Think all Scotland's best courses are centenarians? Think again
By David Brice, Golf International, Inc.
For all of the centuries of history contained within Scotland's borders, this is a surprisingly forward thinking country, always with at least one eye on the future, while retaining absolute respect for its rich heritage. It's something of a balancing act that the Scots have perfected and it applies to virtually every aspect of Scottish life. Everywhere, the old and new co-exist, seemingly happy in their partnership. From food to architecture, art and music, culture and even golf, the old and new not only survive, but also thrive, side by side.
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In the country that wrote golf's history, the main attractions for visiting golfers have always been the traditional old links courses. These are the centenarians, mostly designed by Mother Nature, with often only a minor assist from a 19th century architect. With the Scottish penchant for innovation and things contemporary, new golf course development has continued and over recent years, at the most rapid pace ever, producing some truly excellent layouts. Golf history is still being written in Scotland and it is these more recent designs that are destined to become the new classics of golf architecture.
With roots firmly embedded in the distant past, golf is very definitely a game of tradition and it's often difficult to persuade the traditionalists anything new that affects the game can be good, least of all a new golf course. Truth of the matter is that is doesn't take 100 years for a course to mature, neither should it take a course that long to prove its excellence.
There's another side of non-traditionalists, who similarly have the preconceived notion that new golf courses are automatically going to be too American in style. It's never clear what is intended by this unfounded criticism, but the insinuation is always that it will be artificial and over-designed, even to the extent of being Disneyesque. American style golf courses are found almost exclusively in America, they are certainly not to be found in Scotland, where it should come as no surprise, new golf courses are inevitably, very Scottish.
Most first-time visitors playing Kingsbarns, one of the must play layouts, located just a few miles outside of St. Andrews, come away thoroughly impressed with a course they typically believe has been sitting here for a hundred years. It's always a shock for them to learn that the course is barely 8 years old. Shock only intensifies when they are told it was designed by Californian architect, Kyle Phillips, working closely with another Californian, developer Mark Parsinen, who together, literally moved heaven and earth to sculpt this very natural looking, links-like terrain from flat farm fields.
Kingsbarns has permanently lived on the Top 100 Courses in Britain and Ireland rankings for each of the past 7 years. Currently occupying 16th position on this super prestigious list, Kingsbarns is ranked higher than two of the nine courses on the current British Open rota - Royal St. Georges and Royal Troon. This is the American kid (but with a very Scottish accent) that actually started the most recent boom in Scotland's new course development
Expect a lot of attention to be focused on another brand new layout, officially opening on June 28th this year, St. Andrews Castle Course. This will be the 7th in the bevy of courses operated by St. Andrews Links Management Trust, which includes the fabled Old Course.
The Castle Course is located 2 miles outside of St. Andrews, occupying a majestic cliff-top setting, which has been converted from a flat potato farm into a roller coaster ride of gargantuan proportions. David McLay Kidd, the young Scotsman responsible for Bandon Dunes, deserves all of the credit for creating a seaside gem, more than worthy of carrying the St. Andrews name. Although not a true links, it has many links characteristics and you'll never find a more testing track. Already it has been tagged as St. Andrews toughest and likely to be as much in demand as The Old Course itself.
Perched precariously some 80 feet above the crashing surf of the North Sea, this previously placid piece of land has been transformed into a stormy sea of elevation changes, varying over 100 feet between the highest and lowest points. The fairways, though wide are filled with swales, hollows, ridges and humps. The greens, including a double, reminiscent of The Old Course, are filled with contours -- sometimes subtle, often not -- bring an emphasis on putting skills. The bunkering is effective, always cunningly positioned with but one purpose, to collect the price for any errant shot. And as for the rough, it's simply nasty, thick and juicy - stay away from it.
There is no doubt that David McLay Kidd has produced a very classy layout, to be listed on his resume alongside Bandon Dunes, maybe even above it, and St. Andrews has acquired a true jewel to be proud of that's inevitably bound for future glory.
McLay Kidd has had a busy couple of years in his homeland, as he has another new layout nearing completion on the opposite side of the country. Machrihanish Dunes, a brand new, unadulterated links course is scheduled to open in September this year. As adept as McLay Kidd has proved he can be with the bulldozers at St. Andrews Castle Course, so at Machrihanish Dunes he has demonstrated his sensitivity to the environment, with a totally minimalist approach to this pure linksland course.
Working with the terrain presented by Mother Nature, McLay Kidd identified 23 possible hole locations, each requiring only the minimal amount of shaping and grading, to be ready for play. The best 18 were then chosen and Machrihanish Dunes was born -- a 7,300-yard monster, where six greens and five tees will be located hard against the Atlantic Ocean. No doubt neighboring Machrihanish Golf Club and its world renowned, Old Tom Morris designed links, the sole occupants of this isolated corner of Western Scotland for the past 130 years, will welcome the company.
Meanwhile, Mark Parsinen, the Californian who made Kingsbarns happen, is busy at work on another project, this time in the Scottish Highlands. Castle Stuart will be another sparkling new 18-hole championship links layout, located just 6 short miles from Inverness, capital of the Highlands. Fronted by the Moray Firth and offering some spectacular water vistas across to Black Isle, this holds every promise of being at least the equal of Kingsbarns and possibly, even better. The course is already fully laid out, landscaping is underway and ground has just been broken on an impressive new clubhouse. The official opening is scheduled for July 01, 2009.
So for those early birds, already beginning to think about their 2009 golf trip to Scotland, there are a host of new possibilities coming onto the scene, all of them more than worthy of your consideration. Think of it, you could be among the first to spot a new Scottish Idol. For more ideas and suggestions on including the best of Scotland's gems, both old and new, on your trip, click here.
© 2008 David Brice / Golf International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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