#68 - Castle Stuart (Inverness, Scotland)

(photo: 11th tee, 144 yard par 3)


Simply put, what a golf course. Mark Parsinen and his team certainly deserve their accolades for this piece of golfing heaven. Where Loch Ness hits Inverness and spills out into the Moray Firth you have a golf course built into the cliffside with views abound. It is another gem in the Inverness area, adding to other world class courses such as nearby Royal Dornoch and Nairn.

At Castle Stuart you will find generous fairways and complex but fair greens. Parsinen and co took a page out of the Old Course when building this one. The fairways are generous to avoid the annoyance of looking for wayward tee shots. However, at the same time you must drive carefully in order to get the best angle of approach into these fantastic green complexes. The greens are sized and contoured in relation to your approach. For example, the par 5 6th has a small, narrow green with severe slopes on both sides. This makes sense since we should be hitting wedges or running the ball up to the green after two decent shots. Conversely, the par 3 17th is a generous sized green possessing little contours. This also makes sense since the hole is well over 200 yards and will be receiving long irons, hybrids or more. You also don't need driver on every hole around Castle Stuart, which forces you to think. In my opinion, there's nothing more mundane than just grabbing your driver on every hole. The bunkering is also superb, with that torn, rugged look that complements the landscape. Everything about Castle Stuart's layout makes sense.

In terms of routing, they did a great job. The front nine plays out towards Inverness, then winds its way back to the clubhouse. The driveable par 4 3rd, and the signature par 3 4th with Castle Stuart in the background set the tone for a fantastic round. The back nine has some great holes - the short par 3 11th pictured above, the long uphill par 5 12th, and the fantastic finish. Golf courses are like great books or films in that they need a great finish. #16 is a driveable par four, #17 a demanding par 3 of well over 200 yards and a dramatic par 5 to finish at #18. What a great match play golf course.

Someone recently asked me why I liked Castle Stuart so much and I thought for a second and simply replied, "it's a fun course." Heck, isn't that why we all play golf anyway?

(Castle Stuart is the new venue for the Barclay's Scottish Open, July 7-10. The pros wanted it moved to a links course as preparation for the following week's British Open)
Hit 'em well.
- MG