Girvan GC course no 241

I played this municipal course, run by South Ayrshire Council, on 26 December 2009.

Polly and I had booked to play at Dundonald Links GC on Christmas Eve 2009 to celebrate my 60th birthday, but snow, ice and frost put paid to that idea. We'd also booked to play at Ayr Bellisle on Boxing Day, but again, the weather made the course unplayable. We soldiered on down the coast a bit and although the whole country seemed to be cloaked in snow and ice and sub-zero temperatures, conditions had eased by the time we got to Turnberry. There was no-one around there and the car park was empty so we didn't bother going in to ask if the Ailsa course was open and pressed on to see what Girvan was like.

I'd read that the first 8 holes there were down by the sea, so we were planning to at least walk some of the course and perhaps take some photographs. Amazingly, there was no snow or frost on the course and the starter confirmed that it was indeed open. He was quite proud that on a day when travel had been seriously disrupted across the country, his course was one of the few that were open. As it turned out, there was only one player several holes in front, so I had a clear run and went round in just over 2 hours. Polly was still getting over a cold, so she carried the camera and took great delight in refusing a few short gimmies on the temporary greens.

Girvan GC is only 4590 yards, par 64 off the yellow tees, but was playing shorter, because of the hard ground and temporary greens. I went round in a net 67, thanks to some missed short putts as the greens were, at best, pretty poor. The first 8 holes are indeed right down by the sea on a narrow strip of links land. The first hole was playing about 290 yards downwind with out of bounds hard on the left. I nailed the drive and had a lob wedge back to the green, missing a short putt for par. As Polly said, I'd come a long way to play the course, so gimmies were out.

The views on the first part of the course were terrific, with the Mull of Kintyre, Ailsa Craig and Arran all clearly visible. On the left is me on the 2nd tee, with a (rare!) fine drive that led to the first par of the day. Best holes on the seaward side of the course were 5, a 115 yard par 3 with out of bounds to the right and behind the small green and 6, 289 yard par 4 into the wind, with out of bounds all down the right side.

The photo below was my tee shot at 6. I managed a birdie at the 8th, which had been aptly named as "Right Scunner" a difficult 218 yard par 3. That turned out to be the highlight of the round, as the last 10 holes, up the road and down behind the clubhouse were pretty uninspiring by comparison. Gone were the magnificent views out to sea, replaced by the dismal view of the back of an Asda supermarket and a caravan park, closed for the winter. The best hole on that part of the course was 15, a 364 yard par 4 over a river, with a blind second to an elevated green. I also liked 16, a short downhill driveable par 4. However, I can't think of many other courses that finish with 2 par 3's and poor ones at that. Number 17 required a 213 yard carry to an uphill green (aye right!), and 18, a 125 yard hole, involved a blind shot over some trees. I played my 9 iron, went through the green but got my par with a good putt.

Girvan starts off strongly but simply peters out, leaving a long walk back over a bridge and up a path round the back of the clubhouse. A pity, because the opening holes are really good fun.

Scoonie GC and Falkland GC course nos 239 and 240

I played these courses on 13 December 2009 on a cold, clear and windless day with a heavy frost lasting all day. By the time I got to the Forth Road Bridge there was dense freezing fog and it looked as though golf was pretty unlikely. I pressed on to Leven, where the fog cleared and to my amazement Scoonie was actually open, though with winter greens and frozen ground. This is a view across the course to the sea and the sunrise. It really was as cold as it looks!

Scoonie is on the main road to St Andrews and is another excellent course operated by Fife Council. It is 5133 yards off the yellow tees and a par 67. With winter greens in play, it was playing a bit shorter but the unpredictable bounces off the frozen ground made the course quite tricky. I birdied the short par 4 second hole and particularly liked the 5th and 6th on the front 9. Both of those holes run alarmingly close to the main road and care was needed to avoid a hook off those tees. This is the 5th, a 282 yard hole.

The back 9 is pretty good too, with greater variety to the holes. The 13th was totally bizarre and the shortest hole I've played in a long time. At 104 yards normally, a winter tee and temporary green had reduced it to 55 yards accordingly my state of the art laser range finder. I missed the tiny green and took 4 - though the extreme slope on the green didn't help. I thought the best hole on the course was the 15th, a 412 yard par 4, with a downhill dog leg second shot. I managed to get round in 78, net one under par. Although the normal greens were out of play, the surfaces looked really good and I really liked the layout and enjoyed the walk. The clubhouse was pretty basic, but very welcoming for all that and the hot soup and sausage rolls afterwards were a treat on a bitterly cold day. Scoonie is well worth playing and a real bargain at £10. There are many other courses to play, but I'd happily go back when thermals and a woolly hat could be left at home and the full course was at its best. Another good local course, unpretentiously nestling over the fence the more famous Leven GC.

Falkland Golf Club was simply great fun and one of the best 9 hole courses I've played in a long time. Being out in the countryside, it was even more frosty than Scoonie, but I was assured in the clubhouse that it never closed and yes, "it was perfectly playable."

I was also invited to choose whether to play to the greens or to the temporary ones nearby. One look at the frozen course and it was obvious that the responsible option was the temporary greens. I really liked Falkland, from the cosy and warm little clubhouse, the genuine welcome and interest in what we were doing to raise funds for cancer research, to the course itself. Any club that puts up fairy lights around the first tee at Christmas time deserves a visit.

The first hole turned out to be devilishly tight, with out of bounds tight on the left, and with all 5 of the members in the clubhouse looking on, I managed to hit the fairway, to a round of applause from my indoor audience. Needless to say on such a cold day, I'd the course to myself, as none of the members felt the need to be out there. I parred the first 3 holes and birdied the 4th. The second hole was odd as the wide fairway was shared with a full sized football pitch, complete with changing rooms and a small shelter. At 476 yards par 5 and stroke index 1, it was formidable indeed, but I did wonder how things were on match days. There was a notice politely asking footballers to avoid walking over the teeing ground and the footprints in the frost showed that golfers avoided walking on the pitch, but is golf suspended when the football is on? I wonder....

the photo above is a view of the 6th green - a lovely winter scene.

By the time I got to the 9th tee, I was still on par and headed for a pretty good score, even on a shortened course with temporary greens. A good straight drive later and I had 90 yards to go, except I'd forgotten about the sunken stream traversing the first and ninth. I nearly fell trying get my ball and took a 6, to finish the round in 2 over par. My first tee audience had gone home by now and the clubhouse was closed. A shame, since I wanted to tell them that I'd really enjoyed playing their lovely little course. I'll maybe go back sometime, hopefully avoiding the water on the 9th. This is a view up the last hole, with Falkland Palace in the distance.

I wandered around the old village for a while. Falkland Palace was closed, but it looked stunning in the frost and fading light and the narrow streets were deserted apart from the odd tourist lingering, like me, to enjoy the last of the day.

Kinghorn GC and Lochore Meadows Golf Course Course nos 237 and 238

These are another two of the municipal courses managed by the Fife Council. I played them on 5 December 2009, a wet but mild day (for a Scottish winter!), with no wind. Craig and Stu had recently played Kinghorn and reckoned it was surprisingly good. I agree and thoroughly enjoyed the course, despite the wet overhead and underfoot conditions. Kinghorn is a par 65 of only 4587 yards off the yellow tees and was playing even shorter, from some forward winter tees. However, the greens are small and although most holes are on the short side, it is still a good test and was in really good condition, despite the rain which had affected other neighbouring courses (Lochore Meadows for example!). Although the course is set well above the village and on top of a cliff quite far back from the sea, it plays as a links and has very good drainage. I managed to go round Kinghorn in a net 60, with 30 putts, ignoring a rare navigational mistake at the second - well, it was raining, I got lost, and didn't score the penalty. The 2nd is called Braeside and is a 189 yard par 3, which from the name, I took to be on the side of a hill. True enough, straight in front of the 2nd tee, about 190 yards away, was a hill side green, with 3 golfers on it that I assumed were in front of me. I played the hole, got a 4 and followed the 3 golfers down to what emerged was the 6th tee. After going back to the 2nd tee, it turned out that it should have been played over another hill, to the right, with a blind tee shot.

I managed a 4 there too, then wandered around some more, looking for the 3rd. This is the view from the 3rd winter tee, the green being partly hidden by the right side of the wall. A clever little hole but a hesitant start to the round, 3 over after 3 holes. The best hole on the front 9 was undoubtedly the 8th a 461 yard par 4, stroke index 1. I managed a 5 with a long putt after a poor drive that left me with a blind 3 wood over another hill.

The back 9 was even better, with 5 par 3's and a couple of short par 4's. This is the 12th, a downhill par 4 of 399 yards, showing the excellent new clubhouse. By this time, it had stopped raining and the outstanding views over the Forth estuary and beyond could really be appreciated.

The golf was also improving and although the back 9 is really short, with a total length of only 2186 yards and with 5 par 3's it was great fun. This is a side view of the 15th, looking down the 16th. Overall, I thought that Kinghorn was a really good course, ideal for a summer's evening. Well done to Fife Council for presenting this course so well, even on a wet winter's day. A real bargain at only £14 for a weekend round.

With a couple of hours daylight left, I drove over to Lochore Meadows Golf Course, within a large country park. Like Cowdenbeath earlier in the week, Lochore Meadows was soaking wet, with standing water almost everywhere. Indeed, I was really surprised that the course was open at all.

One local clearly thought that the conditions were pretty poor, having chalked onto the starter's hut door the request that he move the hole at the 6th, which was under an inch or so of water.

The course was deserted apart from me and Jamie, a lad of 13 or so, mustard keen to play his third round of the day, so we played the course together in the quickly fading light. The course was not at its best due to the wet conditions but it looked to be a good layout with tree lined fairways and some pretty good holes. Good value at only £8 a round. My favourite hole was the 3rd, a good 529 yard par 5, Stroke index 1, uphill to the green. I took 6.

This a view of the 8th, a 521 yard par 5, where I managed another 6. By then the mist was coming in and we finished the 9 holes with a few minutes of light remaining. Jamie was tempted to play some more holes, but reconciled himself to the practice putting green. He was still there when I drove out of the car park in the dark!

Canmore GC and Cowdenbeath GC Course nos 235 and 236

I played these 2 courses on St Andrew's Day 2009, a bitterly cold but thankfully dry and sunny day. Canmore was first and a nice course it was too, despite being almost surrounded by housing. At barely over 5100 yards off the yellow tees, it is pretty short, but I really enjoyed it despite the fairways and rough being icy or soaking wet and the greens having been recently hollow tined. The bunkers were also frozen solid, although luckily I was only in one of them. I went round in a net 64 against a standard scratch score of 65 over the yellow course, with a birdie at the first, so the golf was pretty good. This is a view up the hill at the last, aptly called "Up the Hill" - makes a change from "Home" I suppose.

This is the 17th, a really good par 4 of 421 yards, requiring a fade off the left side of the sloping fairway and a good strong second. I took 6, trying too hard to avoid the bogey 5 that I should have settled for after my poor second shot! A pity, since I'd managed to keep a 6 off the card until then. Typical course management, Alan.

I was also impressed with the friendliness of all of the members I met, who went out of their way to either let me play through, or tell me about the course. Indeed, it was offered that I should play for free, since I was doing all of the Scottish courses for charity. I really appreciated that gesture, which will go towards future petrol costs etc. There was nothing pretentious about Canmore. Just a local course for local people and none the worse for that.

Cowdenbeath GC is a municipal course, run by Fife Council and known locally as Dora. I must find out why sometime! Dora was even wetter than Canmore, with most of the fairways completely saturated or with deep puddles. The fairways were wide, suggesting that Dora would be a good course for beginners and I passed a couple on the 4th, a good 104 yard short hole. I also liked the 3rd, a 295 yard uphill par 4 with a blind shot to a small green. I almost managed the birdie, foiled only by an outrageous crown around the hole, a feature of most of the holes.

Below is a photo of the second, a short, plain and unmemorable hole typical of much of this course. The setting sun and the boggy conditions made some of the holes on the back 9 more tricky to play, but I'm afraid I didn't take to Dora. I soon gave up trying to find relief from the standing water. My Footjoy Aqualite golf shoes will dry out soon and my golf trousers are already in the washing machine. Been there, done it, but unless the course was fully dried out and the greens were in better condition (and the bunkers showed some modest sign of being cared for e.g. raking) I would not rush to play it again.

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Swanston New GC - Templar and Templar Medal Course nos 233 and 234

It was disappointing to find that the Portobello Course was closed. I also forgot to ask the Swedish starter what had brought him to a small municipal course in Edinburgh, particularly as he'd obviously played the one Swedish course I've played (at Norkopping, in July 1992) - it is indeed a small world.

We still had a couple of hours of daylight, so Craig and I nipped over to Swanston New, his home course. I'd been a member from 1980 to 2001 at Lothianburn, immediately adjacent to Swanston, and I had known several members there. The original Swanston had been a very hilly course and not a personal favourite, despite it being one of two courses where I'd broken 70 (once!). It was until recently firmly on its uppers, with falling membership and rising costs and with so many courses in the Edinburgh area, Swanston was never likely to be hugely popular for visitors.

However, with major investment in recent years from the land owner (and a huge risk in my opinion) Swanston has clearly turned the corner. The old clubhouse has gone, replaced by a really comfortable restaurant and bar open to the public that remarkably still retains the feel of a golf clubhouse. The top part of the course has also been abandoned and replaced by some flatter and much improved holes. Around this time last year a group of friends and I played the old course for a final time, playing the old 15th, a short steeply downhill hole with our woods. Why? - because I used to always do that to tease an old friend and former Swanston member, Dave Tyndall, who used to despair every time I took a huge but half-speed swing with my driver, only to chip the ball onto the green (or more often, into the gorse bushes behind the green!) I haven't seen Dave for a while as he's given up golf, but I still smile thinking back to the many rounds I had with him, Graham (Sconnie) and Donald (Squeaky) who were also members at the time. Happy days indeed.

We also played the new 18 hole layout earlier this year and what an improvement. Swanston is still moderately hilly, but now has some good new holes and is deservedly more popular with visitors and has a growing membership. I'm not sure how the financing worked but the owner's gamble has paid off, so good luck to him and to the club members who braved the lean years and are now rightly proud of what they have.

When I played the new 18-hole course, there was clearly an interesting development going on at the bottom end of the site. A driving range and short course had been added, using previously scrubby farmland between the old course layout and the Edinburgh By-Pass. As I found out when Craig and I dropped by on 20 November, the short course is in fact a 9 hole par 3 layout, with holes ranging from 80 to 146 yards, named the Templar Course. This was really good fun to play, with fast running smooth greens built to USGA standards. I managed 6 pars, restoring some confidence after my dismal performance at Archerfield earlier in the day.

We also had time to play the Templar Medal Course, which Craig told me is for members and their guests only. This course was set out within the Templar course and consisted of 6 holes, played 3 times when a medal competition was being held. The first hole was played from the first tee to the second green, the second hole was the third on the normal Templar card, the third hole was combination of the fourth tee and the 5th green, and so on. Since we had to miss out every second green and play over or around golfers playing the normal Templar 9-hole course, I had no idea where we were going and relieved that Craig was not simply having a laugh at my expense (though I'm sure that time will come as our travels progress!) With the light fading and a storm blowing up, we finished the Medal Course as quickly as we could, but what a practice facility. The Templar is ideal for beginners as well as better players seeking to practice their iron play and short game and was in great condition. The creation of an 18 hole layout is easily done by using separate tees within an otherwise 9-hole layout, but I'd never seen anything quite like the Templar courses. I assume that when it is busy everyone needs to play the same 6 or 9 hole layout, though.

This is me, after the Templar medal course, and just before the storm arrived! The hole above is the 4th on the Templar course - but you drive over it when playing 212 yard 3rd hole on the Medal course! See what I mean about confusing?

Archerfield - Dirleton Course no 232

This simply a superb links course within an outstanding premier golf development in East Lothian, complementing the excellent run of courses along the coastline, from Longniddry to Dunbar. Although it is clearly a modern development, it resurrects the playing of golf over the Archerfield that began several hundred years ago and petered out after the Second World War.

I'm also a member of the Rhodes Golf Club, a club for local artisans that has playing rights over the East Links at North Berwick, where the Glen Golf Club is also based. The Rhodes GC is over 100 years old and in the centenary book highlighting its history, there are occasional references to the Archerfield GC, which used to be based at the Archerfield Estate and played its golf over the land that was used to create the new Dirleton course. In fact, the Rhodes first played a friendly match against the Archerfield club in 1907 and there were various other connections between the 2 clubs. I wonder whether the current Archerfield GC, with all of the investment in its excellent facilities, would welcome the resurrection of those matches, since at the Rhodes at least, I expect that there would be fierce competition to get into the team for the "away" fixtures!

Craig, Stu and I had the great pleasure of playing the Dirleton course on 20 November 2009, on a crisp sunny morning that belied the horrendous flooding being endured in Cumbria and South West Scotland. The course had obviously been hit by lots of recent rain, but was in superb condition, with well-maintained fairways, deep bunkers (lots of bunkers) and fast-running greens. Being such an exclusive club, access for non-members can be difficult and very expensive, but we were extremely grateful for the generosity of a local member who paid our green fees, ensuring we had a great day at this exceptional course. Thanks Andrew, we really appreciated your very kind gesture.

This is the 7th hole, a difficult par 3 of 191 yards from the Black Tees (Craig played from these), well protected by bunkers and a stream. I played off the Blues (167 yards) and Stu, who has only been playing for a couple of years, played off the Whites (156 yards). I three-putted for a 4, but managed my first par at the next hole, a short 339 yard par 4. There were many outstanding holes on the course, but our favourite had to be the 10th, a shortish par 5. The drive is to a narrow fairway with bunkers awaiting anything even remotely wayward. However, Craig found the middle of the fairway and hit the best shot of the day, a swinging draw out of the screws with a 4-iron into a stiff right to left breeze, which found the undulating green and stopped 14 foot 8 inches from the hole (yes, he did measure it and rightly so!) An unerring putt found the middle of the cup for an outstanding eagle 3. I managed a reasonable 6 after managing not to fall into the burn with this, my 4th shot. Sadly, my golf went downhill from there. In the last medal of 2009at the Glen GC, my handicap went up to 12, so it was with some relief that I finally walked off Dirleton with a 108, net 96. I didn't find every bunker, but it just seemed that I'd drive to the wrong side of the fairway, or find the wrong slope around the greens, or end up 5 feet past the hole, missing the putt back. Even when I did hit an occasional good shot, such as at the 6th, the wind and the slope took the ball straight of the green into a deep bunker. However, such was the quality of the course that somehow I didn't really mind. At some other courses I can think of, the odd expression of disappointment might have passed my lips, but not here. I did have an 8 on the card (5 times!) but did I care? I was enjoying the challenge of the course too much to do that. OK, so a dismal failure, but great fun and excellent company on the first of many rounds with Craig and Stu.

Here was my drive at the 18th, a lovely 409 yard par 4 for me, something less for Stu, who comfortably beat me with a creditable 97, net 75. Next time, young Stu, next time! Craig ended up with a magnificent 77 off the black tees - a great score.

Archerfield has a second course, the Fidra, so we look forward to returning there and to enjoying the considerable comforts of the clubhouse. Foolishly, we thought we'd try to squeeze in a round at Portobello, a 9 hole municipal course in Edinburgh. From the sublime to the ridiculous in one sense, since although Archerfield had been in great condition, some of the Portobello course was under water and the "Course Closed" sign was on display.

A Change of Plan

When I started this blog, I'd imagined that I'd go round the remaining courses in Scotland alone or with Polly, my wife. However, when I told a few friends and work colleagues what I was intending to do after I retired in a few weeks' time (hooray!), one came forward to say that he and his friend were doing exactly the same, but for a Cancer Research charity. We quickly saw the advantages in teaming up our efforts and to use our various friends to obtain access to individual courses when necessary and more generally, save on travelling expenses. Accordingly, look out for references to Craig Watson and Stu Fleming, both of whom are members at Swanston New GC, in Edinburgh. Although I'm still intending to play all of the courses that I've not yet played, Craig and Stu have started from scratch and intend to play every course in Scotland, keeping photos and score cards as evidence of their progress, with postings on their own website.

We know that Ernie Payne has already done 611 courses, basing his own definition of a golf course as a course with at least 9 holes, of which 2 or more must be par 4s and including courses on private estaes that are not normally open to the public. We intend to try to play any course that has its own score card, irrespective of the minimum number of holes, so we'll be trying to play all of the pitch and putt courses we can find as well as private courses and those with less than 9 holes.

We expect that one of the challenges will be to identify all of the courses and where they are in private hands to persaude the owners to let us play them. However, that is the challenge and we are determined to do our best to achieve our goals. Craig and Stu are also developing their own website where donations to help cancer research can be made. This blog will in due course connect to that site and highlight my own progress round those courses I've not yet played.