Castle Course (St Andrews, Scotland)

(Photo: (9th tee at Castle Course, with town in the distance)

You may have heard of the Castle Course. Opened in 2008, it is the newest course in the home of golf. Designed by Scotsman David McLay Kidd, it is situated 5 minutes east of town, with jaw-dropping views of the North Sea and St Andrews.

The Castle opened to - and still receives - very mixed reviews. Many visitors love the course, many locals despise it. The former likely for the amazing vistas and the latter likely for the forced carries and difficult greens. As a student and "pseudo-local," I partially agree with the locals. I concede that there are some extreme, and sometimes unfair, mounds in the fairways which I believe were intended to be 'natural' but are anything from it. The locals call these mounds "Don Kings," as they are mounds with fescue growing out the top. (Picture Don King's haircut and you'll get it...) These DK's seem to interrupt the natural flow of the hole and most importantly limit the variety of shots one can play into the green. Since this is links golf, one should have the option to hit a lofted spinning shot, or a low running shot. Options are what makes links golf fun. Secondly, some of the greens are a bit extreme. The 4th and 17th are a bit unfair and take away from otherwise great golf holes. I am, and will never be, a fan of having to land the ball off a green in order to keep it on the green - unless it is a bump and run shot up the front of the green.

However, it must be noted that the Castle is much more difficult than any other course in St Andrews. I believe the locals sometimes seem to equate difficult with unfair. However, I believe 'different' is a more accurate adjective versus 'unfair.' Courses with forced carries and severely undulating greens exist all over the world. It is just that all the other courses in St Andrews are much more traditional links style with very few forced carries, but not at the Castle.

After playing there recently, it appears they are softening up the greens and are also planning to remove many of the DK's. So thankfully work is being done to improve the course, I just hope that they use a fine scalpel and not dynamite to do the work. Because if they get too carried away it will surely take some of the charm out of it.

As Alistair Mackenzie once said, any course that generates opinions and discussion is good for the game. And my opinion is that while it's nowhere near the best course in St Andrews, it is well worth the visit. And hey, if you don't agree with some of the greens, just turn your head to the left or right - it is some of the best golfing scenery anywhere.

Hit 'em well.

- MG

Kingarrock (Near Cupar, Scotland)

(Photo: 3rd tee, par 4, 230 yards)

Kingarrock? You're probably "googling" it right now. It is a 9 hole course outside Cupar which is about a 15 minute drive from St Andrews.

Kingarrock is set up exactly as it was when the Sharp family entertained their friends years ago. It's how golf used to be played, down to every last detail. Hickory shafted clubs, 1898 golf balls, authentic "Reddy" tees, stymies, and even a nip of whiskey to start your round. By the way, I think whiskey is how people got loose before their rounds back in the day - I may start inebriating myself more often prior to the first tee...

A couple of friends and I went over a couple weeks ago and played the 9 hole course twice. The first nine was definitely not our best effort. It took some time to get used to the flex of the shafts and the softness of impact. As we headed into the back nine, we were definitely getting the hang of it. I learned that you can really work the ball with those clubs/balls and makes the game quite a lot of fun as there is a much wider variety of shotmaking. I managed a birdie-birdie finish on the back nine and unknowingly setting the course record of 34 (3 under) in the process! Ha. It must be a result of not many people playing the course yet, not my skill level. Although Geoff Ogilvy gave it a go last summer during the Open!

Kingarrock is a real treat and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting St Andrews. It only takes an hour or two to play it and if the weather is nice, its even more enjoyable. Lastly, make sure to dress in true style to the times, as evidenced by myself in the attached picture. It makes the experience that much more entertaining and memorable.

Check it out by clicking here to watch a video or here for the website.

Hit 'em well.
- MG

#16 - Ballybunion (Ballybunion, Ireland)

(Photo: 11th tee, 495 yard par 4)

Simply put, Ballybunion is certainly one of the wildest pieces of golfing terrain I have ever seen. With its humps and bumps through the dunes off of Ballybunion beach, it demands imaginative shotmaking and creativity, the sign of a great links course.

As described to me prior, the first 4-5 holes are quite plain - a good warm up. Note: Avoid the graveyard off to the right of the first tee. One of my playing partners plopped one in there off the first tee, surely a bad omen to any round. However, once one hits the 6th green, the adventure begins. The 7th is along the water, with the 8th being a fantastic short par 3. The 9th is a very difficult par 4 with 10 being a shortish par 4 to start the backside. And then you stand on the 11th tee. Wow. One of the greatest holes in golf. 470ish yards from the new "Tom Watson" tee, with the beach all along the right side. One of Tom Watson's favourite holes in the world, and justifiably so. The back nine continues through the dunes, and continues to amaze with views of the Irish sea and a course demanding all kinds of creative shotmaking - especially with a wind as we had that day.

One drawback is that the 18th is a strange hole. It is a rare hole that plays away from the ocean and lacks any real dramatics, other than being the final hole. 3 of us almost drove the green that day downwind. Then a strangely cramped green that demands a lofted approach when spin was completely negated by the wind. An awkward finish to an otherwise first class golf course.

As someone once said, "Man made parkland courses, and the golf gods made links courses." This statement rings very true after playing Ballybunion. If you are ever in SW Ireland, it is a must play.

Hit 'em well.
- MG