Carnoustie Country: Paradise for the True Believers.......

 
Monifieth 14th

    IF CARNOUSTIE didn’t exist the county of Angus would still be a golfing mecca, such are the alternative attractions. Golfers born there would forgive your deep and ever-lasting envy.

    On the other hand, if Carnoustie were the only course available in a long day’s march the golfing world would still beat a path to its first tee. Many regard it as not merely the greatest links in Britain but arguably the outstanding links in the whole of golf. By general acclaim, it has a permanent place in the top three or four on the planet. Yes, it’s as good as that: awesome and the ultimate challenge sums it up beautifully.

    And there’s a bonus, two indeed: the first is the secondary course, a jewel known as the Burnside, which reclines in the shadow of the championship links: the other is the Carnoustie Golf Hotel.

    Like the great links it overlooks this is an incomparable experience. Indeed, it’s no secret that its construction brought the Open Championship back to Carnoustie in 1999 for the first time for 24 years. Those who recall its predecessor still shudder. It had all the appeal of a concrete gun emplacement and was about as welcoming. The return of the Open has encouraged other hoteliers and now there’s no shortage of quality accommodation at all levels. But if serious hedonism is a personal quality then the Carnoustie Golf Hotel is the one for you.

    Angus, for those whose Scottish geography is a touch wanting, is about an hour to the north of St Andrews and just across the Tay Bridge, beyond Dundee. So once you’ve had your fill of Fife’s major attractions Carnoustie Country, as it’s now known, is no distance at all. Arrive in time for lunch at the hotel, and then tackle the Burnside links as a warm-up for the morrow’s great challenge and you’ll spend the night in a state of blissful anticipation.

    But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here: like Prestwick Old, the championship course should be the climax to your week. Set aside your final day of golf, book tee times for 36 holes and have a caddie standing by. It will cost a bob or two (see elsewhere for details) but we’re talking here of a once-in-a-lifetime experience so to hell with the expense…..

    First, though, let’s explore the surrounding attractions, links that will have your eyeballs spinning, particularly if you’re a first time visitor.

    Monifieth has two links owned by a trust, private courses over which five clubs play. Their clubhouses overlook the 18th green of the major course, known as the Medal, a rough-hewn, totally natural links where great stands of pine trees form part of the tapestry, coloured by banks of golden gorse. This one is a sight for sore eyes.

    A busy railway line is a major hazard on the opening holes, particularly in a left-to-right wind that questions your resolve and technique. Thereafter, it’s plain sailing because this great links is as fair as can be, in both senses of the term. Nothing is hidden: what you see is what you’ll find and what you’ll see are wide fairways and readily spotted greens. Finding the first is the simple task: getting to the second takes skill and imagination because undulations and mounds disguise length and perspective. The lay-up is popular, as is the chip and run.

    The greens are generous in size and none is flat: they’re also rock hard, as links greens should be, and slicker than a politician at election time. Quick doesn’t adequately describe them: don’t leave too many six footers but if you do make sure they’re up-slope!

    This is an exhilarating test of golf, the very essence of the game in Scotland. Golf has been played in these parts for 450 years or more, at Monifieth probably since 1643, although the first club here was founded in 1845. They’re settling in nicely and have a well-worn welcome mat...

    Panmure, our next port of call, is a regular stop for the true believers and if at first sight you wonder what the fuss is about just hold your horses. When the present clubhouse was built in the 1890s it was required, for obvious reasons, to be close to Barry railway station. Thus, the two opening holes, parkland in style, are somewhat unprepossessing by local standards. Then a pinewood path gives way to a glittering treasure chest, a succession of links holes winding through undulating duneland to present a combination of beauty and challenge that defies description. A meandering burn, stands of trees and swathes of gorse will catch the eye, and more.

    Ben Hogan practised here for the 1953 Open Championship and was entranced He reckoned the par four 6th was one of the finest holes he’d ever seen. Amen to that. The 14th isn’t so dusty, either. It’s one of the finest three shotters in this neck of the woods, which is saying something.

    Accuracy rather than length is a prerequisite at Panmure. There are eight shortish par fours and only two par fives so the average mid-handicapper won’t feel intimidated. As at Monifieth, the second shot is the key. The exquisitely placed greens, all large and rolling, demand imaginative shot making and they’re the very devil to hold through the air. You’ll need to know about the bump-and-run shot, the floating pitch and the punchy running chip. And your putter had best be warm, too. They say an average player who thinks his way around will better his handicap but a scratch man won’t beat par without some luck. Panmure is a beauty and a barrel of fun. Go gently and enjoy.    Go to next page   

 

    Monifieth has some lovely par threes: this is the 14th      

carnoustie 18th

The notorious Barry Burn guards Carnoustie’s 18th green
Panmure 6th

   Above: Ben Hogan described Panmure’s 6th as “a great par four.”
Panmure 14th

        Panmure’s par five 14th is another superb hole....
CarnoustieCountry2

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