Skelmorlie Golf Club - course no 307

I played this hugely enjoyable wee course on 14 June 2010 on my way back to Renfrew, where Polly and I were based for a few days. Skelmorlie Golf Club lies on the east side of the Firth of Clyde and is a short moderately hilly parkland/moorland course playing to 4746 yards, par 65, off the yellow tees. The course was in great condition with fast running smooth greens. It was a warm dry and largely sunny afternoon and although the course is quite hilly and physically demanding in parts, the clever design minimises the severity of the climbs. This is a view of the 1st green with the Bute and Arran islands in the background. The views to Dunoon and the Argyll mountains the north are equally impressive.

I'd started with an easy par at the 323 yard 1st but messed up on the second to take double bogey after a poor drive. Although a run of 7 consecutive 4s followed to take me out in 38, I was already 6 over par. I'd also been held up by a couple of guys who were having a bad time keeping their shots in play, and their bags seemed be getting lighter by the minute. I was finally waived at on the 10th, to let me play through (or to borrow some balls?). I never saw this pair again, even after a quick Coke at the 19th hole, so I trust that they made it back OK. My golf on the back 9 was pretty steady, but came badly unstuck on the short par 4 13th, a tight driving hole, with gorse on both sides. At only 275 yards, I should have played safe with my 7 wood, but my driver had been effective thus far, so out it came again. My second ball, with my 7 wood this time, helped to minimise the damage to double bogey, but what a waste of 2 shots. This is a view of the 14th green with the CalMac ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay just visible in the background (I've many happy memories of working in the ferry business for much of my career, so it's always good to see one of CalMac's ships on my golfing travels).

I also managed a 38 on the back 9 for a 76 gross, net 66, or 1 over net par. For most of the round the only sounds were the occasional skylark and sheep and with the weather being so kind and the course in great condition, I'd thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I'd also made it round (just!) before the midges came out to feed on unsuspecting golfers! I'd recommend Skelmorlie as well worth playing. The views are superb and there are some really good and interesting holes, such as this, the 17th, where your second shot to a 364 yard par 4 needs to find a tiny green. Maybe I'll be more successful next time, since I missed it by miles!

North Gailes Practice Course - course no 306

I played this 7 hole par 3 course on 14 June 2010 after my round over the main North Gailes course. I'd been advised that the practice course was at the end of the 300 yard driving range. 600 yards later, I realised that it was actually behind the range! Although the longest hole is under 100 yards, this course is actually quite difficult and being bordered by the driving range, clubhouse a restaurant and hotel, is quite claustrophobic. The course was even faster than the main course and the tiny greens meant that precision was vital. Scoring over the practice course could either be by strokes played or by a complex points system based on the golfer's ability. Each green had a target circle around the hole, with scoring based on which scoring zone was achieved, with penalties for losing balls, or going into bunkers or water hazards. I opted to play the course according to strokes played. I'd also not read the score card closely enough or even studied the lay out to realise that I'd only need a couple of clubs, hence this photo of the 40 yard 1st. I quickly tired of lugging my full bag around!

I managed to go round in 20, with good birdie putts on 5 and 6, but playing this course was quite scary. Some gentle applause from the nearby hotel balcony was welcome for the occasional good shot, but I was wary of doing anything daft in such a public arena. This is a side view of the 3rd. Looks simple enough to hit a green only 50 yards away and avoid trees, water, a bunker and rough, but with a sloping fast green, I was happy enough to bogey. The 5th hole is around 70 yards, with a pond to the left and clubhouse windows within a few feet of the green, lying behind some bushes and trees. Indeed, I had to walk forward to check that this was the shot that I was expected to hit! My lob wedge came up short, but I chipped in for an unlikely 2. The last hole was equally tricky. Around 70 yards to a tiny elevated green, with a windows (and faces!) seemingly only a few feet beyond. I managed an easy wedge to the green after convincing myself not to thin the shot. Scary stuff. I'd escaped with a 1 under par and avoided breaking any windows. This is an entertaining little course, but don't go thinking it's easy.

North Gailes Golf Course - course no 305

I played the North Gailes course early on 14 June 2010 at the start of a very eventful 4 day trip to play some West of Scotland courses. North Gailes has 9 holes and 2 sets of tees, yellow and red and measures a short 4445 yards in total, with a par of 65 and a more realistic standard scratch score of 62. Being adjacent to the excellent Glasgow Gailes and Western Gailes links courses, North Gailes has a links feel and appearance and was running incredibly fast due to the recent hot and dry weather. This is a view of the clubhouse, adjacent hotel and golf shop. I'd waited until a ladies 4 ball cleared the 1st green before teeing off. Just as well, since my drive finished within an easy lob wedge of the green. The 1st was 320 yards, so that gave me a clue that the course would be silly fast. An easy wedge at the 2nd held the green, but I 3 putted from 20 feet. I'd regripped my putter the previous day with a softer grip which might take some getting used to!

The ladies kindly let me play through on the 3rd tee. The 3rd is a 307 yard right dog leg. I managed a fade off the tee, but even so, I was nearly out of bounds to the left of the green, such was the dryness of the course. This is the 92 yard 5th hole, aptly named "The Lob." The green is quite shallow and undulating but I managed a long putt for birdie after a good sand iron had held the green. Another birdie followed at the 6th, a 433 yard par 4 so my newly regripped 20+ year old Ping Anser 4 was on good form. I'd got to the turn in 34, only 2 over par but to be fair, I like fast greens and the course was playing pretty easy and amazingly short.

The back 9 is even shorter than the front and although the 15th stretches to 505 yards and is a par 5, it should have been reachable in 2. I scrambled a par there and at this, the 290 yard par 4 16th. I needed a par on the 89 yard 18th for a gross 68. An easy sand iron came up just short of the elevated green and I took bogey for a 69, net 59. Not too shabby, but North Gailes is not a difficult course and was playing pretty easy. Sterner tests lay ahead in the next few days.

Minto Golf Club - course no 304

I played this excellent parkland course near Hawick on 10 June 2010. I'd not thought to book, as village courses are usually pretty quiet on Thursday mornings, but as it was the Hawick Common Riding that day, it was a local public holiday and the course was very busy. A visiting party of senior golfers was about to go out, so the steward/starter very kindly took me down to the 14th tee, where a couple of local members, Gerald and Gordon (both retired school headmasters), were about to start their game. I was delighted to accept their invitation to join them and thoroughly enjoyed their company and the crack on the way round. Minto is a short 18 hole parkland course of only 5393 yards off the yellow tees, with 4 par 3s, 13 par 4s from 255 to 414 yards, and a solitary short par 5 of only 476 yards. The course is only moderately hilly and looked to be in fine condition. There had been heavy rain for the past few days, and my playing partners advised me that the course was playing longer than usual, with very little run off the drives. As it turned out, the course had stood up well to the rain, but the greens were really slow. This was a mixed blessing, since I 3-putted 2 of them from no great distance. On the other hand, their slowness kept me out of trouble when I got out of position, so I'm not complaining!

Since we had started at the 14th, I'll continue from there too. The 14th was a downhill slight dog leg 393 yard par 4, with a blind second shot. I missed the green to the left, but rescued my par with a good pitch and a decent putt. At the 15th, a ridiculously slow downhill putt from just off the green led to a bogey 5. Likewise at the 16th, where I 3 putted from under 20 feet. This is a view of the excellent clubhouse from the 18th green. I'd done the first 5 holes in 2 over par. Could a decent round be taking shape, despite the odd mistake and slow green? The shortness of the holes meant that even a poor drive would not be a serious problem, but I was continuing to hit fairways and greens. I bogeyed the 1st, 3rd and 7th, but even after missing a series of putts for birdies, I was only 3 over for holes 1-9. This is the 161 yard downhill 4th, missed from 15 feet after a good 6 iron. Worse was to follow at the 166 yard par 3 6th, where I missed a birdie putt from under 6 feet. Still, I was happy enough hitting irons well for a change after some struggles earlier in the year with the dreaded unmentionables.

I'd hit a decent straight drive at the 245 yard 10th and had only a flick with a lob wedge to the flag, over a greenside bunker. However, a poorly hit shot left me at the back of the green, with a 30 foot downhill putt that in drier conditions would have been almost impossible to hold short of the bunker I'd flirted with earlier. A poor 3-putt followed for a silly bogey on an easy hole. Still, I was only 6 over after 14 holes. Sadly, I missed my second fairway of the round at the 11th, trying to blast a drive from an elevated tee when a more easy swing would have done. The 11th is a 369 yard steeply downhill par 4, but I bogeyed the hole after finding a bad lie in the rough from the tee. And so to the 12th, aptly named "Everest" a 255 yard steeply uphill par 4. This is the view from the tee, which I'm afraid doesn't do justice to the hill that awaited us. The rough in front of the tiny green is kept long to hold balls on the slope, but from close to the green the upslope is silly steep, with only the top of the flag visible. Thankfully, my lob wedge finished short of the pin, leaving me an uphill 15 foot putt. A 10th par on the scorecard, with only the 301 yard par 4 13th to come. I hit a really good drive and had only a short iron to the green, which I pulled left from an awkward upsloping lie. However, a good pitch to 4 feet gave me a good chance to save par. Gerald and Gordon had similar putts, but we all missed to the right. Still, I'd gone round in 77 in total, with 10 pars and 8 bogeys. I'd had 31 putts, including a couple of 3 putts and made some silly mistakes, as you do on a strange course. Still, It's a long time since I've avoided a double bogey or worse, or a 6 on my card. A net 67, 2 under net par was pretty good. My playing partners had been great company and I'd really enjoyed the course. Minto may be short but you need to find the fairways and stay below the holes. I'd recommend Minto to anyone. It's maybe a wee bit too far out for outings from Edinburgh but I'll still be suggesting this as a possible office golf club outing for 2011.

Dundonald Links - course no 303

Craig, Stu and I played Dundonald Links on 4 June 2010 on another blisteringly hot day (well, 25 degrees, clear sun and no wind). I'd been to an excellent dinner in Glasgow the night before and had only a couple of hours' sleep and the guys had also had a late one after their own 100th course the day before, so we were not at our freshest for our 0930 hrs start. Dundonald is the sister course to the world famous Loch Lomond course and was designed by Kyle Phillips, the architect who created the fantastic Kingbarns course. At Dundonald, most of the holes are screened from others by the contours of the land, so it felt as though we had the course to ourselves. Indeed, we only met the 4 ball who'd started 10 minutes after us when we came off the 17th green (though they were still on the 12th tee at the time!) Even before we started playing, it was obvious that the course was in great condition and Craig and I jumped at the chance to play off the medal tees. From there, Dundonald is a 6725 yard par 72, (with a standard scratch of 74). Stu played off the White tees, which at 6340 yards in total, still provide a stiff test. I'd played pretty well at Prestwick the day before, despite not scoring very well, and that pattern was to continue at Dundonald. Another feature at Dundonald is the large undulating greens, which we found were slower than we'd expected. Indeed, our first few holes were pretty forgettable for that reason. I started with a Boeing (747) for the first 3 holes, a couple of strong par 4s and a 530 yard par 5. My third 3 putt of the day was on the 4th, a tricky 195 yard par 3, with a silly pin position hard against the left of the green on a slope.

Craig and Stu were also having their problems, but full credit to Stu for hitting the shot of the day. The 6th hole was a 135 yard par 3 for Stu. This is the view from the tee, with a stream to the left and front of the green and the green half-hidden by gorse bushes (does anyone think this ugly and prickly plant adds anything to links courses?) From the tee, the footbridge to the front of the green is tiny, but Stu's topped tee shot trundled all the way, clearing the path and running onto the bridge. The bridge is at an angle to the tee but Stu's ball bounced off the runner boards at the sides of the bridge and ended up just short of the green. An eventful bogey for Stu, but he really should have bought a lottery ticket after such a spawny (sorry Stu, I meant masterfully skilful) shot. I managed my second par of the day at that hole, but my putting woes continued and I was out in a disappointing 49, having hit almost every fairway with good straight drives. The back 9 was just as tricky, with a string of excellent holes with hidden problems. We'd forgotten to buy a course guide, but after negotiating the narrow 370 yard par 4 13th, with out of bounds (the main railway line) all the way up the left side, Craig and I narrowly missed the water hazard and bunkering that protects the green, as shown here. I overhit a lob wedge in an effort to clear the stream and the bunker, so a poor 7 was my reward. The railway line also features on the par 3, 205 yard 15th. As we commented at the time, the short stretch of line probably has the greatest concentration of golf courses anywhere in the world, including those at Troon, Barassie, Gailes and Irvine. For the golfing tourist arriving by rail, this must be a journey through golfing heaven. This is where my drive ended up, just short of the green. However, this photo does not do justice to the slopes around this green or the cavernous bunkering that Craig had found to the left and 30 or so feet below the green itself. Craig made a great bunker shot and ended up with a bogey, but I took another 4 to get down, after yet another 3 putt.

Bearing in mind the Standard Scratch Score of 74, I should have gone round Dundonald in 84. I'd already taken 89 after 17 holes, but a par up the last, a 545 yard par 5, would be respectable enough. I'd made a few mistakes and struggled on the greens, but I'd played well of the tees. Confidence was high, so where on earth did the fade that took me into some impenetrable gorse bushes come from? I blame the course management for leaving a longest dive competition marker on the tee and placing a marker improbably far down the fairway as a target, but seriously, the 18th is a tremendous finishing hole, so where better to record a tremendous 9? Even the approach shot to the narrow green has to negotiate a water hazard to the front and sides, so I'd have settled for a bogey. My 9 meant I'd gone round in 98, despite hitting the ball pretty well tee to green. I'd taken a ridiculous 40 putts, hardly the preparation I wanted for the medal competition at my own course the next day (I needn't have worried, as I played pretty well and got cut to 10.0). Overall, we thought that Dundonald was a really good course and I'd recommend it to anyone as a must play in an Ayrshire tour, where it stands well alongside many other superb links courses. I'd certainly want to play Dundonald again and hope that next time round the greens are as fast as they were at Prestwick.

Prestwick Golf Club - course no 302

Craig, Stu and I played the Prestwick course on 3 June 2010 at 1000 hrs. I mention the starting time because my 2 intrepid pals had already played 2 other courses that morning and had another 18 holes to play after Prestwick. What it must be to be young, fit and ambitious again. Prestwick was my 88th round since retiring on 29 January 2010, but I was content to do just the one round. After all, I'd a retirement dinner to attend in Glasgow that evening, so I needed to conserve energy and I'd certainly more than one further "round" in the day to plan for!

Prestwick was the original home of the Open Championship and has hosted the event 24 times, a number surpassed only by the Old Course at St Andrews. Prestwick is undoubtedly still one of the greatest courses in Scotland and a suitable venue to commemorate what would be my 300th Scottish course and the 100th played by Craig and Stu. We played Prestwick in perfect weather (23 degrees, clear sun and no wind). The Prestwick club were tremendously helpful in setting up our game and before going any further, I must thank the club for all of the arrangements, including the outstanding condition of the course, the weather and letting us out before a seemingly endless run of fourball visitors and their caddies. We weren't pressed from behind. Indeed, the fourball immediately behind us were just coming down the 15th as we left the car park after our visit to the 19th. Prestwick is obviously a "must play" for visiting golf tourists and whilst the resultant pace of play might occasionally be a problem for Prestwick members, those same members are highly privileged. I've already played some of Scotland's greatest courses, including the Old Course, Carnoustie, Loch Lomond, Kingsbarns, Muirfield and others, but I think that Prestwick is probably my favourite Scottish course so far. Quirky, complex, bizarre, unfair, amazing, silly and other less printable descriptors came to mind during the round, but my overall impression was one of sheer pleasure. If there's a reader of this blog who hasn't played here yet, I'd offer just one piece of advice. Play it and think yourself lucky to have the chance. The green fee is not for the faint-hearted, but Prestwick will present a challenge that is both formidable and subtle.

Prestwick is 6544 yards and a par 71 off the white medal tees that we played from. The par 4 1st hole is only 346 yards long, but looks improbably narrow off the tee, with a railway line and out of bounds all the way down the right. Stu and Craig had already carved their balls out of bounds, but although I'd hit a good drive, my wedge to the green had to avoid greenside bunkers. Here's the second shot I had. I decided to run my ball in off the left side, not realising that behind an innocent looking knoll lurked a devilishly deep bunker. I got the ball out, but the green was fast running, so a 7 was a disappointing start. The 2nd was a 167 yard par 3. My 5 iron found another hidden bunker, 10 feet to the left of the hole. An excellent sand iron to the top of the rise almost ran down to the hole, but trickled slowly back into the bunker. No problem, just a wee bit harder next time. Same result, back in the bunker. Still early in the round, no pressure, try yet again, same result. Play my 5th shot, hit the ball even firmer and it finally stays above ground. Miss a 15 foot putt, and I'm 7 over after 2 holes. There's a big black cloud in a hitherto almost cloudless sky and it's following me onto the 3rd tee. I try to stay composed but come on, level 7s after 2 holes, rated 11 and 17 on the Stroke Index? I was beginning to feel that it could be a very, very long day. The 3rd hole is simply magnificent. Shallow waste areas are commonplace in desert courses, but the scale and depth of bunkering on this hole is simply awesome. I played the hole well and escaped with a bogey. The 4th required a straight drive with a distant bunker as my target. I'll need to stop aiming at hazards, however far away they look, as the same ball that had found refuge at the 1st and 2nd had again ducked for cover. Still, at least I could hit the ball long and straight! A silly double bogey followed and my handicap had gone in the first 4 holes. A blind 206 yard par 3 (Stroke index 5) was next. Here's the view from the tee. Stu had been having an even more difficult start but if you enlarge the photo you'll see a white disc in the middle of the wooden wall topping the dune. Craig had suggested Stu aimed at the disc, but we hadn't expected such spurious accuracy. Stu managed to hit this target, no more than a foot wide, so I'll not be taking him on at darts any time soon. A bogey followed for Stu but I hit a decent 7 wood onto the green for my first par. However, that turned out to be the highlight of the front 9. I was out in 50, still had my first ball and was having a great time. My personal target, having been 81, had slipped to 99 or better!

Although my par at the 5th was looking increasingly lonely with each passing hole, I was at least avoiding real disasters on the back 9. I'd hit a really good drive at the short 362 yard 14th and had got it to 3 feet and here's Stu's approach putt to that green. Sadly, I just left my par putt short, an unlikely outcome, given the pace of the excellent greens. The 15th at Prestwick is called "Narrows" and is a fearsome prospect from the tee, with gorse (never good news!) on both sides, requiring a blind drive over a rise in the fairway. I hit what seemed to be a great drive up the left side. I'm not a great fan of hidden bunkers, but this beast was 30 feet wide and much the same depth below the fairway, but at least I'd a lovely view of the sky (and nothing else!) Another bogey followed and my search for a second par continued. The par 4 392 yard 17th ("Alps") was my favourite hole at Prestwick. I'd hit another really good straight drive and had an easy 6 iron over yet another sand dune. Thankfully, I was a few feet short of the summit of this dune, as this was what awaited on the other side. Bunkers that have 70 degree walls and flights of steps to get into are never going to be easy so I was delighted to escape with a bogey, avoiding this massive pit. At only 284 yards, the 18th is weak by modern standards, but Prestwick is not about such modernities. It's a course steeped in history, tradition and good old fashioned values. Play to your handicap here and you've done very well. I was happy enough to reach the 18th tee with the same ball I'd started with, despite issuing it with a couple of stern warnings about its tendency to favour bunkers to fairways. The 18th is only 284 yards, but since it's played in front of the clubhouse windows, the sense of theatre is akin to the 18th at the Old Course or at the many other courses where an audience is so obviously present. Thankfully, another good drive saw me only 20 yards short of the green. An easy par and I'd gone round in 94, net 84, or 13 over net par. We'd also had a great time and had played one of the best courses we'd ever played, anywhere. I've now played 300 courses and am almost halfway to playing every course in Scotland, and although there are many still to play, I'm certain that Prestwick will be in my personal top 5. Prestwick is no longer part of the Open Championship circuit due to crowd control and course length concerns, but it remains, for my modest playing ability at least, a supreme test. Complex and subtle, full of surprises, full of joy. Just play it. Please.

Innerleithen Golf Club - course no 301

I played at Innerleithen, a 9 hole, 3033 yard, par 35 parkland course near Peebles on 2 June 2010. Innerleithen is (thankfully) one of the flatter courses in the Borders and is great fun, with water coming into play on most holes. Accuracy off the tee is essential, as I was to find out. This is the view from the 1st tee. The 1st is a 177 yard par 3, played over the 3rd green, a stream, avoiding the (hidden) river immediately behind the green and the road bridge (out of bounds). Avoiding the many other distractions (cars, tractors, greenkeepers and other golfers) also helps to make a good early impression as a visitor. I sliced an opening 7 wood and ended up stymied behind a tree beside the 9th green, to the right of the photo. A good chip and a couple of putts and my first bogey of the day, but it could have been much, much worse.

The 2nd hole should be a pretty simple 343 yard par 4, but a river runs all the way down the right of the fairway and anything to the left runs into heavy rough. I missed the fairway to the left, so settled for a buried rather than wet lie for my second, but as the ball was also 18 inches or so below my feet on a side slope, I could only hack out back to the fairway and another bogey followed. The 3rd is played from an elevated tee and I took the friendly warning from another visitor not to try to cut the angle of the dog leg. The 3rd is a 474 yard par 4 and Stroke Index 1 (and also played directly into a strong wind), so a third bogey went onto the card. The 4th required a good long drive straight into the wind, avoiding the clubhouse (and my parked car!) to the right of the fairway. I got that bit right, but another by now predictable bogey. Surely I could par at least one hole. This is the 5th, a 100 yard par 3 that looked as though a lob wedge would be enough. However, the green is tiny and sits well beyond the front of a hill and is also 30 or so feet above the tee. Given the strong side wind, a solid wedge was required. I missed the 20 foot putt for birdie, but at least the run of bogeys was broken (or simply interrupted!) The 6th, shown below from the tee, is a really tricky 485 yard par 5, played directly into the wind. The road and anything left of it is out of bounds and the stream to the right of the fairway collects anything not dead centre. I hit a good drive, or so I thought, but a cruel bounce took the ball into the stream (a lateral water hazard). I also found the muddy bank of the stream in front of the green and almost holed a great 30 yard lob wedge from there, but yet another bogey followed. The 7th is a 180 yard par 3. A hit a good 7 wood into the wind to the side of the green and had a couple of putts for a par. The last couple of holes were downwind, so at least I finally had that in my favour. The 8th is a 525 yard par 5, with a river to the right of the fairway and the main road (not out of bounds this time) to the left. A couple of good woods, a wedge and 2 putts and a second successive par. The last hole is a 372 yard par 4, but with the strong wind behind, I only had an easy wedge to the green. If I'd aimed correctly, that is. I got the distance OK, but also managed to miss a greenside bunker. A decent pitch to within a foot enabled me to scramble a closing third successive par. I'd gone round in 40, 5 over par, not bad. Innerleithen was in really good condition and is an easy walking course, well worth a visit. But remember, the 5th is longer than it looks!