Return to Scotland, A Trip of
a Lifetime, September 1-21, 2017, Part V
Was great to be back with
Pat, and the break probably did both of us good. She got to see her castles and gardens and I
was able to run around and play all the golf I wanted (no…all that I could
physically endure…18 holes a day every day walking in lots of wind and rain is
very wearing).
Gleneagles-King’s Course,
September 16, 2017:
After breakfast it was down to the first tee of The King’s Course. I first played The King’s Course in 1970, and
played it one other time about 25 years ago.
I have a belief that when in Scotland, one should only play links
tracks, and have had to make exceptions for my bucket lists (eg…Gleneagle’s PGA
Centenary which hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup) but The King’s Course is a fun round
of golf even without pure links conditions.
The scenery here is awesome, and James Braid’s design includes many of
the same architectural features and playing strategies that one finds on the
great links courses of Scotland---wide playing corridors, wonderful use of
angles, and interesting decisions to be made on most tee boxes. I had forgotten just how hilly this course
is…and frankly the round proved to be very tiring (this did make for 15 rounds
walking in as many days).
The King’s has done well on
Planet Golf’s World 100 having been included in all of their lists (at #69 on
the 2017 list and #75 for all earlier
lists). It made a brief appearance on
GM’s 1985 list at #93, was #37 on the architect’s survey and #30 on the MacWood
Spoof.
My play this day was less
than stellar…shooting a 44 – 42 = 86. My
putting woes returned and my thought processes were mediocre at best…above all,
golf requires clear decisive thinking.
To some degree, I was getting ahead of myself, looking forward to our
rounds the next two days back in East Lothian at North Berwick GC and Gullane
GC’s #1 Course.
After the round, Pat and I
had lunch and then drove south and east to Gullane to one of the world’s great
hotel’s, Greywalls. John and Cathy had
arrived just before us and the weather was quite nice. We unpacked, enjoyed a much-needed nap, and a
delightful dinner. Bedtime came early…we
were playing the West Links at North Berwick Sunday morning.
North Berwick-West Links,
September 17, 2017: I first set eyes on North Berwick in 1981 and
am ashamed to say I had never heard of it before then. I was on a small tour of great Scottish and
English golf courses, which featured Ben Crenshaw and Herbert Warren Wind, and
this really was the start of my (still rather limited) education in golf
architecture. During that tour we played
(in order) Preswick, Turnberry, Muirfield, The Old Course, Royal Birkdale, and
Royal Liverpool (“Hoylake”). I played
with Ben at Prestwick, Muirfield, TOC, and Hoylake, and with Herb at
Turnberry. After the round at Muirfield,
some of us joined Ben and Herb for a walk around North Berwick, which lies
about 5 miles east of Muirfield. This
was my first chance to see the original Redan Hole (although I had played a
number of adaptations before this visit).
The game of golf traces back
to the 17th century on the land occupied by the West Links. North
Berwick GC was founded in 1832, and sits directly on the Firth of Forth (which
influences play on six holes). IMHO,
North Berwick is the second most important course architecturally in the world
(second to TOC). It is full of quirky
features but these “work” in addition of adding “fun” to the round. And when the winds blows, this is a true
championship test (even at only 6579 yards).
I believe adaptations of many of its holes may be found at great courses
the world over. For example:
o
#1…342
yard par 4 and I think CB Macdonald’s first hole at NGLA (“The National”) in
Southampton NY is an adaptation of this short par 4 with a green perched atop a
dune;
o
#2…433
yard par 4 with Firth to the right…considered by many to be the original Cape
driving hole (angle off the tee requires decision…golfer must carry some part
of the Firth and beach, but not “bite off more than one can chew” (some
adaptations: #7 at Bethpage Black, NGLA #14, Royal Mebourne-W #6 and 18, Cape
Wickham #18, Sakonnet #17, Portstewart #1, Tobacco Rd #13, Lost Dunes #15, Des
Moines-S #13, and Blue Mound #11);
o
#6…181
yard par 3 over deep gorge (see Seminole #5)
o
#9…522
yard par 5 turning left and uphill over last 125 yards (see Maidstone #13);
o
#10
& 11…172 yard downhill par 3 and 549 yard par 5 both with Firth to left
(see Seminole #17 and 18), and
o
#15…189
yard Redan hole…generally considered to be the most copied hole in the world…too
many adaptations to mention.
And the above does not even
include the incomparable #13 and #16.
We played in two groups. Pat and Cathy played with Simon Holt (see The
Old Course write up about three posts ago) who is a member and John and I
played with David R., a remarkable young Scot, who is a member at North Berwick
and the youngest member of the Honourable Company. David has a nice game and maturity well
beyond his very few years. His father,
mother and sister came out to meet us on the back nine and in the clubhouse
after the round, David and his father told several wonderful stories regarding
the history of both clubs (his grandfather was a member as well). All in all, simply a glorious. memorable
day. Oh, and my game returned. Had a 41 – 44 = 85 in tough conditions.
After years of not being
recognized, North Berwick startedgetting it much deserved due on World Top 100
listings about 10 years ago. It first
appeared on GM in 2007 as #98, and has since moved steadily upward to its
current #51. Darius Oliver’s Planet Golf
has it at #21, top100golfcourses.com at #49, and its highest rating ever was on
the Golf Architects survey…#18. So so
interesting and so much fun…while also challenging golfers at all skill
levels. A must stop in Scotland.
Golf was played on this land
as far back as 1650, and informal matches played in the early 1800’s. Gullane GC was formed in 1882 and by 1910
there were three courses available for play.
Today, Gullane No.1 is considered to be the championship test of the
three and when Gullane hosted the 2015 Scottish Open, a composite course was
utilized featuring 16 holes from No. 1 and two from No. 2.
I first played Gullane in
1981, and have played it on almost every trip to East Lothian since then. While lacking the pure brilliance of its
neighbor Muirfield and the fun quirkiness of North Berwick, it is almost a
combination of the two…with a good number of strong fair holes, as well as a
few highly interesting, quirky holes. I
believe the 17th hole of Sleepy Hollow (NY) is an adaptation of #17
at Gullane #1.
I started to really find my
game this day. After a good drive on
one, there were shouts from our caddies after my 9-iron disappeared near the
front pin…alas, it was behind a mound at the front edge of the green and was 6’
from the hole…and I missed the putt. But
the good ball striking continued and I finished the day with a strong 37 -39
=76. No three putt greens certainly
helped but I was swinging freely and making solid contact.
After the round, it was nap
time again and for dinner, a wonderful Italian meal at Osteria, a fabulous
Italian restaurant in North Berwick that Simon had strongly recommended. Well worth the stop when you get to North
Berwick.
The weather looked like it
was going to turn iffy on Wednesday afternoon.
We were scheduled to play Kilspindie Tuesday at 11am and on Wednesday,
Luffness New at 9:30 followed by my playing the nine-hole Musselburgh Links,
The Old Golf Course. Given the forecast
I moved the Musselburgh tee time to 8:30am Tuesday.
Musselburgh Links, The Old
Golf Course, September 19, 2017: You will of course
recall that Musselburgh Links was the home of the HCEG until 1891 and hosted a
total of 6 Open Championships. Mary,
Queen of Scots is reputed to have played on this property in 1567 (do the
math…450 years ago) and documentary evidence shows the results of a match on 2
March 1672.
Most of the 9-hole course
lies within the Musselburgh Race Track.
The first tee, most of hole #4, all of the par 3 5th hole,
and the 6th tee lie outside the track. At 2954 yards it is quite short for today’s
play, but in many ways it is like playing in a museum. And, if you want to play the full Open
Championship Rotation, you must play it.
A total of 14 courses have hosted an Open, and it was my 13th
when I first played it in 1983 (Secretary Paddy Hanmer had advised me that I
needed to play Musselburgh). On that
same trip I later played Prince’s to complete the Rota (my first “bucket
list”?).
Play was slower than I expected
and I had to make a mad dash back to Kilspindie.
Kilspindie Golf Club,
September 19, 2017: Talk about just in time…as I arrived at the
club, Pat, Cathy and John were waiting to tee off on the first tee (a beautiful
158 yard par 3 headed north directly at Aberlady Bay and the Firth of
Forth). Located in the charming village
of Aberlady (but semi-hidden down a single lane driveway), the club sits
between Craigielaw GC to the south and Luffness New GC across Aberlady Bay to
the east, and just above the Bay’s magnificent tidal marshes to the north.
If you think that is
confusing…read on regarding the history of its golf course and the club. The club was founded in 1867 making it the
world’s 35th oldest club (The Honourable Company of Edinburgh
Golfers founded in 1744 is the oldest and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St
Andrews founded in 1754 as the Society of St Andrews Golfers being the second
oldest). When founded in 1867 the club
was named Luffness Golf Club and in November 1898 these 18 holes were opened,
having been designed by Ben Sayer and Willie Park, Jr. However, the very next year, approximately
half of Luffness GC’s members, wishing a club closer to Gullane, left to form
Luffness New GC to the east across Aberlady Bay, and the original Luffness GC
was renamed Aberlady GC in 1899. Got
that?
Hemmed in to the west, north
and east by Aberlady Bay and to the south by Craigielaw farm (which became
Craigielaw GC in 2001), the course could not expand and today totals a very
short 5494 yards (par 69). And as you
might imagine, being this exposed, the wind can be fierce. This is a
delightful, fun course to play. After
the par 3 first there is a very good par 5 2nd that runs to the west
with the tidal bay to the golfer’s right.
The best hole on the course is the 167-yard par 3 8th, with
railway ties (not installed by Pete Dye) holding up the green surface. Pete must have been here because I have seen
this hole copied numerous times in the USA…me thinks primarily in SC and FL.
The views at Kilspindie and
very special…across Aberlady Bay to Gullane Hill and westward to the City of
Edinburgh. Yes, very short and will
never be on a World 100, but just as long on fun as it is short on yardage.
I had my best round of the
trip here…38 – 36 = 74…but really never had a chance to shoot my age as I
finished strong (par-par-birdie) but still two strokes short of the goal.
After the round we had lunch
at the club and then headed back to Greywalls…this would be our last night
there. Tomorrow’s schedule is to play
Luffness New and then head to the Edinburgh airport for our flights home the
next day.
Luffness New Golf Club,
September 20, 2017: Across the Bay from Kilspindie and right next
to Gullane GC lies Luffness New. Founded
in 1894 and with a course designed by Old Tom Morris, this is one of the fine
traditional clubs of East Lothian. Today
it totals 6502 yards (par 70) and is totally open to the wind. After the first five holes, the golfers head
west to cross a narrow road to play holes #6-18, and for reasons I cannot
explain the wind was much stiffer on the west side of Route A198, even though
there seemed to be nothing in the topography to cause this. The course was in near perfect condition and
was quite challenging and the club somehow felt more formal than Gullane or
Kilspindie. I ended the trip with a 41 –
43 = 84 finishing par-birdie-par.
The drive to the airport was
easy and we returned our rental car and relaxed in the hotel where we also had
dinner. We were fairly tired. Over 19 days, Pat had played/walked 10 rounds
not to mention 6 days touring castles and gardens. I had played 19 courses and a total of 348
holes (but who is counting), walking every step of the way. The weather was iffy, but we played through
it as one always does in Great Britain & Ireland. The people we met were simply wonderful…not a
questionable soul amongst them, and hopefully a bunch of newfound friends who
we hope to see on golf courses somewhere in the future. Being with Cathy and John is always a
delight…they are wonderful friends.
And, of course, journeys with
my very special bride are just plain fun and wonderful. Her sense of humor and adventurous attitude
are just the best…I am indeed a fortunate man.
This journey came just about
47 years after my first visit to Scotland in September 1970. Hopefully, this will not be my last trip to
Scotland…but if it is to be my last, what a way to finish my relationship with
this country…A Trip of a Lifetime! I
hope you enjoyed the ride, and I thank you for joining us.
