Destination Golf Scotland 2017 * | Page 85

Fraserburgh XXXX Fraserburgh 82 Meldrum House Fraserburgh is well known for having 16 wonderful holes… and a sedate opening and closing hole. Certainly you get no hint of what is to come standing on the 1st tee. Once you climb the 2nd, however, with views over the green to Fraserburgh town and much of the course below, you’ll get a surge of adrenaline. Holes cavort through the dunes, beautifully shaped and channelled by what nature has provided. There are few flat lies and the rough is penal, so it is a links to be tackled with caution. The routing favours an east/west direction, with winds hustling in from both Fraserburgh Bay (north) and the North Sea (east). This is the 7th oldest course in the world and the oldest to retain its original name. The intriguing, short par four 13th will bamboozle the best. A parkland course only designed and opened in the 1990s, Meldrum House boasts a surprisingly short par 72 (under 6,400 yards) but one that has water on many holes, imaginative bunkering (an enormous bunker complex fronts the 11th) and some heavily contoured, intriguingly shaped greens. There are additional flourishes to catch the eye, so this is certainly a charming place to play golf. Most notable are how the changes in elevation show off the landscape… and the holes, particularly the charming water features. They are rarely just for show and prove magnetic. Of course it is the trees of this ancient estate that bring the landscape to life and several of these are employed to create stand-out holes. You must stay at the hotel to access the course. Holes cavort through the dunes, beautifully shaped and channelled by what nature has provided. There are additional flourishes to catch the eye, so this is certainly a charming place to play golf. Most notable are how the changes in elevation show off the landscape.