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Scotland on my Mind by Dan King Wednesday, July 3rd
Balcomie Golf Course (Crail Golfing Society) |
Mark and I decide to head Rorry's advise and head east. The idea was to get up to Cruden Bay, but that was a bit long of a drive to make at the hour we headed out. After consulting maps and books, we decided to head toward Fife and play one of the courses along the Firth of Forth in southern Fife. The one that looked the most promising of the bunch was the Balcomie course is Crail. It is right out on the tip of the shore of the Firth of Forth and the North Sea. Assuming weather that allowed visibility, the views here promised to be spectacular.
We arrived in Crail late at night. We drove out to the closed golf course, and then went to find a hotel. The closest was the Balcomie Inn. We got a very roomy room there for L25.00. The landlord even went off and made a tee time for us at 11:10 the next day.
After breakfast, we decided to kill some time and head into St. Andrews. Mark hadn't been there in 4 years, and we both needed some film. St. Andrews is only about 12 miles north of Crail. I had never come into the town from the south, and it is the more scenic way to arrive, coming into the old town, rather than the golf course side. We found parking near the monument and walked around a while. The rain had started just as we arrived. We ended up walking up to the visitor clubhouse, which wasn't there last time Mark was in St. Andrews.
While driving back to Crail, the rain and wind really kicked up. As I mentioned, Balcomie is out on a point, and is entirely exposed to the elements. We decide to rush into the clubhouse, to check on things. While talking to the head pro, I remember James Finegan mentioning in his book the pro here, Graeme Lennie. Finegan mentions his book collection. I ask the pro if he is indeed Graeme and sure enough he is. He also isn't happy with Finegan for saying he is about 40, since he won't be 40 until next month. Graeme and I had a nice chat, both before we went out and on our return, about various books and the fun of collecting books. I asked if there were any books on the history of the Crail Golf Society and he told me he would check if anywhere left. After the round he showed me a beautifully done pair of books on the history. He was down to the last few copies, so I bought the pair for L30.00.
We decide to head out despite the 30 mph wind and rain. The first few holes are down wind, and perhaps after that it will ease up. Both of us play the first hole terribly, but them settle down to some reasonable golf. The rain mostly stopped by around the 6th green, and all we had to content with after that is the 20-40 mph wind. Rumor is from the course you can see the East coast of Scotland from Montrose in the North to Berwick-upon-Tweed in the south, over a 100 miles of coastline. We had trouble seeing the greens ahead of us 400 yards away. May Island is just off the coast of Crail and we could occasionally catch a glimpse of it. To see the other side of the Firth, toward Gullane and Muirfield, where this adventure originally started, was impossible.
Still we were proud of surviving the elements, as we headed back to the hotel for a pint before heading north to Crudin Bay. A little more conversation with Graeme and we were on our way.
We did talk to Graeme a little about the new course going in, next to Balcomie. It is being designed by an American, Gil Hanse of Malvern, Pennsylvania. It will be slightly in-land from Balcomie, but not much. It will still be links style and almost as exposed as the Balcomie links. Gil Hanse is not so well known, but the Society is very happy with his design ideas.
The original Crail Golfing Society was founded on the 23rd of February, 1786 making Crail the seventh oldest golf club in Scotland. The playing ground was moved around various times, with 8 holes being laid out, north east of the town in Sauchope. Old Tom Morris came down from St. Andrews and laid out a 9 hole course on Balcomie in 1892. Four years later, it was expanded to 18 holes. both the Sauchope course and Balcomie courses existed, until World War II, when the Sauchope course was not re-opened after the war. Crail Golfing Society's biggest claim to fame is in the minutes from 1874 which record: "that iron cases be got for the eight holes on the links to prevent the holes from being destroyed." No other club can make a claim for earlier holes liners.
Some of my favorite holes on Balcomie Links:
Hole#4 346 yard par-4 (Fluke Dub)
A dogleg right, with the ocean down the right, defined as OB. Cut off as much as you dare, to leave an easier shot to the green. The safe shot is practically over the 3rd green, toward a bunker down the left side. A few bunkers protect the green, but should be easy enough to avoid. The O.B. of the North Sea runs along the entire right side of the hole.
Hole#5 450 yard Par-4 (Hell's Hole)
The 4th hole was just a warm up for this hole. Hell's Hole has many of the same hazards as the previous Fluke Dub, just made much tougher by length. Now you must cut off some amount to have any chance of reaching this green is two. The more of the sea you cut off, the better your chances are for your second. Once again the sea runs the length of the hole down the right and is defined as O.B.
Hole#13 217 yard Par-3 (Craighead)
This is bizarre par-3. In our case 217 yards, into the wind. The green sits about 30 feet above the level of the tee, with a big hill to climb to get up there. Once you get up to the top of the hill, there is a ridge bisecting the area between the putting surface and the hill. Come up short, and not only will you have a difficult shot, it will be tough to find your ball in the heavy rough that covers the climb up. The green is a small target, with O.B. beyond it.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Dan King
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