish double positive, "Aye, Right!")  I had a closing 3-putt for an 89 shot total, net 79, with 32 putts.  Polly had won 7-4, our miniature Claret Jug and a year's domestic bragging rights, so well done Darling!  We'd enjoyed the course and the sunshine, but it was time for a quick beer before I tackled the equally hilly  but thankfully shorter Allander Course at Hilton Park.  I didn't see the irony immediately, but I'd bought myself a pint of a local real ale named "Bitter and Twisted" - but at least I'd avoided the stronger "Theakston's Old Peculiar."