Return to Scotland, A Trip of
a Lifetime, September 1-21, 2017, Part IV
And Course #1000 is Played...The Cradle at Pinehurst
And Course #1000 is Played...The Cradle at Pinehurst
First, before I continue with
the Scotland trip write up, I should post two notices I sent via email to most
of my regular readers by email yesterday (Oct 18):
Sent at approximately 10:10am
(EDT):
Played #999 (Pete Dye track in Bulle Rock in MD) Monday morning.
Am planning to play #1000, the new Gil Hanse designed Cradle Course at
Pinehurst this afternoon. Cradle is a 9-hole par 3 course, totaling 789
yards with holes ranging in length from 56 to 127 yards (so I can handle the
length—especially since the 127 yard 4th hole is downhill).
With some luck, might even finally shoot my age.
Sent at approximately 5:10pm
(EDT):
Deed done! Played with Pinehurst good friend Jim Rohr.
Went around it 2x…really well done…tee markers have exact yardages posted
and it played a total of 744 yards or 1488 for 18 holes (90 yards less than
scorecard yardages for 18). Wonderful fun…feel like a kid again.
Three holes where most players will have to hit less than a full lob
wedge…so some finesse required (or alternatively hit it a little fat on those).
Finished 2nd go round at 3:35 (we teed off around 1:55 and spend some
time between nines w public relations guy from Pinehurst Resort).
Birdied #9 both times. Shot one over on both 9’s for 28-28 = 56…4
birdies, 9 pars, 4 bogies, and one double bogie (#7 second time).
So I guess I shot my age, right?
Seriously, this is a wonderful way to spend 40 minutes, and work
on your short game.
Additionally, the Pinehurst Resort’s website just posted an
article about my round yesterday…go to:
Now to return to Scotland…
Castle Stuart Golf Club,
September 11, 2017: Was up early this morning, as I had to load
the car, and drive down past Inverness to Castle Stuart for my 9:10 tee time
(drive took about 70 minutes). John and
Cathy were taking today off so I was on my own.
As I approached CSGC, the skies started to darken and it quickly became
apparent that today would not provide relief from the weather pattern
experienced thus far. There was a
foursome scheduled to go off before me but they were kind enough to allow me to
go off first (actually think they were waiting in the hope that the driving
rain would let up a bit).
Some background on CSGC. It sits above the Moray Firth about 6 miles
northeast of Inverness and about 10 miles southwest of Nairn GC. I had played CSGC once before in 2013 with
Pat. It was designed by Gil Hanse and
opened for play in 2009. In 2011, 2012,
2013, and 2016 CSGC hosted the Scottish Open.
The scorecard shows the back tees totaling 7009 yards but there also
exists another set of tees used for professional events which are about 7400
yards. It first made the Golf Magazine
World Top 100 in 2011 at #56 but has since then slipped to #72. The golf architects survey had it as #44,
Planet Golf currently shows CSGC as #58, and Top100golfcourses.com lists it as
#54 currently. My sense is that the
#51-75 grouping is about right.
The views are spectacular
sitting at varying heights above the Moray Firth (more later) and the routing
is very very good (even with a Himalaya-like uphill trek from the 12th green to
the 13th tee (after a major uphill hike playing the par 5 12th).
See the following pics to get a sense
of the views and the vertical distance traversed.
 |
| From 18th tee looking down at (from L to R) 10 green, 11 green, and 12 tee |
 |
| Zoomed in at 11th green and 12th tee |
The bunkering on the course
is a mix of the traditional GB&I revetted (stacked wall) bunkers and
flatter (less fatal) fescue surrounded
bunkers; around the greens the player deals more with sharp edges and angles
than bunkers.
After the round, I headed
south on a long (but quite worthwhile) 3 hour 45 minute drive down to East
Lothian to the towns of Gullane and North Berwick. We (John, Cathy and I...Pat was in Edinburgh)
were staying this evening at North Berwick’s Marine Hotel (where Pat and I
spent the first few days of our honeymoon in 2008) and on Tuesday morning we
were scheduled for 18 holes at Muirfield.
Muirfield, September 12, 2017: Muirfield is the home of the Honourable
Company of Edinburgh Golfers, the world’s oldest club (founded in 1744…that is
a mere 273 years ago). The Club
initially made its home at the six hole Leith Links until the 1830’s, when it
moved to a nine hole course laid out within the Musselburgh Race Track. Finally in 1891, Muirfield, designed by Old
Tom Morris became HCEG’s home. To date,
HCEG has hosted 22 Open Championships…six at Musselburgh and 16 at Muirfield…and
11 Amateur Championships (all at Muirfield).
The most extensive set of
changes to Muirfield were implemented in 1923, after the purchase of an
adjoining 50 acres and resulting in 14 new holes and today’s brilliant layout with two loops of 9 holes (front nine
clockwise around the perimeter and the back nine counter clockwise inside the
front nine). Since, 1923 almost all of
the other changes have involved stretching tee positions to provide the
yardages necessary to challenge today’s premier players, with the greatest set
of changes since 1923 being implemented by Martin Hawtree in 2008. Today, the championship tees stretch to 7245
yards…and do not be surprised if that number increases in the years ahead.
I first played Muirfield in
1977 and developed a friendship with HCEG’s then Secretary, Captain P.W.T.
“Paddy” Hanmer. Over the years, I have
probably play Muirfield some 10-12 times and during my younger years considered
it the finest golf course in the world. These
days, when I have trouble hitting it past my shadow at noon, my views have
changed and my “greatness” criteria is much more focused on having fun on a
course. But Muirfield remains in my
World Top 10 and I still consider it to be one of the three top championship
courses worldwide. Muirfield has
appeared on all 43 of the World 100
lists I have uncovered and peaked at #1 in Golf Magazine’s 1983 listing. Today, it is #10 on GM, #9 on
top100golfcourses.com, #11 on the Architect’s survey, and #26 (how is that?) on
Planet Golf.
In addition to the course’s
brilliant routing, the bunkers of Muirfield, and its typically high fescue
rough are defining features. Some have
called it the finest “marriage” of American and British design, and the
“fairest” of the Open Championship venues.
I agree.
I hit the ball quite well
this day and the weather was much improved.
While the winds blew at a steady 15-20mph, the rain stayed away and sunshine
prevailed most of the day. I ended with
a 41-42 = 83 including a birdie on the tough 8th hole.
We were paired with a
wonderful gentleman from Brazil who formerly worked for Chase Bank in Sao Paulo,
Jairo L. His short game was something to
behold and I hope to convince him to visit Brookline some day.
After the round, it was time
to dress for HCEG’s famous lunch (jacket and tie de rigueur). We have a close friend at Brookline, John R.,
who has been a member of HCEG for a couple of decades. His description of the club is as follows… “it
is a world class eating club with a great golf course outside the
clubhouse”. Perfect description of a
close to perfect club and course )no club or course has ever been perfect).
After lunch, it was time to
drive back north to Aberdeen…a drive of about 3:15. But no question, the drives down and back up
were well worth it. “A Trip of a
Lifetime” through Scotland would be incomplete without a visit to Muirfield.
One final Muirfield
comment. Between the course and the
Firth of Forth, the club owns a large track of incredible sand dunes. I have been told by several reliable sources
that the club is evaluating the possibility of building a second golf course
amongst those dunes. Apparently the land
available is more than sufficient to house a championship course, practice
range and clubhouse. HCEG is known for
moving cautiously, at a glacial pace.
But if the decision is made, this will be the prize architectural
assignment of this century.
 |
| Looking north toward 11th green and Firth of Forth |
Cruden Bay Golf Club--Chamionship,
September 13, 2017:
One of the objectives of this trip was to revisit some courses that I had
played before, but only once. These were
Western Gailes, Castle Stuart, Cruden Bay, and Trump Aberdeen. I had an excuse with regard to Castle Stuart
and Trump Aberdeen (as both opened in the last 10 years)…but there was no
excuse for having played Western Gailes and Cruden Bay just once before. Pat and I played Cruden Bay in 2013 (right
after playing Castle Stuart on that trip).
The current course was designed
by Old Tom Morris and opened in 1899, but there is evidence pointing to the
existence of a golf club in this area as far back as 1791. In 1926, Tom Simpson and Hebert Fowler
redesigned the Championship course. Starting
at 5290 yards, today from the back tees it totals 6609. The club also has a second course (St Olaf)
that totals about 5000 yards (par 64).
The Championship course is
simply the definition of the word “fun”.
After a somewhat mundane first three holes, the course starts showing
its teeth on the 196 yard par 3 4th…and does not let up with the
teeth and fun for the rest of the round.
Best examples of the fun here are the views from the 9th and
10th tees, and the 195 yard dogleg left par 3 15th.
 |
| View northeast from Cruden Bay's 9th tee |
 |
| View southwest from Cruden Bay's 9th tee |
 |
| Three Amigo's but missing our wonderful 4th, Pat! |
No typo there…it is a dogleg par 3 and works
well as such! This is simply one of the
great pieces of land in the world for a golf course…not quite equal to
Askernish, but not that far behind. That
is not meant to minimize the efforts of the architect(s)…great pieces of land
must be found, and the architect(s) must have the discipline to not tinker…as
tinkering can ruin nature’s best work.
Top 100 history? CBGC has been a regular on GM’s World Top 100
since 1995, peaking at #55 in 1999, and is #77 currently. It was #29 on the Architects Survey, and
currently is #75 and #87 on top100golfcourses.com and Planet Golf
respectively.
I had a 43 -45 = 88 including
no less than 5 three putts.
Maddening!!...but the truth is my putting stroke was awful all day. Weather was awful again, with standing water
on a couple of low lying fairways (11 and 13).
Murcar Golf Club, September
14, 2017: Murcar lies along the North Sea coastline
just north of Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (note: I would have loved to play Royal
Aberdeen on this trip but time did not allow it). Archie Simpson is credited with helping with
the original design in 1908 and James Braid with similar assistance in the
early 1930’s. Built amongst the dunes
that also grace Royal Aberdeen, some claim the best course in the world would
be #1-9 at Royal Aberdeen then hopping the fence to play #4-12 on Murcar. Murcar has not been included on any World Top
100. I had not played Murcar
previously.
The weather here was the
worst I saw on the trip except for Western Gailes. Frankly, I just wanted to get the round
completed and was negligent in my duties.
But the course has a number of great holes (best probably is #7) but
also has a few that I think are too squeezed and tight due to the proximity of
the dunes (particularly #3). Yes,
certain days it can be tough to do the proper job, and I was guilty this
day. The highlight of the day was getting
back to the hotel for a warm shower!
Trump International Golf
Links-Scotland, September 15, 2017: Designed by Martin
Hawtree and opened in 2012, Pat and I played it in 2013. Built amongst the most spectacular set of
seaside sand dunes I have ever seen, this is one of the most jaw dropping
courses I have played.
Today the course totals 7428
yards and I believe is much improved compared to 2013. The two major improvements are the
elimination of cross-hatch fairway cutting, which looked totally out of place
in Scotland, and, more importantly, removing the rye grass that was mixed with
the fescue with the original plantings.
Donald wanted the golf course to be green and rye grass does that…but
rye grass is very “sticky”, limiting roll out on full shots.
Since its opening, Trump
Aberdeen has moved up slightly on GM’s World 100 from #50 to #46, is now #54 on
Golf Digest, #70 on Planet Golf, #63 on the Architects Survey, and #65 on
top100golfcourses.com. I place it in the
#51-75 bracket. Like most new courses,
it needs some time to “age” properly and stand the test of time.
I was the first one off in
the morning, which was great (John and Cathy played Royal Aberdeen). I hit the ball well and the weather was
decent (a couple of squalls). Had a 41 –
42 = 83 after a double bogey on 17 and a bogey on 18 but was fairly pleased.
 |
| Trump Aberdeen first tee and fairway |
After the round, back in the
car for the drive to Gleneagles. Pat’s
tour was ending this evening and the group was staying at Gleneagles for two
nights (departing the next morning), so we would see each other tonight
(although I would be having dinner with John and Cathy while she had the
closing dinner for her tour). Then
tomorrow morning, the four of us would play The King’s Course at Gleneagles.
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