Kilmarnock Barassie
Kilmarnock Barassie
A 27-hole links course wrapped up with gorse, heather and pine
trees. It’s a lovely combination of colours, especially when you
consider that the course is enclosed between two railway lines.
This may not be right on the sea – you start inland – nor have
obvious wispy dunes, but Kilmarnock still plays like a links where
there are plenty of hollows, bumps, testing pot hole bunkers and
a variety of burns, ditches and streaks of deep gorse. In places
it feels quite wild… with the newest nine holes possessing the
strongest links traits, which is not surprising since they nestle up
against both Western Gailes and Dundonald Links.
Machrihanish Dunes
If there was a classification for ‘wild golf’ then Machirihanish Dunes
would hold the title. This is a young course, designed by David
McLay Kidd in the 2000s, yet the land and nature have dictated
the terms of the course’s development and layout, right down to
the bunkering. Set on a Site of Special Scientific Interest the terrain
buckles sharply and constantly… including on the greens. There’s no
doubt that the wildness and the sheer scale of the dunes make this
a muscular adventure (there are some long green-to-tee walks) but
the location and that natural rhythm make the two Machrihanish
courses irresistible.
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Machrihanish Championship
The name alone summons up an air of mystery and romanticism…
and the golf course promises that same spirit and beauty. It is as
natural as you could hope for, holes rising and falling as if in the
swells of an ocean. And the ocean only adds to the drama on this
remote spot on the Kintyre Peninsula. Nowhere is this more evident
than on the famous 1st hole where the tee sits above the shore
and you must drive diagonally across the beach to find the fairway.
It’s the sort of thrilling start that marks a course for greatness…
but Machrihanish never falters and the variety of hole shapes and
beautiful green settings will prove utterly endearing.
Glasgow Gailes
Glasgow Gailes makes up the wonderful links foursome on this
stretch of the Ayrshire coast. Tucked in beside Western Gailes,
the links dates back to 1892, with Willie Park Jr redesigning the
course in 1912. Set slightly inland – the railway line hooks around
it – this is a stern links test where accuracy is paramount. Gorse
and heather dominate, appearing constantly on the low ridges
which typify this course. They will swallow any errant shots.
It makes for a round where your judgement and nerve will be
tested constantly. Those narrow fairways will be daunting to
many, but what joy when you find them. It really is that sort of
place where you’ll find yourself holding your breath. Known for
its springy turf, its wonderful greens and its variety of holes,
perhaps Sandy Lyle said it best: “One of the world’s truly great
tests of links golf.”