Spey Valley Golf Course - course no 347

Polly and I had been due to play the Spey Valley championship golf course in Aviemore a few weeks ago, but we'd a minor problem with the car, so thanks to the guys in the pro shop for switching our tee time to 29 August 2010. The forecast had been for a warm sunny day, but this is Scotland so we took our wet suits, just in case. We'd also taken the Pro's advice to hire a buggy, as the course is well spread out, with considerable distances between some of the holes. Wet suits and a buggy were the right choice, since although it was sunny lower down the country, once we got up to Aviemore and into the mountains, it was cold and raining. Indeed, it was only 4 Degrees C when we arrived at around 1100 hrs! The excellent Spey Valley course is a hefty 6653 yards, par 72, off the yellow tees and is a moorland course, set high in the foothills of the Cairngorm Mountain range. The mountain views were terrific, spoiled only by increasingly frequent cloud cover and squally showers. This is me, ready for action by the 1st tee, before the next shower arrived. Polly had opted to drive the buggy rather than play. The wind and rain was coming in from the north west, and with the steering wheel on the left of the buggy and the layout of the course and timing of the showers, Polly got a regular good soaking whilst I was relatively sheltered. I don't think she saw the funny side of that and to be fair, she looked freezing cold!

I thought that Spey Valley was a fantastic layout in great condition. Despite the heavy rain that was falling the greens remained lightning fast. OK, some of the fairways were getting pretty saturated and there was no run on the fairways, so the course played its full length. Given the poor weather conditions and Polly's obvious discomfort, despite her wet suit (we should also have packed waterproof warm hats!), I was playing as quickly as possible. The course was pretty quiet and I was waived through by a couple of 4 balls, all walking the course with pull trolleys or shoulder bags and looking thoroughly drookit (Jay - another of the many Scottish words for being wet). Indeed, I got through the front 9 in little over an hour, playing far too quickly, to be honest. This is a view down the 4th, a really good 189 yard par 3. I'd found the green with my 7 wood, but most of the greens are huge and I 3-putted this one from 60+ feet. The camera was stowed away after this hole, since for the next 12 holes or so, the rain was really nasty. I was out in 45 (only 2 pars!), playing too quickly and getting colder and wetter by the minute.


I managed to slow down my swing on the back 9 (difficult to do when you're going round by buggy rather than walking!) and played better, despite the wind, rain and cold. This is the excellent 173 yard par 3 16th, played in a rare spell of watery sunshine. I cleared the water hazard in front of the green OK, but the wind took the ball way right into a bunker. Another bogey followed, but I was 3 under 5's on the back 9, stood on the 17th tee, so not too bad given the conditions. The 17th is a tricky 489 yard par 5 with magnetic bunkers. I found 2 of them during my poor double bogey. However, some semblance of respectability was restored on the last, a 405 yard par 4, which I parred after a rare single putt. I'd gone round in 88, net 78, or 6 over par after my handicap. Not too bad really, but I'd like to think I could better that score considerably, given more reasonable weather. On some other lesser courses I can think off I would have been thoroughly miserable, but I really enjoyed the round, and the course. Thinking back, there wasn't a weak hole at Spey Valley and some were just outstanding. For example, I particularly liked the the monster 608 yard (635 yards off the Blue championship tees!) 5th with a blind drive and second shot. Driver and 2 good fairway 7 woods and a short pitch from the side of the green to within 4 feet gave me a good chance for par, but I missed the short putt. Great hole, though. I'd already decided half way round the course that I'd like to play Spey Valley again and even after her soaking Polly loved the look of the course and is mad keen to play it next year. Spey Valley is a very challenging layout and is a great test of your game. Play it if you get the chance but think seriously about hiring a buggy. The holes are well spread out and it's a very long walk!

Balmore GC - course no 346

I played this excellent parkland course to the north of Glasgow on 25 August 2010, in the club's Balmore Gents Senior Open. The course was in great condition despite some recent heavy rain and at only 5517 yards, par 66 off the white Medal tees and no long par 5's, Balmore was ideal for a seniors event. OK, there are a few hills to contend with, but these features are well used in the course design and anyone reasonably fit wouldn't have any trouble getting round. Whether they score well here is another matter, as accuracy off the tee is important, as is avoiding the many trees. This is a view from the 1st tee, giving a good indication of the layout. I'd got there a bit too early, and after hitting some practice balls I scared myself silly on the practice green, which turned out to be (thankfully) much faster than those on the course itself. I like fast greens, but some of the slopes and pin positions on the practice green were almost impossible.

The 1st at Balmore is a 375 yard par 4 with a stream 150 yards out that some of the more elderly competitors found with their drives. I found my first bunker of the day with my 7 iron approach shot, and ended up with a bogey. The 2nd is an uphill 188 yard par 3 played into a light wind. I'd been playing my 3 wood pretty well of late, so it was a nasty shock when I hit the ball low and left off the heel of the club into the one spindly tree that obstructs the view to the green. The ball cleared the tree and a wall that runs across the hole, but was in a heavy rough and completely unplayable. A penalty drop onto a road and relief from that took me to some bare earth on the hole side of the wall. However, I'd hardly enough room to take a back swing and skulled my 3rd shot into the same area of heavy rough I'd just escaped from under penalty. This time, I couldn't find the ball, so definitely not the start I was looking for. I'd also let the group behind play through so the 2nd hole took 15 minutes and an inglorious 8 strokes. I dropped another 3 shots on the 3rd, the longest hole on the course at 448 yards, after finding an almost completely buried lie directly below the lip of a deep greenside bunker. Another bogey on the 4th after 3 putting the green and my handicap had gone after 4 holes. Had we been playing a Flag Competition, my round would have been over (first person out carries a flag and plants it where his last handicap stroke lands, the winner being the player who takes the flag furthest round the course, even up the 20th etc if he's playing under his handicap).

I'd clearly put myself completely out of contention in the competition, but respectability was still a realistic and achievable target on such a short course. Howewver, I staggered to the turn in a pathetic 48, a mere 14 over par. It was also remarkable that I was still enjoying the course given my error strewn front 9 (Balmore must be really good if I can say that after such a start!) The par 3's are particularly good, the best being the 16th, as shown here. This is a 150 yard hole, played from an elevated tee. I'd reckoned a 7 iron, but that was far too much club, as my ball hit the top of the big tree to the right of the flag. Luckily, I ended up at the front of the green and escaped with an easy par. I'd played reasonably well on the back 9 and needed to par the last, a 346 yard par 4, for a homeward 37 (5 over the par of 32). This is a view up the 18th fairway. I split the fairway with my drive and had only an 8 iron to the green. However, I thinned the ball into a stream in front of the green for a closing 7 and a total of 88, a remarkable 22 over par. Balmore is a really good course, well worth playing and I plan to enter next year's competition. After all, I've not got much of a score to beat! However, I think I'll not spend much time on the practice green next time and be more careful in club selection.

Isle of Skye GC - course no 345

I played the excellent Isle of Skye course at Sconser on the morning of 17 August 2010, before travelling over to Raasay for the official opening of its new ferry terminal. This is another of the small courses that have 9 greens and 18 tees, so like the other course on Skye at Skeabost, the course at Sconser counts as an 18 hole course. The score card indicates that the club is awaiting the re-measurement of the course, but at present, the card gives the course as 4746 yards, par 67. Although there had been heavy rain since the previous afternoon, the course was in remarkably good condition and obviously drained pretty well, with lush green fairways and excellent small greens. Although the Isle of Skye course sits right by the sea, it is not a true links and plays more like a moorland course. It is also one of the prettiest courses I've played in a long time, with great views across Loch Sligachan, out to sea, across to Raasay and to the surrounding Skye mountains. Above is a view back up the 1st/10th hole to the clubhouse with Glamaig, the mountain that towers above the course, in the background. This is the view out to sea from the 2nd/11th green. I had the course to myself apart from the greenkeeper and his 2 collie dogs. It had stopped raining earlier in the morning, but the air was still damp and when I arrived at the course it was warm and sultry, with no wind. Scottish readers will immediately recognise the ideal conditions for swarms of midgies to appear and sure enough, I'd been attacked even before I'd teed off. I'd packed an aerosol repellent but it was already too late. Thankfully, the sun came out after a few holes and a freshening breeze minimised the problem. Three days later, writing this blog, the itching has finally eased!

At least I was playing well and as at Skeabost the night before, there was little run on the fairways and the greens were soft and receptive, so target golf again. I was out in 37, or 4 over par. Indeed, I had a run of 7 straight pars on holes 8-14, admittedly with some single putts, and with each passing hole the course got drier and the sun got warmer. Perfect weather for golf on a cracking little course. My good run came an end on the 15th, a 301 yard par 4, after I missed the green with a wedge. Worse still, the greenkeeper was working on the 142 yard par 3 16th and had put the flag in a temporary hole to the front and right side of the green, near to some tall rough. My 8 iron missed by only a few feet and I parred with my second ball, but the first ball may still be there, unless the collie dogs found it after I'd gone. I came back in 37 for a gross 74, net 64, or 3 under par, but this good score might have been even slightly better. Here's a final view from the course, this time out to sea from the 4th/13th green. Even if you're not playing well, you'd not tire of this course. The setting is simply stunning and if you ever get the chance to visit Skye, for goodness sake take your clubs and play this excellent course.

Skeabost GC - course no 344

This is a very short 18 hole moorland course in the grounds of the Skeabost Hotel on Skye. Skeabost only has 9 greens but with 18 separate tees, providing very different holes in some cases, this is still an 18 hole course under our "challenge" rules. The course is normally only available for play by hotel guests, so thanks to Janet, the General Manager, for letting me play on the evening of 16 August 2010. I'd actually have been even more pleased had there been only 9 holes, since heavy rain had been forecast for late afternoon onwards and boy, was that forecast spot on! The course was pretty flat and was based on heavy peaty soil that would clearly not take much to become saturated, with a number of streams and crossing the fairways (and more joining the party once the rain really got going!) The greens were tiny, adding to the difficulty, but with the (essential) preferred lies to overcome standing water, there was no run at all and I was playing target golf. Above is the 4th green, surely one of the narrowest I've played recently!


The course is a mere 3114 yards, par 62 and with little real rough and only shallow bunkering, it is relatively easy. Even a missed fairway off the tee left only a short pitch, so scrambling wasn't particularly tricky. I was out in 36. Sounds good, but that's still 5 over par, so definitely nothing to shout about. The holes on the landward side of the hotel are not particularly memorable, but holes 8/17 and 9/18 by the shore of Loch Snizort were simply stunning, despite the worsening deluge I played them in. This is the view from the 17th tee, a 100 yard par 3 requiring an accurate wedge over mature trees that block anything miss-hit. Hole 18 deserves a couple of views, first from the tee and second, looking back to the tee, which has been built on top of an old harbour jetty. I may have retired, but it seems I can't get away from harbours! This is a really good and testing 121 yard par 3, well worth the soaking to get there! I didn't really notice the pin position at the time, other than that it looked a bit tight, but from my 9 iron tee shot as above, I'd an easy par. I went round in 69, or a net 59, compared to the par of 62. However, the course didn't appear to be very difficult - or was I just hitting the ball straight and avoiding the basic blunders that I've learned to live with over the years? Time will tell!

Spean Bridge GC - course no 343

I'd been invited to attend the official opening on 17 August 2010 of the new £12 million ferry terminal on Raasay, just of the island of Skye, so this was the perfect opportunity to play a few more courses. It's a 5+ hour drive to Skye, so Spean Bridge, near Fort William, was a good break-point. The Spean Bridge course is a short moorland 9 hole course, measuring only 2271 yards, par 34. The excellent new clubhouse, shown here, sits adjacent to the village railway station. There's a small car park, but I'd wondered what the access was, as the footbridge over the railway line looked improbably narrow and flimsy to take my car. However, a local guy assured me that it would be OK, with care, but that was an interesting start to my visit.

Anyway, Spean Bridge was pretty undulating, with good views to the surrounding mountains. Being moorland, it was heavy going in parts and looked prone to becoming boggy in wet conditions. Being quite high up, the course is also exposed to the weather, so it was no great surprise to find that the fairways and greens were slow running and a bit bumpy. Indeed, there was little run at all on the fairways, so the course was playing longer than it looked. Local knowledge would also help, as there are a few blind shots to contend with, such as the drive at the 4th, a short 254 yard par 4, and Stroke Index 1 on the card. The Local Rules mention that "all burns, streams or watercourses shall be treated as hazards." However, none of the margins to such features are defined. This is the view from the 4th tee. I'd hit a driver over the marker pole, expecting to find the ball on or near the green. However, there's a stream surrounded by ferns and bushes in a dip hidden over the brow of a hill on the fairway, so the right choice would have been to lay up short. The course map on the card does nothing to indicate the trouble ahead, so as I couldn't see my ball entering the hazard, it was lost. Luckily, I single putted the green with my second ball and escaped with a bogey but this is an awkward little hole, so be warned!



I particularly liked this, the 7th, a 287 yard par 4, played from an elevated tee over a small gorge to a narrow fairway . The ground slopes from right to left, but although I thought my drive was OK, I eventually found it in heavy rough, stymied by trees and had another bogey. There are exposed rocks near where I thought I'd landed - at least I've not used that excuse in a while! I managed a couple of pars on the last couple of holes. Oddly, No 8, a 312 yard par 4 is the Stroke Index I hole, but a good drive, solid sand iron and a couple of putts was enough. The last, a tough looking 178 yard par 3, was just a 7 wood and a couple of easy putts. With my good break on the 4th, I'd gone round in 39, net 34, matching the course par. Spean Bridge was an enjoyable and a relatively easy short walk, despite the odd hill (and I'm only guessing that it was an odd number!) The air was clean and fresh, I saw some deer and an eagle soaring above a nearby forest and was round the course in little over an hour. A good break from the drive across to Skye. I'd also made it round Spean Bridge before the forecast heavy rain came, but I was not to end the day dry, or bite-free!

Crieff GC - Ferntower Course - course no 342

Polly and I played this excellent course on 14 August 2010, with Louise, another Glen GC member, who had qualified for a major amateur competition to be played over this course in few weeks' time. This was Louise's only chance to play the course before that competition, so we had all of the yardage books, course planners and Skycaddies deployed and as the course was quite busy anyway, we could take our time going round. This is the larger of the 2 courses at Crieff GC, west of Perth, and is 6091 yards, par 71, off the yellow tees. This is a view of the clubhouse and part of the massive practice putting green (in fantastic condition, such that we couldn't wait to play the course itself). Ferntower is a parkland course with superb views to the south over miles and miles of rural Perthshire and although moderately hilly in parts, is easy walking.

Ferntower starts gently enough, with a short uphill par 3 and this, the 370 yard par 4 2nd, a really pretty hole with a blind tee shot over a small hill. A mirror half way up a tree behind the tee shows whether the fairway is clear, though I'm not sure we looked at this from the proper angle! The 4th is a fiendishly tricky 115 yard uphill par 3. I'd hit an easy wedge onto the front of the green but the ball ran through into rough, and the green sloped back downhill, so that cost me a disappointing bogey. The course had been remodelled in 1980, one of the results being that the front 9 is a par 37, with the back 9 a more manageable 34. Indeed, there are 3 par 5s and a very long par 4 between holes 5-9, which could clearly have a pivotal influence on scoring. As each of the holes is generally tree lined, it's important to find the fairway from the tee, but some of the fairway slopes carry balls towards the trees. I'm normally a fairly straight driver, but even so, I was finding Position Z too often, hence my dismal 45 to the turn.

The back 9 is potentially easier, with a rich variety of interesting holes and elevation changes, but it helps if you can keep the ball straight and avoid being blocked out by trees. There are also good birdie opportunities, such as this, the 129 yard downhill par 3 17th. I'd hit my 9 iron to within 4 feet, pin high, but missed the easy birdie chance. The last hole looks pretty easy from the tee and at only 270 yards is a very short par 4. However, there is OOB on both sides of the fairway and within 3 yards of the back of the green, so care is needed to avoid ruining a good round. I'd put my tee shot into a shallow bunker 30 yards out and hit what I thought was a good second shot to the front of the green, but the ball bounced straight through to the OOB. We stood at the side of the 18th for a while watching some players behind us have similar problems. I suspect that the 18th might be better as a long par 3 with bunkering behind the hole to protect the Pro Shop area, but it would have been interesting to hear what the members think of that hole. I'd gone round in 85, net 75 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Ferntower is a good test and was in amazing condition. Play it if you're in the Perthshire area, you'll really enjoy it.

King James VI GC - course no 341

I played this excellent and thankfully very flat parkland course on 10 August 2010 after our exertions over the nearby Craigie Hill course. The course is 5684 yards, par 68 off the yellow tees and is situated in the centre of Perth on an island on the River Tay. The King James VI course is well drained with a wide variety of trees bordering lush fairways. The River Tay surrounds the course, although water is not always obvious as trees line the river banks and define most of the fairways. Accordingly, straight hitting is required and anything hooked on some holes will find a watery grave. This is another of the many Scottish courses designed by Old Tom Morris, and the club was named in tribute to King James VI's encouragement of "gowf." Access to the course is also unusual. The course did not come up on my car's sat nav, nor did the phone number, but at least I could key in the post code. However, within half a mile of my destination I was still in the city centre shopping and business area and when the sat nav told me I'd arrived, I was already past a car park, heading out of town. The only option was to park and go exploring along the riverside. I found a footbridge over the river running perilously close to the main railway line, leading to Moncrieffe Island. Ten minutes later and I'd found the course hidden behind trees at the end of a well-worn footpath. It was amazing to find that an 18 hole course could be so close to the city centre, yet so well hidden.

The afternoon forecast was for heavy showers and by the time got to this, the 2nd green, it was clear that rain was on the way, so as there was no-one in front, I opted to play as fast as possible to minimise the potential soaking. I played reasonably well on the front 9, but although the course was in great condition and had superb greens, it was tricky to score well. Either I'd be slightly out of position from the tee or just miss the greens in regulation, leaving awkward pitches over bunkers or the ever-present trees. Thankfully, my putter saved me from real problems. I'd got to the turn in 42 (with only 13 putts and in just over an hour!) and was still dry. It was time to slow down and risk getting wet, and this certainly had the predictable effect. Yes, it started raining! Nothing much, but enough to get the umbrella out. I bogeyed 10 and 11 in an effort to stay semi-dry, and my handicap was all but gone. I was therefore relieved and surprised to par holes 12-15, by which time the rain had stopped and the sun was out again. As the course area is restricted and the design is old, some of the holes here are pretty modest in length e.g. hole 12 is a 266 yard par 4 and although hole 15 is a 238 par 3 from the yellow tee, it is a modest 270 yard par 4 from the medal tee. It might be sacrilege to suggest a change, but I think hole 15 would be better as a shorter par 3, with stronger bunkering. See what you think if you play here one day.



I was 9 over par standing on the 16th tee (another mistake looking at the score?) and by that time I'd caught up with players in front, breaking the rhythm of the round again. I'd also developed a hook from somewhere and with trees all the way down the left side of the last 3 holes, trouble lay ahead. Indeed, I hooked my second shot at the 393 yard 16th into trees to the left of the green for a bogey. An easy 6 iron at the 158 yard par 3 17th into a bunker led to yet another bogey and 11 over. The last hole is a straight 423 yard par 4, with trees and the river, all the way down the left. With loads of room on the right, my drive bounced off the trees into a deep divot and just as I thought things could not get any worse, the skies opened (just as I took this photo!) and getting off the course was a priority. In the circumstances, the double bogey was reasonable, but I'd gone round in a disappointing 81 overall, net 71 and a net 3 over par. I suspect I could have scored better had I taken my time and if I play here again, I'd certainly plan to beat 81 by a good few strokes.

Perth is a really attractive city and a great base for any golfing trip and I'd recommend the King James VI course as well worth playing. It's an easy walk once you get there, assuming you can find it!