Invergordon GC - course no 546

The village of Invergordon is primarily a deep water port on the Cromarty Firth, but it's also got a pretty decent golf course, as Polly and I discovered when we played this 18 hole parkland course on 8 October 2012 after our earlier round over the Loch Ness Wee Course in nearby Inverness.  This is the 3rd at invergordon, a 441 Yard Par 4 and the Stroke Index 1 hole.  The Cromarty Firth is widely used for vessel storage, hence the oil rig in the background.  The course is 5743 Yards, Par 69, but was playing a bit shorter since temporary Winter tees had just been introduced (is it really that time already?).

This is a fairly flat and easy walking course but maybe we'd just been playing too much (or in my case caddying as well as playing) in the run up to this trip, as we were both pretty knackered by the time we'd got half-way round Invergordon.  Although the course itself is pretty short the layout was tricky to follow, even with the excellent map on the scorecard.  Indeed, we were left wondering whether the sequence of holes had been changed at some stage to disguise the fact that 10 of the holes run parallel to each other, reducing the up/down flow of the course. Tip - if you ever play here, the correct route from the 3rd tee to the 4th tee goes behind the 8th tee and the 7th green.  Try to avoid walking round aimlessly for 10 minutes, looking totally lost, as we did!

I'd played quite a few parkland courses in recent weeks that had been saturated with rain water e.g. Lethamhill, so it was a refreshing change not to have to wade through puddles.  Invergordon was in fine condition, with only the 8th showing any signs of the rain that seems to have soaked the country all Summer.  This is the 8th, a short 108 Yard Par 3.  The flag was in an easy position rather than tucked away to the right, behind the pond.  Indeed, all of the pin positions were front centre, giving another sign that the greens were being rested as much as possible in advance of the coming Winter.  I chipped an easy 9 iron tee shot to within a couple of feet for an easy birdie.  Go me!

Although the course was pretty dry underfoot it was still playing reasonably long, with little or no run on the fairways.  Between that and our tiredness from earlier exertions, it was easy enough to bogey rather than par holes, hence my gross 84, net 73, (net 4 over par) with 31 putts.  And just as we staggered our way to the last hole, Invergordon had one final test, this walk up to the 18th green. Your second shot on this 275 yard hole will be blind, so be mindful that the 1st tee is just beyond the back right side of the green. 

Here's a final view of Invergordon GC, looking back down the 18th a few minutes before sunset on a lovely warm Autumn day.  I liked the course and would recommend it.

Loch Ness GC Wee Course - Course no 545

This is a 9 hole pay as you play parkland course in Inverness measuring a short 1408 Yards, Par 29 that  complements the 18 hole Old Course that I'd played some years ago and which is home to Loch Ness GC.  Also available in the golfing complex are a driving range, golf shop, bar, restaurant, children's play area, function/conference suite, petanque, indoor bowls, forest walks, Travelodge, bakery, chiropodist, trophy centre and barbers, a uniquely diverse range of facilities in my experience!  The Wee Course was formerly known as the Wee Monster (doubtless another attempt to ride on the back of the famous and some say mythical Loch Ness Monster).  Application of the word "monster" to a golf course conjures up all sorts of imagined difficulties and challenges to golfing skills, but there's really not much of a challenge (or interest) to this particular course.

Polly and I played the Wee Course on 8 October 2012 at the start of a 3 day trip that would involve another 4 new courses in my golfing travels, but more of them later.  I'd been hoping that this course would be a good warm up for the challenges that those courses would present, but I'm afraid the Wee Course was disappointing in that respect.  The 1st hole is Stroke Index 1 (surely wrong in principle) and was a 154 Yard Par 3.  I missed the small green to the left and took 4.  This is the 2nd, a 109 Yard Par 3 played to a plateau green protected by a cavernous bunker.  An easy enough par there after a good tee shot.

My doubts about the Wee Course started on the 3rd.  This is a 274 yard Par 4 played from  the same tee and fairway as one of the holes on the Old Course, with players on the Old Course having priority.  Our green was located to the right of the fairway, with the Old Course hole going on for another 200 yards or so.  Neither course was busy, but I was left wondering whether this arrangement, repeated later in the round, ever led to delays and/or safety problems.  The 3rd green on the Wee Course is located high to the right of the fairway and is quite narrow, with banking behind it.  I'd hit a decent drive and had only a short wedge steeply uphill, but the banking behind the green is heavy rough and weeds, rather than a closely cut slope that would allow a slightly overhit ball to feed back down to the green.  The Wee Course is intended for family play and is apparently popular with beginners etc. so I wonder, on the strength of the 4 balls I found while looking for my own, whether heavy rough on this part of the course is entirely appropriate.

If you've had to give priority to players on the Old Course when playing the 3rd, chances are you'll meet them again on when playing the Wee Course's 4th hole, a 151 Yard Par 3 that's played from a separate tee to the green on the Old Course that started from the Wee Course 3rd tee.  You might also have to give priority to other Old Course players on the Wee Course's 5th, 6th  and 7th holes, which share either tees, fairways or greens with those on the Old Course.  Indeed, we'd just driven off from the 6th, an 81 Yard steeply uphill Par 3, when a ball landed in front of us from the Old Course tee to our left (which also serves as the 5th tee on the Wee Course).  Confusing and potentially dangerous.

This is the 8th, a downhill 155 Yard Par 3 with a large pond to the right and short of the green (where both of our tee shots finished).  By this time we were just trying to get off the course quickly to avoid the approaching rain shower, but a double bogey was disappointing nevertheless.  I'd gone round the Wee Course in 35 gross with 16 putts in little over an hour, after getting lost twice and looking for balls in needlessly punitive rough.  Neither of us liked the course much and in all honesty I wouldn't recommend it. 

Lethamhill Golf Course - Course no 544

I'd played reasonably well in a competition at the weekend at my home course (see www.glengolfclub.co.uk) in sunny and very windy conditions, with our fairways running firm and reasonably fast.  So, with the weather forecast looking reasonably good for 1 October 2012 I headed West, with plans to play a couple of 18 hole parkland courses in Motherwell, a large town South East of Glasgow.  My first planned stop was at Torrance Park, but this course was looked to be pretty flooded, with only 9 holes open for play, with preferred lies in operation and fairway matts mandatory. There will be other chances to play there, so I moved on.  My second course was going to be at nearby Colville Park, but only 10 holes were open there and the Pro doubted whether any other local courses would be open, given the recent prolonged rain.   This was a salutory reminder of how lucky I am to be able to play over a course that's rarely closed due to weather problems, even in the Winter months.  (This the 13th our signature hole for those readers who've not played or heard of Glen GC before!)

Anyway, I decided to head into Glasgow to see whether any Council-operated courses might be open.  Lethamhill Golf Course is just off the M8 motorway a couple of miles from the city centre and is a 5419 Yard Par 70 parkland course operated by the City of Glasgow Council.  The Starter advised that although the course was open it was pretty wet underfoot - a masterful understatement as it turned out.  Having been raised in Glasgow, I know that Glaswegians are by nature very friendly, so it was no surprise when John, a local member, invited me to let him show me round the course.  The big surprise was that the course was open, since most of the fairways were completely water-logged, meaning we had to pick our way carefully between puddles of standing water and areas of mud to reach balls that were often plugged in the saturated ground.  Indeed, I doubt I've played in such consistently unplayable conditions anywhere on my travels around Scotland.  Put simply, the course should have been closed.  This was no place for my almost new Footjoys (one of John's pals who joined us mid-round had more wisely opted for work boots and waterproof  leggings). 

As John and his pal Johnnie commented, the course is well-designed, with an interesting layout that winds its way around and over some modest sized hills.  Johnnie had been a member of the local club for over 40 years and was "proud of his wee course" but it was easy to recognise why he was so concerned about its condition, which he reckoned was the worst he had seen it in all that time.  There's still a very good course there if you look carefully, but grass and weeds growing in the middle of unraked bunkers is never a good sign of effective course maintenance.  Serious investment is  also needed to improve the drainage and refurbish/replace dilapidated and wornout buildings.  Given the severe financial pressures facing the Glasgow Council, it seems unlikely that that level of investment will happen.  The course itself might be more enjoyable in dry conditions, but with the Winter coming, I doubt whether Lethamhill will dry out fully before next Spring.  Given the large number of good quality courses in the Glasgow area I doubt I''d want to play Lethamhill again, even in dry conditions.

I played Lethamhill OK in the conditions and putted remarkably well on greens that were faster and in better condition that they looked.  I scored a good 79, net 69 with 28 putts.  Here are some views of the course.  This is the 2nd hole, a 315 Yard Par 4 played towards the motorway with a blind second shot over fairway bunkers.

This is the uphill 13th, a 230 Yard Par 4.  Avoid the line of trees and its a short pitch to the large green.

This is a view over the North of the city from the 14th fairway, one of the few parts of the course relatively unaffected by casual water.

Millport GC - Course no 543

I played this short 18 hole heathland course on 27 September 2012. Millport Golf Club lies just outside the main settlement on Great Cumbrae, an island off the North Ayrshire coast and was founded in 1888 by a group of Glasgow-based golfers wishing to have somewhere to play during their Summer holidays.  Cumbrae remains a popular holiday destination, particularly for day-trippers and I remember being taken there as a very young boy.  I'd a vague memory of a large painted  rock  shaped like a crocodile on the beach at Millport and sure enough it's still there, freshly painted.   The Millport course is 5349 Yards Par 67 off the Yellow tees and reminded me of Skelmorlie, Largs Routenburn and some of the other courses that border the Clyde estuary.  Holes 1-4 and 16-18 are relatively flat and low-lying with the remaining holes running up, down and across a hillier section of the course, offering great views over the Firth of Clyde, Bute, Arran and the Cowal Peninsula.    One benefit of the layout is that you can see the rain coming and after the worst September storm in 30 years had battered the east of the country, the morning of 27 September appeared to offer the prospect of dry golf until the next rain arrived.  Sure enough, I got round in a little over 2 hours, just before the next rain started (and I pretty much had the course to myself apart from the 2 friendly members who had let me play through on the 4th.)

With the course having no Par 5s and only 2 Par 4's over 400 yards, scoring at Millport is relatively easy if you get your drives away and keep the ball out of a few streams and areas of whin and gorse.  The front 9 is particularly short at only 2523 Yards and I was out in 37 without feeling I was playing particularly well.  Even the odd poor shot, such as a fluffed chip on the 288 Yard Par 4 9th wasn't punished as I holed a decent single putt for my 6th successive par on the front 9.  That run of pars also continued on Holes 10-12, so 9 successive pars was encouraging.  However, the 12th at Millport is a pretty difficult hole.  This is a steeply downhill 150 Yard Par 3, with the red flag just visible in the centre of this photo.  Your tee shot is fully exposed to the elements and although the wind was pretty light from the left of the tee, it was easy to imagine that this could be a hugely difficult hole on a windy day.

I also liked the 15th, a steeply downhill 394 Yard Par 4 played directly into the prevailing westerly wind with the dramatic Arran skyline in the background, as shown below.  I hit a good drive and a 23 Degree Rescue to just short of the green and a couple of putts from there was good enough for another par.

The last hole at Millport is a flat 299 Yard Par 4 with a stream running diagonally across the fairway just to add some difficulty to the tee shot.  I only just missed this hazard, as shown here, but a good pitch and a couple of putts ensured an easy par.  I'd gone round in 74 gross, net 63, or net 3 under par, with 29 putts.  Millport is an easy enough course from the yellow tees if you catch it on a calm day and play reasonably well.  However, I guess it would be a far more difficult proposition on a windy day from the white Medal tees (that add nearly 500 yards to the course).  There's a good ferry service to Cumbrae from Largs and it should be well worth the effort to make the trip to play this excellent little course.

Dullatur GC - Carrickstone Course - Course no 542

I played here on 21 September 2012 immediately after my round over the Antonine Course.  Like the Antonine, the Carrickstone is a hilly parkland course and at 6001 Yards, Par 70, is slightly longer.  I'd nipped on before a large group of 3 and 4 balls, but the course seemed relatively quiet in front of me, apart from a 4 ball of visitors.  I'd played pretty well on the Antonine and had high hopes for the afternoon.  The 1st on the Carrickstone is a claustrophobic 151 Yard Par 3, as shown here.  Just hit the ball very straight and avoid hitting anyone on the 8th tee, right behind the green.  The 2nd is played blind down a very steep hill and is a meaty 470 Yard Par 4.  I'd already caught up with the 4 ball in front by then and for the next few holes it looked at though I'd become the invisible single player.  It was only after I'd birdied the 466 yard Par 5 8th hole with a single putt from under 3 feet (as watched by the 4 ball from the next tee) that the guys decided to let me play through.  It turned out that there was no-one in front of them so the rest of the round was pretty quick.  I finished around 4 holes ahead of them.  To be kind, maybe they were just enjoying the course rather than thinking about those behind them, since in my view, the Carrickstone is by far the better of the 2 courses at Dullatur.

The Stroke Index 1 hole is the 4th, a narrow double dog leg 357 Yard Par 4, with OOB (and the railway) down the right side.  Your drive needs to thread its way past trees and the OOB to the right and stop short of a pond and more trees and your second needs to be absolutely accurate to find the small green.  I took 6 after blocking myself out by going too far left off the tee.  The next hole is an awkward 170 Yard Par 3, as shown here.  I'd just missed the green to the left with my second ball after losing my first in the bushes to the left of the photo and was lucky to escape with a 5 after a decent putt.  Another good hole, though.

The back 9 turned out to be even better than the front 9, with a succession of well-designed holes.  This is the 14th, a 299 Yard Par 4 played from an elevated tee over a steep hill.  Clear the hill, find the fairway and the bigger hitters would no doubt reach the green on a drier day.  The 15th is a 143 Yard Par 3 played steeply downhill from an elevated tee, with the small green fronted by a stream and bunkers.  Add in 3 really good Par 4s to finish and Carrickstone is great fun to play and I'd strongly recommend it.  I scored a creditable 83, net 72, for a net 2 over par, with 30 putts.  Thanks to the 4 ball letting me play through, I was round in just over 3 hours.  7 hours for 36 holes wasn't too bad overall and I'd still plenty of energy left for the heavy bag I had when caddying again the following day.

Mind you, my old golf shoes have still to dry out, since as this view of the 10th fairway shows, the Carrickstone course was just as wet underfoot as the Antonine had been.

I'm usually not particularly careful to read Local Rules on course scorecards unless I land on a path or am in doubt about a potential immovable obstruction etc.  However, I did notice that the scorecards for the Antonine and Carrickstone Courses contained a local rule that I can't remember coming across before, namely "The Captain shall have priority on the tee at all times."  Indeed, this is the first local rule, coming ahead of the usual stuff about out of bounds and areas of ground under repair etc.  All club officials work hard for their clubs and deserve appropriate respect from other members, but I'm not sure it's necessary or appropriate to formalise the Captain's rights and privileges in this way.  Maybe there had been an incident in the past, but I just wonder whether this works in practice.  If you ever play here, you might like to be aware that the Local Rules provide that cundies are integral parts of the course and that French drains are ground under repair.  No, I don't know either (maybe I should have asked the young lads I met on the Antonine what a cundie and a French drain looked like).

Dullatur GC - Antonine Course - Course no 541

Dullatur GC lies on the outskirts of Cumbernauld a large former new town midway between Glasgow and Stirling, just off the M80 Motorway.  The club has two 18 hole parkland courses, the Antonine and the Carrickstone, as well as floodlit tennis courts and a bowling green adjacent to its modern and impressive clubhouse.  I played both courses on 21 September 2012, starting with the Antonine.  This is by far the newer of the courses, designed by Dave Thomas, the older Carrickstone being a James Braid course updated by Mr Thomas.   The Antonine is 5650 yards, Par 69 from the Yellow Tees.  I'd visited Dullatur GC some years ago after playing at the nearby Westerwood Course (a Seve design), so I knew in advance that both courses would be very hilly.  The Pro said that both courses were quite busy and that after heavy rain the day before, both were pretty heavy underfoot.  Progress might therefore be slow and he hoped I was fit enough for what he clearly thought would be a stiff physical challenge.  I was certainly fit enough but as I'd been caddying for most of the previous week at The Renaissance and Archerfield clubs near where I live in East Lothian, I was not at my freshest.  However, 21 September was a sunny and warm day so it seemed a bit wimpy to drive all the way to Cumbernauld just to play one course.

The Antonine Course runs between the clubhouse and the nearby village of Croy, parallel to the main railway line to Glasgow and a large disused quarry on a hilly site that has great views in almost all directions.  Indeed, one of the best holes on the Antonine, the 5th, is called "Arran View" an island around 60 miles away, with the island's largest mountain being clearly visible from the tee.  The 1st on the Antonine is a 406 Yard Par 4 and if memory serves is the only flat hole on the course.  From there, the course weaves its way over and around a series of steep hills.  The 1st fairway was waterlogged and finding a dryish spot to play my second shot from was difficult.  It was soon obvious that the whole course was pretty saturated and I was glad that I'd worn an old pair of golf shoes, given the squelchy conditions underfoot. 

This is the view from the 5th tee.  This is a 371 Yard Par 4, played steeply downhill with an uphill second shot to a small green cut into the hill.  The tee shot needs to be short of the bunkers (there's a hidden water hazard just beyond them) and the steeply uphill second shot plays a lot longer than it looks, so be warned.  By then I was waiting on almost every shot and making slow soggy progress.  It would clearly be a long day.  The guys in front gave up after only a few holes more and I was now playing behind a couple of junior Dullatur members.  These kids could clearly play, but what really impressed me was their friendliness and apologies for the generally slow play ahead of them, and their concern that as a visitor, I was enjoying their course, despite the underfoot conditions.  Well done lads, you did your club proud.

Best hole on the front 9 was probably the 7th Hole, a 158 Yard Par 3, as shown here.   This hole plays steeply downhill, with the large bunker ready to catch anything under hit.  The green is far longer than I'd thought and with the flag position at the very back right, I'd a really long uphill putt for birdie.  My 3-putt bogey was disappointing, but in mitigation, the greens were pretty slow after the recent heavy rain.  The weakest hole on the course was probably the 9th, a 422 Yard steeply uphill Par 4.  With absolutely no run in the muddy conditions and a very steep hill to contend with, I hit a good Driver, 3 Wood and still had a full wedge to the green.  The hole is called "Blin' Dunt" or "blind hit" as your second and possibly third shots will be totally blind.  This is the Stroke Index 1 hole, but I reckon I'd need a single putt if i was ever to par that hole.  For the record, I managed a double bogey 6 after struggling my way up the hill.

Best hole on the Antonine is definitely the 16th, a really good 513 Yard Par 5, as shown here.  The tee shot is played blind over a hill to a wide fairway.  However, the landing area for your downhill second shot is pretty narrow, with bushes on both sides.  I found the gap easily enough with a solid 3 Wood, but with no run on the soaking wet fairway, I still had an 8 iron to the green over a gully.  I just missed my birdie putt from 20 feet, but a good par and a really good hole.  The last hole on the Antonine is also pretty good if you survive the long walk up the hill from the 17th green. 

The 18th is a 386 Yard Par 4, played uphill and blind to a wide fairway.  I hit 3 Wood for my second and was still short (saturated ground again) but a good pitch and a single putt from under 2 feet was enough for par.  I'd scored a gross 82, net 71 or net 2 over par, with 32 putts, so that was pretty good in difficult ground conditions, with the course playing far longer than it looked.  I'd also gone round in just under 4 hours.  The large car park looked pretty busy and with a substantial number of players milling around the practice putting green and clubhouse area, it looked as though it could be a long day.  I'd been reassured by the Pro that I could jump onto either course if the first tee was clear, so rather than wait to take my chances after a break for lunch, I grabbed my sandwiches from the car and got straight onto the 1st tee of the Carrickstone Course.  36 holes without a break would test my fitness!

The Antonine is an interesting course that for the most part makes good use of its hills and slopes and also offers a good fitness workout.  I doubt I could ever like the 9th, but that apart, it's good fun and I'd recommend it.

Abernethy GC - Course no 540

I played this excellent 9 hole heathland course between Grantown on Spey and Aviemore on 4 September 2012 on my way home after my earlier rounds that day at Nairn Cameron and Cawdor Castle.  I suspect that as 9 hole courses, Abernethy GC (and nearby Carrbridge GC) might sometimes get overlooked by visiting golfers attracted to the nearby 18 hole courses of Spey Valley GC, Boat of Garten GC and Grantown on Spey GC.  But as far as I'm concerned, anyone who misses this course in the village of Nethy Bridge is missing a real treat.  When I played there it was an absolute joy from first to last and was the perfect ending to a great trip involving 7 new courses in 3 days.  This was Highland Golf at its best and although there's only 9 holes here, each is superbly designed and cared for and you get the obvious benefits of playing each twice and knowing where you're going second time round.  My one regret about my visit to play this little gem of a course is that I only had the time and energy for 9 holes!

The 1st is a 292 Yard Par 4 played slightly downhill from an elevated tee over a shallow gully. With the wind behind and even stronger than it had been at Cawdor Castle and Nairn and a wide fairway to aim at, my opening tee shot was really inviting and the green looked almost within range. I hit a good shot, had a short sand iron to the green and holed out from 3 feet for an opening birdie. Here are photos of the shots I had on this lovely looking opener.

The 2nd is a 112 Yard Par 3, as shown here.  Just avoid a water hazard, traffic on the road  in front of the green and some good bunkering, find the right level on the two tier green and don't three-putt.  I managed that and had a comfortable par.  The 3rd and 4th share a wide fairway, with the 292 yard Par 4 3rd being largely downwind.  Your second shot will be totally blind to a small green in a hollow beyond a small hill.  Just be careful that there's no-one playing from the 4th if you wander up to have a look before playing your second.  Another easy par after a good wedge just missed the green.  The 4th was my first test into the wind.  The hole is a short 275 Yard Par 4, with the wind keeping my drive short of gorse separating the green from the nearby 3rd tee.  The approach shot on the 4th was tricky, though, with OOB dangerously close to the left of the green and the strong wind adding to the pressure.  A bogey there after missing the green and almost going OOB.

The 5th is an uphill 172 Yard Par 3 played blind to a small green in a hollow over a ridge.  I'd missed the green short and right but had a good pitch and single putt from 6 feet for another par.  The 6th is a 286 Yard Par 4 played slightly uphill with the green tucked away close to surrounding pine trees.  Another par and I was still level overall, despite the strong winds.

The 7th is a hugely difficult 365 Yard Par 4 dog leg left and by far the most testing hole on the course, fully deserving its Stroke Index 1 status.  This is the view from the tee.  The carry to the top of the hill was around 250 yards  into the wind, so my 9 iron second shot was totally blind and at risk of being blown into heavy rough and/or heather.  I played a low punched 9 but still had 126 yards to the pin (with my laser range finder blowing around) playing 145 or so directly into the wind, as shown below.  I tried a punched 20 degree Rescue to the green which eventually landed in heather beyond the green and I was lucky to eascape with a double bogey.  Whoever scores a par here must be a helluva good putter.

The 8th is a 213 Yard Par 4 played downwind, downhill and blind over a ridge, avoiding the village war memorial blocking the right side of the fairway.  I can't remember seeing another such memorial within the line of play on any other course, but why not?  The more shocking thing was the length of the lists of names from such a small village.  Mainly Seaforths and some Gordon Highlanders (my brother's old regiment).  Another good par on the 8th, though.

The 9th was uphill into the wind and at 290 Yards this Par 4 looked to be a good finishing hole, ending right in front of the clubhouse windows.  I'd hit a good long straight drive but the wind was swirling around and the green was actually beyond the side of the clubhouse.  I'd only 105 Yards for my second but in an effort to keep the ball under the wind I tried another punch with my 20 degree Rescue.  I really don't know why, it just felt the right club for that shot! The ball rose far too high, was caught by the wind and hit hard about a foot below a clubhouse window, leaving me almost stymied, as shown here.  This left me with a really difficult shot and another chance to hit the window, so I was relieved to finish with a bogey 5 and no insurance claim. I'd gone round in 36 gross, net 31.5 with only 12 putts.  The Abernethy course was in great condition and I hope I can play it again sometime.  If you're ever in the Aviemore area, spare the time to play at Abernethy.  It's an easy walk, won't take you long and you'll love it.