Golf-It! Glasgow - Course No 675

If you know where to look, Facebook has been awash with comments, all positive, about the R&A's new initiative to promote family orientated golf in Glasgow, including a new 9 hole golf course.  The new course is a combination of re-modelled holes from the former Lethamhill Golf Course (see Blog entry No 544) and completely new holes. After I'd played the old Lethamhill layout in October 2012, I commented in the Blog that the course and related buildings needed serious investment and that since Glasgow City Council were strapped for cash, it seemed highly unlikely that that would ever happen. In other words, I thought that the course had little going for it and faced a bleak future.  

I'm glad I got that completely wrong and now that I've played the course, I'm equally pleased to agree with the many Facebook comments that have been made. As the R&A have described it -

Golf It! is the R&A's new community-based golf and entertainment facility located on the south bank of Hogganfield Loch, following the redevelopment of Lethamhill golf course. The vast new indoor and outdoor attraction is a new innovation and marks a significant financial investment by The R&A towards its purpose of making golf more accessible and inclusive. The new facility  features a range of introductory golf formats including a twist on pitch and putt, adventure golf and community putting greens plus a double decker floodlit driving range and a new look 9 hole course for all the family to play.  These  sit alongside other attractions and activities such as padel tennis courts, nature trails, bike hire and a street food-style dining and drinks area.

The state-of-the-art development is creating more than 100 jobs and offer a range of apprenticeships that will boost employment opportunities for those living locally.  The facility includes something for everyone new to the sport as well as those golfers who already play. The new nine hole golf course incorporates four sets of tees and an integrated ‘Go Golf It!’ par 3 tee position on each hole to encourage people of all abilities to play. Other features include:

• A short game area with three adventure golf courses, Park Golf pitch and putt and a family putting green for people of all ages to enjoy.
• A 55-bay floodlit double-decker Top Tracer driving range, including bespoke family bays and simulators.
• A golf equipment library with easy access to hire equipment for anyone who wants to try before they buy.
• Seven Lochs Visitor Centre with nature trails that link to Scotland’s largest urban nature park.
• Street Food by The Big Feed. 
• Fit, Build, Play retail area by Scottsdale Golf. 
• Three Padel tennis courts by Game4Padel.
• Early Years Nursery operated by Lullaby Lane.
• A long-term education programme across Glasgow with the aim of providing in-curriculum golf experiences to 42,000 children across the city.
• A community orchard and gardens.
• Free bike access in partnership with St Paul’s Youth Forum.

Golf It! opened officially on 5 August 2023 so I'd arranged with Douglas and his son Stuart to play the new 9 hole course on 15 August 2023.  As regular readers of the blog will know, Douglas is still trying to play every course in Scotland and only had one course to go before Golf It! was added to his target.  Anyway, we were booked to play at 1600 hrs  but the weather forecast had been for occasional showers - not the monsoon that began around 1530 that threatened to flood the whole development! The course was still playable by the time the deluge abated but with more ominous towering clouds on the horizon, we'd have to play quickly and be very lucky if we were to get round without a real soaking. 

Facebook comments had highlighted the outstanding quality and smoothness of the greens and the imagination shown in providing 4 sets of tees for golfers of differing abilities. This is a view of the 1st tee, showing the different yardages that were available. I'm still just about hanging on to my 8.6 handicap index, so we chose to play off the pink tee markers, making the course play at 2431 Yards, Par 33. The former Lethamhill layout had poor drainage and would have been completely flooded by the deluge. The new course was very wet underfoot but had stood up remarkably well, the only real difference being that the greens were slower than we'd expected from Facebook comments.

Our 1st hole was an uphill 335 Yard Par 4, with green surface not visible for second shots.  We'd rushed on, had no warm up and agreed to play ready (and speedy!) golf in an effort to beat the next downpour.  Predictably, my drive only went as far as the trees to the right of the photo above.  I've had a foot injury for a while that's only now clearing up so that's my second excuse for an opening double bogey.

The 2nd hole is a really good downhill 141 Yard Par 3, as shown below, complete with background rain.

I'd hit my tee shot to within 15 feet dead on line for an easy 2-putt par, only to be beaten by Douglas's tee shot to 3 feet for our only  birdie of the evening. A good hole though!

The 3rd hole is an uphill 381 Yard Par 4, and the Gents' Stroke Index 1, parts of which  I recognised from the former Lethamhill layout. I'd hit a decent enough drive but I was playing too quickly and after missing the green and 3 putting, it was a poor 7 on the card.  Much the same story unfolded on the 4th, a 517 Yard Par 5 played steeply downhill from the tee.  The fairway dog legs sharp left after that and heavy rough on the inside of the dog leg adds to the difficulty.  

The 5th is a 162 Yard Par 3 that played longer than it looked, so a bogey for me on that one.  The 6th is a 288 Yard Par 4 played from an elevated tee with ball losing rough and trees to the right.  The second shot is uphill to an awkward highly contoured green, as shown below. Readers with good eyesight may be able to spot my ball in the bunker!  Another bogey but we were making decent progress in under an hour for 6 holes and staying dry!

Our 7th was a short 102 Yard Par 3.  It looked easy enough but there's steep fall off slope on the right so my par was decent in the circumstances. 

And so to the 8th, which for me was the best looking hole on the course, as shown below. This is a 303 Yard Par 4 played from an elevated tee with an uphill semi-blind second shot to a green well protected by trees.

I just missed the green, played a poor pitch and run and ended up with another bogey.

This is a view of the 9th green , with the double decker driving range in the background.

The 9th is a 202 Yard Par 3 that looked likely to play longer than it looked, despite being downhill. And so it proved and my final bogey of the round meant I was round in a poor 44, with 20 putts. Still. it was new course for me and one that I really enjoyed, despite the conditions and the threat of further heavy rain.  Our only negative comment was that there were no bunker rakes (yet?) and that the greenside bunker by the 9th looked to have  particularly well-visited, given the many footprints on show.

Congratulations to the R&A and all concerned at Golf It! I really liked the course layout and in time I hope this becomes a model for the future promotion of golf to all ages in local communities. 

We'd all played pretty poorly but for my buddy Douglas this was his second last new course in Scotland, with only the Castle Course in St Andrews remaining. As I know only too well, it takes stamina, determination and a peculiar form of madness to even attempt to play every course in Scotland, from the world famous championship courses to the really obscure ones, tucked away, seemingly miles from anywhere familiar.  Paths less well trodden for both of us, but an unforgettabe journey.  My first round with Douglas was at Glenburn Golf Course (where's that, you might wonder!) in August 2013, (Blog entry 614) and since then we've been on some real adventures, helping each other find new courses and experiencing their unique challenges.  He's a fine man, great company and story teller, and the only St Mirren supporter I know.  Douglas once told me I'm the most sane person he knows.  I'm not sure about that, having just played my 675th course in Scotland, but although his journey is nearing it's end, we two pals will doubtless be back together soon, playing our own interpretations of the sport we love so dearly.  We may even have a beer or two afterwards - stranger things have happened, believe me.

Here's to you Buddie! (a rare Paisley joke)

Royal Musselburgh GC

The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club is the 6th oldest in the World and has the distinction of owning the oldest trophy still played for in the World, the Old Club Cup, dating back to 1744.  The club moved to its present site close to Musselburgfh and Prestonpans in East Lothian in 1926, to a new parkland course designed by James Braid.  The clubhouse building is also one of the oldest, if not THE oldest in Scotland, with parts dating back to the 12th Century.  I'd played the Royal Musselburgh course a few times before, and certainly years before I started writing this blog, which explains why the course is listed in my Blog entry No 1. I'd have been content to leave it at that, as nowadays I much prefer links courses and I have no current connections to the Royal Musselburgh club.  However, the course is one of the venues for the 2023 US Kids Golf European Championships.  The American kid that I've been caddying for over several years in US Kids Tournaments is playing there in this year's 13 age group competition, so I played the course again on 18 May 2023 to remind myself about the layout and check out the condition of the course and any issues that young Ayush might have to face.

The course layout is pretty flat on the Front 9 and relatively straightforward, but is far more demanding and undulating on the Back 9.  Overall, it's a modest 5880 Yards, Par 70 off the Yellow Tees and a far more tricky challenge of 6254 Yards, Par 70 from the Whites.  The 1st Hole is a modest 309 Yard Par 4 opener.  Avoid a couple of fairway bunkers on the right and it's just an easy short iron to the green.  Greenside bunkering is fairly strong throughout the course although I have to say the depth of sand was poor, as I was to find out later in the round.  However, I'd an easy opening par.  The 2nd was even shorter, at a mere 280 Yards, but there are 4 fairway bunkers to avoid.  I took a 3 wood off the tee to ensure I landed short of that trouble and another easy pitch set up a 6 foot birdie putt, which I made, just!

The Tee for 349 Yard Par 4 3rd Hole offers this good view of the old Clubhouse, though I'm not sure about how the (1970's?) flat roofed  extension ever got planning permission.  I 3-putted the 3rd green from under 30 feet for a bogey.  The next couple of holes are of similar length and difficulty so even par after 5 holes wasn't too shabby.

The 6th is the first Par 3 at Royal Musselburgh, as shown here.  The green is small and well protected by bunkering that makes the hole look shorter than it really is.  I took the Course Guide's advice to take one club more and another comfortable par was on the scorecard.

The 7th is a really good hole and a sign that the course is about to become a more serious challenge.  At 363 Yards, fairway dog leg lef and the green is well defended by good bunkering.  A further par was really encouraging.  I'd remembered from years back that scoring was easier on the Front 9, so level par after 7 would certainly do for me. The 8th is a dog leg right Par 4 of 410 Yards with a generously wide fairway, which I missed quite comfortably, finding my first bunker of the day off the tee.  A double bogey 6 was disappointing though.  Next came the 465 Yard Par 5 9th, named after the course designer, James Braid.  The front of the green is well defended by strong bunkering.  I found a narrow gap but found heavy rough at the back of the green, so another bogey followed and I was out in 39, in barely 90 minutes of easy walking.

The course was about to get more challenging and I was glad to have had that decent start.  The 10th is blind off the tee and is a dog leg left 351 Yard Par 4.  I'd sclaffed my drive barely 170 Yards and was left with a long downhill second to a narrow well-defended green.  A bogey was about the best I could do and bunker trouble on the 11th led to a double.  The Course Guide warns that you "cannot go left off the tee" on the 12th.  Well, that's wrong for a start, as my hooked drive was to prove!  Trees on the left meant I'd almost no shot but  a low running 7 iron at least got me back into play.  Bogey there and my 3 over par after 9 was now 7 over after 12.  My playing handicap off the Yellows was 9 so I needed a run of pars to keep the round going my way. The 13th is the Stroke Index 1 hole at Royal Musselburgh, and at 435 Yards this Par 4 is a formidable test.  The tee shot is blind and from the landing zone the fairway runs significantly downhill to another well protected green.  More bunker issues and another bogey. 

The 14th Hole had stuck in my mind over the years, so I knew what to expect.  As the photo immediately below shows, there's nothing to suggest that this 127 Yard Par 3 hole is particularly tricky.  As the subsequent photo shows, there's a deep and steep-sided gulley right in front of the green.  Anything short risks a bogey or far worse.  I was barely a yard short and faced an awkward lie just to be able to hit the ball at all, so yet another bogey and I'd used all of my 9 handicap strokes, with 4 of the most difficult holes on the course still to come.

The 15th is easily the most difficult of the closing holes and although its a meaty 419 Yards off the Yellow tee, deep gulleys running across the fairway mean that you can have 2 or more blind shots and a Par 4 hole playing nearer to 500 yards, uphill. The Course Guide states "be happy to make 5."  I was, but I was now 10 over and mindful that young Ayush might also be happy to make 5 when the tournament starts.

The 16th is a downhill 148 Yard Par 3 that offers some relief and would be my sole par on the Back 9. 17 is a blind Par 4 of 334 Yards running in the opposite direction to the 15th, with similarly tricky fairway gulleys to contend with.  I'd hit a really good drive, blind over a ridge,  but my  approach shot was also blind and as it turned out, really overhit into heavy rough at the back of the green.  Bogey again.  The 18th is an uphill 377 Yard Par 4 that plays longer than it looks.  I'd found this bunker 50 yards short of the green but there was almost no sand in it, which was disappointing.  I got the bunker shot onto the green and 2 putted for yet another bogey.

I'd played the Back 9 in 43 for 82 overall, a net 73 with 33 putts. Not bad I suppose, but 8 bogeys out of 9 holes on the Back 9 was poor.  However, at least I'd gathered a better understanding of how this course should be managed.  I'll be trying to keep young Ayush out of the bunkers and making sure he takes enough club on particular holes.  He's a talented lad, so I don't think my 82 will be much of a target for him.

Royal Musselburgh was good test and I'd recommend you give it a try and good value for money.  The fairways were in really good condition, the  greens were medium paced and smooth and the lack of bunker sand is easily remedied  If you've played Newbattle or Ratho Park, some of the holes here might look very familiar!

Muirfield - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers

Muirfield.  Golfers all over the world will know the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in Gullane, East Lothian as one of the finest links courses in the world.  I'd played it a few times and had never got remotely near playing to my handicap.  That didn't really matter since the experience of walking and playing such a prestigious layout was what it was all about.  The golf society (SEDGC) I'm still a member of used to go there every year until around the mid 1980s and if memory serves I first played Muirfield in 1981, when my handicap would have been around 18.  I didn't beat 100 net (!) and in particular, was completely beaten up by the severity of the bunkering.  Some years later I managed a gross 89 by avoiding most of the bunkers, hitting straight(ish) and putting reasonably well, but that was my best and over the years I'd harboured ambitions to try to play Muirfield again and beat that score.  

Fast forward to earlier this month when Colin, my buddy at Dunbar GC, asked me whether I wanted to play Muirfield on 24 January 2023.  His son in law Stuart is a member of the Honourable Company and had invited Colin to bring along a couple of friends for a morning fourball, followed by a leisurely lunch and light permitting, a few afternoon foursomes holes.  Suffice to say I jumped at the chance, as did Gordon, one of our other Dunbar buddies.  January in East Lothian has been typically cold, wet and pretty miserable, so much to our delight 24 January was a perfect day for golf, a bit cloudy but otherwise mild, with just a light breeze across the links.  I'll get to the actual golf, but first some history and context.

In 1744, Edinburgh Town Council agreed to present a Silver Club to the winner of an annual golf competition over Leith Links.  The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, codified and wrote the original Rules of Golf as a precondition of receiving the Silver Club, which remains the oldest trophy in world golf. From the 1820s onwards HCEG members played more at Musselburgh and by 1836 the club had relocated.  A dedicated clubhouse was built in Golf Place Musselburgh in 1865 and as one of the original subscribers for the Claret Jug, along with Prestwick and the R&A, the HCEG hosted 6 Open Championships between 1874 and 1889.  Due to overcrowding on the Musselburgh Links, the HCEG moved to Muirfield in July 1890. The Muirfield course, designed by old Tom Morris, opened in May 1891 and in 1892 the course hosted the first 72 hole Open Championship. In 1922 the HCEG purchased the existing links and added a further 50 acres of land.  The layout was redesigned by Harry Colt with advice from a past HCEG Captain and since 1892 it has hosted the Open Championship 16 times, together with the Ryder, Walker and Curtis Cups and numerous other international and national competitions.

Muirfield is different from the classic 9 out 9 back links layout, with the opening 9 holes circling clockwise around the perimeter of the course, and the closing 9 holes running anti-clockwise inside the first 9. Although there are fine sea views on some holes the course is separated from the sea by trees and natural dune land and wind can be a significant factor here. We played from the Red (front 9) and Yellow (back 9) markers, meaning the course played to 6457 Yards, Par 71, with a Course Rating of 72.5 and a Slope Rating of 139.  Note that the Red tees aren't "for Ladies'" play.  It's just another of the ways that the ECGC does things- Red out, Yellow back. At Dunbar GC our comparable numbers are 6196 Yards, Par 71, Course Rating 70.4 and a Slope of 124.  My 8.6 Handicap Index converts to a Playing Handicap of 9 at Dunbar and 11 at Muirfield so it was obvious that Muirfield would be a significantly more difficult challenge.  However, I was still hopeful that I'd manage to beat that 89 from many years before.

 

A view from the first tee back to the clubhouse.  The first hole is almost a flat dog leg right 420 Yard Par 4, played directly into the prevailing wind (such as it was).  We'd had coffee in the clubhouse rather than a warm up so I wasn't surprised to find myself still 80 yards short of the green in 2. The greens would prove to be faster than they looked (stimping around 9.5?) and after misjudging the pace my 3 putt double bogey wasn't ideal. 

The second was shorter at 346 Yards, with OOB close to the left side of the green.  Bogey there, but at least I was warming up.  Next, a 370 Yard Par 4.  The last 60 yards of the fairway is squeezed between mounds that reduce it to a narrow strip, with the mounding also restricting visibility of the green itself. Gordon on his way along the 3rd fairway.

A decent drive and a 6 Rescue to within 15 feet set me up for an easy par, but any thoughts of a continued scoring trend were ended at the 4th, a 180 Yard Par 3.  The pin was mid-right on the plateau green close to deep bunkering and grassy hollows.  I missed my "brave" target line by a couple of yards and had a blind shot up a 10 foot bank for my second.  However, a double bogey was poor from there.  

The 5th is slightly uphill and is a short 487 Yard Par 5.  Easy enough if you keep to the fairway.  Stuart's advice was to avoid the 5 bunkers to the right of the fairway and target my tee shot short of the second of 3 bunkers on the left. Unfortunately my drive went right of the right side bunkering, leaving a hugely awkward stance. I was happy enough with a bogey in the circumstances.  Next came the 419 Yard Par 4 6th, which the Course Guide describes as "probably the most demanding hole on the course." Flying the 4 bunkers on the inside of the bend in dog left left fairway wasn't deliberate but somehow I managed what for me was a long drive, setting up a 4 Rescue to the green, a mere 44 Yards long!  Bogey again but I suspect I've scored worse there. 

This is the 7th, a slightly uphill 147 Yard Par 3, played to a plateau green with heavy bunkering and grassy hollows waiting to gobble up anything remotely wayward e.g. my tee shot. I was only a few feet offline to the right but ended up 20 yards right and 15 feet below the green.  My lob wedge to 6 feet was given rightful applause by my playing partners but any hopes of a stunning par didn't last long and a tap in bogey was scant consolation.

The 8th is the Stroke Index 1 hole, for good reasons.  It's a daunting 430 Yard Par 4, requiring a good long drive, left of the 5 bunkers that hug the inside of the dog leg right fairway.  I got that bit right but I still had around 190 to the green.  Three bunkers protect the approach to the green from 58 to 17 yards out, so I tried to steer a 3 wood left to avoid them.  I hit a reasonable shot but at Muirfield the catchment areas for bunkers are often quite considerable and my approach shot rolled sideways into the biggest and deepest of those bunkers, as seen below. 

I'd a hugely tricky shot just to get out, but it was disappointing that I ended up in another bunker on my way to a snowman 8.  That meant I was now 12 over after 8 holes!  The 9th offers no relief and for me, is probably the most tricky hole on the course.  This is a 474 Yard Par 5 that plays directly into the prevailing wind.  I'd hit a decent drive but had an awkward stance in light rough.  My weakest shot of the day dribbled into a fairway bunker (again!) and after 4 shots I still had  to avoid another 5 bunkers protecting the green.  Another 8 for a poor outward 51.  This is a view of the 9th green, clubhouse in the background.

The Back 9 starts with a whopping 446 Yard Par 4 with, for me at least, a blind second shot over deep twin fairway bunkers.  I'd come up just short of the green in 2 and just missed my par.  The 11th has the only completely blind tee shot on the course and is a short 332 Yard Par 4. Thankfully the pin was at the front of the green and an easy wedge helped me avoid the 6  deep bunkers that almost surround the green.  A rare par!  The 12th is a downhill 366 Yard Par 4 that looked deceptively easy.  Avoid  fairway bunkering and it's a simple hole, if you also avoid the 6 deep bunkers around the green.  I managed to miss the fairway entirely on this hole and had the rough been at "Summer" length, my bogey would have been considerably higher. 

This is the 13th, a tricky 156 Yard Par 3.  The Course Guiide says " The green should be an easy target but but is never more than 15 paces wide and angles off to the left in a hollow in the dunes.  On top of that, it is severely bunkered on both sides, drops sharply from back to front and falls away to the right.  You just have to stay out of the sand."  And that's an easy target?

I tried a 7 iron, which thankfully stuck on the bank just short of the green, leaving around a 100 foot putt.  Aye, right, a bogey 4 would have to do, and I know I've scored far higher on this hole.  The 14th is a 432 Yard Par 4, slightly downhill and played into the prevailing wind, this is another daunting hole.  Only 8 bunkers to avoid this time.  The Par 4 15th is almost equally formidable, at 393 Yards, with a remarkable 13 bunkers and significantly sloping green.  I double bogeyed both of those holes!  16 is the final Par 3 and at 179 Yards and almost totally surrounded by 7 bunkers and grassy hollows is a severe test.  The pin was on the right side of the green and after just missing  the green, I'd yet another bogey. 

And so to the 17th, a 478 Yard Par 5 that normally plays downwind and should be fair;ly straightforward.  I'd hit a reasonable drive down the right avoid the 4 bunkers but leaving a semi blind second over another 4.  I just found this bunker, had a poor lie and was daft enough to try to play over the bunker just beyond it as shown here.  I then had an almost impossible lie and had to play back down the fairway. Another double bogey was on the card! 

The last hole at Muirfield is one of my favourite closing holes in golf.  402 Yards for club amateurs like me but a formidable 471 Yards from the tournament tees.  2 bunkers to the left of the fairway were out of range but the one on the right was worryingly well within range.  By this time I'd  seen enough of Muirfield's bunkers to last me a while.  The next challenge was to avoid another couple of fairway bunkers and 2 greenside ones, in an effort to close the round under 100.  I opted to lay up and hit a short pitch to the green.  I'd forgotten just how steep the slopes were on that green and my 12 foot putt for par was quicker than I'd really want, but I was happy with a closing bogey and delighted with the morning's golf. Great company, some really good and bad shots by all 4 of us, no lost balls in my 97 gross, 86 net, with 37 putts. A very poor 26 over par, so my personal record score of 89 remains intact for another round at least.  This a view of the 18th green.

No visit to Muirfield would be complete without their truly sumptuous lunch and a tour of the iconic clubhouse and its priceless golfing artefacts.  Although the course is open to visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays, only 3 fourballs were booked for the hole of the day, including ours and Stuart was the only member among all 12 of us. A round at Muirfield is not cheap but is an experience that goes far beyond "18 holes and there's the door" which I'm afraid I've experienced elsewhere at other major tournament courses I'd better not mention.  From start to finish this was an unforgettable experience so if you ever get an invite to play here, jump at it.  Failing that, just make a tee time reservation for the low season rate if the peak rate is a bit steep for your wallet.  Be prepared to book well in advance and remember, every hole will be challenging and you will need to be extremely skillful to miss all of the bunkers and avoid 3 putting on the huge greens. The course was in truly remarkable condition for late Winter, with full tees and greens and no matts, firm fairways and fast running smooth greens.  Even our weather was kind.  We even went out again at 1545 to play the 10th and 18th and with few lights remaining in the clubhouse and daylight fading fast, I took this final photo of our day at Muirfield.  

Thank you again Stuart for your hospitality and  kindness in making our day so very special.

Stu

Regular readers of this blog and indeed all those who have gone back to the first entries will know that I started my quest to play every course in Scotland in 2009, with the idea that I'd go round by myself.  A change of plan was made late that year when I was joined by a couple of younger guys, Craig Watson and Stu Fleming.  Craig was a Scottish Government auditor at the time and we'd met some years earlier through him working on financial records associated with my Scottish Government work.  Craig and Stu had been best friends since early school days but I first met Stu when we got together for a bounce game at the Glen GC in 2009.  Our first new course was at Archerfield Dirleton in November that year, for what would be many rounds the three of us would have together. 

This is Craig and Stu, inseparable buddies.

Being old enough to be their fathers, I'd thought there might be a slight disconnect between myself and these lads, but golf and more generally the enjoyment of life and touring round the country together meant we were quickly good friends sharing a common goal.  Craig and Stu had young family responsibilities and busy jobs that limited the progress they could make towards our target of playing every course and as the blog shows, most of my new courses were solo trips.  However, we'd a great time together playing remote courses on the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, Fair Isle, Stroma and at Dundonald, Loch Lomond and umpteen lesser known places.

I mention all of this because a few days ago Craig phoned me with the terrible news that Stu had died. The circumstances aren't relevant to this blog. Suffice to say that his family have lost a truly good son, husband and father and Craig has lost his life long best friend.  I'd not seen much of Stu in recent years, apart from when he did some electrical work at my then new house in 2019.  He was so happy then, full of life and plans for the future and it's really tragic that for all the fun the three of us had, Stu will not be around to share in any of our further adventures.  Craig is a member at clubs in Carnoustie and Panmure (playing off 0.5 having got down to scratch!!!) and we'll be playing together there later this year, and hopefully also at Dunbar and the Glen where I'm still a member.  I'll maybe also join Craig when he's playing what for him will be new courses in his own continuing quest to complete the journey around every Scottish course, but it just won't be the same without Stu. 

This is the three of us, Stu on the right, on our way to Fair Isle, the remotest and one of the oddest golf course in Scotland. I hope that one day another golfer will find some of the balls that we lost that day and wonder who was so wayward...... for the record, it wisnae me!  Use the search box near the top left of the blog, key in Fair Isle and open the You Tube links about that particular trip.  One of our best golfing experiences!

I also hope that when you read this particular blog entry, you will look back to some entries that include Stu e.g. Stroma, North Ronaldsay or Scarista on the Isle of Harris.  He was such a good guy and I treasure the memories I have of the three of us playing together and sharing the journey. 

Stu and I on the final green of the North Ronaldsay course. The clubhouse had seen better days many years before and the course no longer exists, having been abandoned and lost to the ravages of the weather.  I suspect that ours was one of the last rounds to be played there.

The lads in action at Askernish, trying to retrieve a ball from one of the many rabbit holes there.  

Note too the distinctive yellow golf bag that served me so well for most of my journey around Scotland.  It finally fell apart a few years ago but after a few indifferent bags since, I've recently tracked down a similarly bright bag that will hopefully last a good few years, starting at Muirfield next week, weather permitting.

No prizes for guessing where this photo was taken! (3rd Tee, Dunbar GC)