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Scotland on my Mind by Dan King
Sunday, July 7th and Monday July 8th
The Machrihanish Golf Club |
Before I get into describing our two days we spent at Machrihanish, I'd like to make something clear. When I first decided to write a diary about this trip, I wanted to make it clear that how I score on a course should not be important. I didn't want my performance to influence my opinion toward a course or even a hole. Many times during this trip, I haven't even kept score for myself. I may have a fairly good idea what my score was, but no number to go by. I was here for the golf, not for a number. Despite terrible rounds at North Berwick, Cruden Bay and Gullane, I think I did a good job of appreciating the course on it's own merit. Despite decent rounds at the Old Course, New Course and Old Moray, I don't believe they influenced my opinion of those courses.
Now onto Machrihanish... I love this course. We stayed in Machrihanish 2 days and played 36 holes a day. We saw a variety of conditions; wind directions and weather during those 4 rounds. We went from 20-40 mph with rain to our final round was the calmest weather I've seen in my trip to Scotland. While here I shot 80-79-77-74. Not bad scores for this 9 handicapper who has rarely played to his handicap in Scotland. I had birdies on 8 different holes during the four rounds. Thinking back over the four rounds, I believe my aggregate score would have been an 8-under 62. I can't recall a single hole I didn't birdie or par at least once. On the par-4 seventh hole, Brauch More, I shot 6-5-4-3 for the four rounds.
Anyone who comes to play Scotland links courses and doesn't make the drive down to Machrihanish is making a big mistake. You might as well go to Palm Springs or Arizona instead. Machrihanish is one of the finest examples of links courses anywhere I've seen. Not as tough a Royal Dornoch or as kinky as Cruden Bay - all Machrihanish has is beautiful views, wonderful sand hills, crazed greens, fine holes and wonderful fairways. The feeling of the fairways is wonderful as it gives way underfoot. Even the tightest of lies on the course allow for a hitting down on the ball.
When there is no wind, Machrihanish becomes a fairly easy course, but even still the kinky greens keep scores fairly close to par figures. The course record is a 66, set by the club champion. The professional club record is a 65, set by Brad Faxon. I don't think there are many days here at Machrihanish Bay when there is no wind. Our first day here, the weather was nice, but the wind still came off the North Channel at speeds ranging from 15 to 40 mph. We did experience one round in completely calm wind, but then we had a bit of rain to contend with.
Machrihanish has been a resort for mostly Glasgow and London businessmen for centuries. Golf has been played here by nearby Campbeltown golfers since 1876. Shortly after the game began in Machrihanish, the Campeltown Courier reported: "The game of golf is peculiar to the east of Scotland, but it has never succeeded in getting a footing in the west. It is consequently quite a novel game in Campbeltown and it remains to be seen whether it can be successfully carried on."
Golf was successful out in the farmlands of Machrihanish, and the Campbeltown golfers decided to purchase land and lay down a proper course. Not long after the forming of the club, the professional they hired, Charles Hunter laid out 12 fairly basic holes. By 1879, they decided to bring in Tom Morris, then back at St. Andrews, to lay out an 18 hole course. There have been changes to Tom Morris' lay-out over the year, but the first hole has remained the same since. A drive across a portion of Machrihanish Bay to the fairway beyond. This hole is in many list of top scenic holes of Scotland. There also remains many of the original greens designed by Old Tom, the membership not deciding to flatten out all the greens like numerous other clubs have done over the years. As Old Tom said about this course, (and supposedly about countless other courses he designed), "The Almichty maun hiv gowf in his e'e when he makkit this spat." Later, J.H. Taylor did some work on the course in 1914. A few holes of the course were lost due to the RAF base during World War II and Sir Guy Campbell was brought in to return the course to 18 holes.
The routing of the course takes full advantage off the wind. The outward holes head north along the bay, but they do not head straight out. They change direction frequently, and buried back in the sand dunes, it isn't always easy to judge wind direction or speed. The returning holes start out along the RAF base, and head home, but once again in nothing like a straight line. There are numerous blind tee shots on this course, but much like Cruden, they are not to penal areas, but rather to wide fairways, with the only question being, how good did my shot turn out. There is one burn, but it should not come into play, easily hitting over it on the second shot to the second hole and the drive on the seventeenth hole.
The clubhouse has the best food in the area, and was running a special; buy 3 pints of Tennents 80 and receive the 4th free. Not an offer I could turn down. It's a nice clubhouse with some great memorabilia around the club. They also had Sky TV, so we were able to watch the final round of the U.S. Senior Open and the Western Open. The clubhouse is a good place to spend the time between or after a round.
Macrihanish is about as sleepy a town as your going to find and still have a golf course to play. When Michael Bamberger wrote about Machrihanish back in 1991, he reported the town was: "a village comprising of a few dozen houses, all hugging the shore, a general store; a defunct resort hotel converted into flats; a bar; the modest white-stucco clubhouse of the Machrihanish Golf Club; and the course." Nothing has changed in the years since then.
We stayed at one of the two B&Bs in town. The Ardell House is the first one in town. Very nice place, L25.00 a night and our room, No.#3, overlooked the course. There was also a lounge area next door to our room with an honor bar and windows overlooking the course. If you go to Machrihanish, stay at the Ardell House, request room#3 and tell them Dan King referred you.
Ardell House
Machrihanish
Argyll PA28 6PT
Scotland
Tel: 0586-810235
Proprietors: Mr. & Mrs. D.G. Baxter
Mr. Baxter and I spent about an hour talking the merits of the links. Very nice man. They also make the best breakfast I had while in Scotland.
During our first morning round we were joined during the early holes by a chap named Iain and his wife, on holiday from Glasgow. Iain's wife didn't play, just pulling his trolley for him. It was Iain and our first time 'round the course. Iain's game was off, but he did play some great golf on the finishing holes. Machrihanish inspired me to some of my best golf of the trip. However, just as I was feeling cocky, I went triple, double, bogey, par on the last 4 holes to shoot a disappointing 10-over 80. In the afternoon round, with the wind definitely freshening, I was able to improve on that score by 1 shot, but still having problems on those final 4 holes. On the first round of our final day at Machrihanish I shot 77, but still finished bogey-bogey-bogey-bogey. Finally, in our last round I played the four holes bogey-birdie-par-birdie.
I re-read Michael Bamberger's chapter on Machrihanish in his book "To the Lihnksland" last night after my final round. I'm jealous he got to spend nine days here. I do agree with him that the 17th and 18th hole are not as strong as the other 16 holes. It would be great to find a nice little one shotter, probably between the 8th green and 9th tee and then make the 17th and 18th one single strong 3 shotter to finish. But that is a minor nit to a wonderful course.
In judging the course, it's going to be difficult not to let Machrihanish totally dominate my Hall of Fame holes. I could see it taking over a number of most scenic and best holes, though rarely toughest holes. I'll also try to keep from writing about 15 or 16 holes when describing my favorite holes on the course.
My favorite holes on Machrihanish:
No#1 Par-4 413 yard (Battery) The finest starting hole I've played in Scotland. The drive is over a portion of Machrihanish Bay. The more of the bay you cut off, the easier your second shot to the green. There are 4 bunkers in a row down the right side ready to catch those not greedy enough to cut off enough of the Bay. During calm weather, if you don't reach the fairway, your on the beach, during rough times, you'll be in the North Channel. Either way, the area is played as a lateral hazard. The green is protected by two bunkers, one right, the other left, both 20 yards short of the putting surface. And what a great green it is. So many humps and swales, I couldn't even think about doing them justice in print.
Hole#3 Par-4 356 yard (Islay)
A blind tee shot, with just an aiming post to guide your way. The fairway is wide, but the mounding is such that you can have two identical drives no more than 5 yards apart. The first drive will hit the mounds, and roll down to the bottom of the hills, the second drive can get caught in a swale and go nowhere. The first drive will have a little pitch, under a 100 yards, the second a full mid-iron in the 150-170 range. The green is in a little hollow behind 5 bunkers. From the fairway, it appears the flag is sitting in a bunker. Tendency here is too take too much club, and with a 50 yard deep green, that isn't a bad idea. But a 50 yard putt, through all the 5 or 6 breaks you'll be faced with is no guarantee of par.
Hole#7 Par-4 422 yard (Brauch More)
My opinion, the toughest hole on the course. This is the hole I played 6-5-4-3 during my four rounds here. My birdie was aided by a lag putt from off the green of about 25 feet that went in the hole. The best drive is down the left side of the fairway, but when you hit here, the ball disappears from view behind a large sand dune. The second shot is the beauty of this hole. Hopefully your drive was down the left and found a flat spot. Now you have a drive over a sand dune that stands 30 feet above you and the green. If you don't hit the shot high enough, your problems are made worse, but a huge sand bunker at the top of this dune. On my first round on this hole, I hit into the left rough and broke the head off my three-iron trying to get out of the rough. The green is behind the large dune, behind the aiming pole at the top of the hill. It is in a little bowl and is also one of the flatter greens on the course. Ring the bell on your way from the green to the 8th tee. There probably isn't anyone else on the course, but ringing the bell is something you do to say I survived Brauch More.
Hole#9 Par-4 324 yard (Rananchan)
Not a terribly tough hole. The driving area is huge, but invisible from the tee. I had an aiming point during my final three rounds, right of the aiming point, at a light for the RAF base. I tried to hit that spot all 3 rounds, was unable to and always went slightly left. That aiming point put you on a large, flat area of the fairway, a short iron from the green. Left of it put you on fairway, just less likely to get a flat lie, and your approach would be slightly longer. The green is slightly raised, but flat otherwise, with 3 sand bunkers left and one right. The impression is you can miss left, using the sand dune on that side to feed to the green, but the sand bunkers will probably catch you.
Hole#10 Par-5 476 yard (Cnocmoy)
Big hitters will have more trouble than shorter hitters on this hole. The fairway is large, but 260 yards out it pinches between sand hills no more than 10 yards apart. The hole is a dogleg left, with the ideal tee shot toward the large sand dune on the right. Short of this dune and your second will be 220 down hill yards from the green. Only two small, fairly simple bunkers protect this flat, but very small green.
Hole#12 Par-5 492 yard (Long Hole)
This is a fine three shot hole, that doesn't rely on length to protect par. The tee shot is slightly up-hill and the driving area is very generous. Hit a good drive and the temptation is to go for this in two. The green is protected in front by a large swale, with two difficult sand bunkers down in this deep swale. A 20 foot high sand dune also protects the green on the right side. Better to lay-up short of the green, down the left side. Despite this being a straight away hole, it's best to think of it as a double dogleg. down the right for a tee shot, left for the approach and then right again to the green. It's one heck of a green also. From where you hit your second, the appearance is that you will have a huge slope from left to right, off the sand dune behind the green. Actually the left half of the green is fairly flat, with only the right side of the green having a high slope away from the front.
Hole#15 Par-3 157 yards (The Hut)
By all appearances an easy par-3. not much to worry about except on the green. The entire green slopes right to left, with a large swale 5 feet below the green on the left. There are bunkers on the right that encourage you to hit toward the left, a big mistake. Getting on the putting surface from the bunkers is easier than from down in the swale. A few bunkers short protect against the low, run-up shot.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Dan King
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