Shiskine
Royal Dornoch Castle Stuart Nairn
SCOTTISH ISLANDS( Inner & Outer Hebrides) Askernish Old: If Machrihanish is remote, then Askernish Old on the Outer Hebridean island of Uist is at the end of the world. First laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1891, in recent years it has been unearthed and restored to its former glory by Gordon Irvine( Master Greensman) and Martin Ebert( Canadian course architect) using entirely traditional design principles. Enviromental experts have already hailed Askernish Old as“ the most natural links course in the world”: the dunes’ natural contours form the fairways, no artificial chemicals are used in maintenance, and during winter months sheep and cattle graze the course.
Irvine, who worked for free on the project, believes that based on his ability to distinguish natural landforms from man-made ones, he has correctly exposed and recreated the original layout.“ We’ ll never know for sure,” he says.“ We can’ t bring Old Tom back. But this course is as close as you’ ll get to an original Old Tom Morris layout.”
The 6164-yard layout begins and ends in understated fashion, but from seven through to seventeen it’ s a roller coaster ride through terrain as violent as a storm-tossed sea. The par-4 7th runs south along the shore from a dune-top tee to a green sheltered by even taller dunes and the green at the eleventh, a long and spectacular par-3 played directly into a sea wind, looks as if it could only be reached using rock climbing gear. Perhaps the star of the Askenish show is the sixteenth called Old Tom’ s Pulpit, a memorable short par-4 with a two-level green, the back half of which forms a punchbowl, where most approach shots are likely to end up.
Other golfing options: Machrie Golf Links( Isle of Islay), Scarista Links( Isle of Harris), Shiskine( Isle of Arran).
FURTHER INFORMATION:
www. visitscotland. com www. visitscotland. com / golf
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