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I was prepared, perhaps even eager, to not like Castle Stuart. Ours was a trip to the home of the game to play the classics, and a modern resort like Castle Stuart did not fit neatly into that designation. After all, why come to Scotland and play something called a “modern links” when scores of real links exist? These courses often offer spectacular views and superb conditioning but lack the fundamental substance and character that comes from trying to approximate a classic with a modern spin. Details get missed, quirk is brushed aside and the routes of play are “Americanized.” A run-up area is either flat or over-engineered. Balance is elusive when conjuring something out of flat farmland.

Conversely, the three Gil Hanse courses I’d played previously (Boston Golf Club, Streamsong Black & Pinehurst’s Cradle) were nuanced, non-formulaic and befit the surroundings, providing hope for more of the same. DJ, our in-house Hanse aficionado, possessed a rare optimism that morning, which helped replace my skepticism with openness. And Soly assured us that CS (coincidentally he and Castle Stuart share initials) would blow our minds. He’d 

When we arrived the “resort” style amenities were all unapologetically present – swift service, a great practice area, thoughtful food offerings – and after a few days of more sparse offerings it was nice to get a taste of home. But in a preview of what was to come on the course, everything was thoughtful and restrained, plainly suggesting that the golf was the star of the show. The details and nuance we encountered on the course were refreshing. It was plainly evident that Gil and the owner of the course, Mark Parsinen, had dedicated the time and effort to get things right. On a return trip to Scotland a few months later I had a chance to see Parsinen’s first effort, Kingsbarns, a Kyle Phillips design down in Fife between St Andrews and Crail. While it’s a fine routing that garners near-universal acclaim, Kingsbarns lacks the ripples and rumples and run-up areas of Castle Stuart. The player is often asked to fly the ball to the green. It feels more like an imitation of Scottish golf rather than the real thing. While I hesitate to psychoanalyze Parsinen’s intent, I imagine he learned a great deal at Kingsbarns and put those takeaways into practice at Castle Stuart with Hanse.

Like Kingsbarns, Castle Stuart takes the less-obvious routing, which weaves back and forth from the coast to cliffs above to offer flourishes and views throughout the round (10 & 11 hugging the coast in the picture above and 18 on the cliffside to the left.) For that reason it doesn’t run out of gas and most holes feel water-adjacent. And the aforementioned details that are so often missing are present in spades. Bumps, bulges, run-offs and knolls abound, and are accentuated by exceptional conditioning – burnt out fairways with perfect greens that were smooth and dense but not overly green. We played armed with the confidence that we could use the slopes as intended and that the ball would react properly on the ground. The thump of an iron on the fairway was an auditory pleasure unlike anywhere else we played. Not surprisingly, the par fives here were better than those we played anywhere else on the trip (a nod to the advances in ball and metal-wood technology that classic links courses never envisioned.)

Most of the front nine is pictured below, with the first three holes along the Firth to the left of the screen. No. 4 darts diagonally and then Nos. 5 through 9 wiggle back toward the clubhouse. The opening trio of tee shots provide an unsettling look for those who guard against a right miss and No. 1 was the most difficult opener of the entire trip. No. 2 eases you back in; a par five offering a reasonable look at birdie.

No. 3, pictured below, is a triumph of the human spirit and captures everything this course got right. Playing around 300 yards slightly downhill to a point, the temptation to go for it is too strong to pass up. And the litany of bad outcomes is just as strong. A well-executed tee shot leaves an easy putt from on or just short of the deep green. Three bunkers and flowing gorgeous stacked sod faces dot the fairway at varying points and demand accuracy for anyone laying up and leaving a dreaded fifty-yard bunker shot for inaccurate tee shots. Long grass abuts the entirety of the right side. And for those who go for it but miss left, even by the slightest margin, tiny lips abut the left side and demand a nipped wedge from a tight lie to a narrow green backed immediately by the Firth (see: the Mickelson video below). One of the most brilliant holes I’ve ever played.

The stretch from No. 4 through No. 8 is solid and features a variety of holes. No. 9 is a cut above the rest – a 350ish par four that often plays downwind and features a sizable shelf down the right on which to land a driver. We had a windless day, so the hole was an exercise in strategy, as explained below in the caption.

The fairway slopes sharply right-to-left and shots funneled left are faced with a steep, blind approach to a green fronted by a severe false-front. The slope also forces you into being very decisive with club-selection off the tee, as anything too short leaves you hitting to the narrowest ledge on the right, but anything too far may flirt with the death bunker on the left. But at no point does the hole feel unfair because if you muck up the drive you can use the generous landing area right of the green to funnel down to the green.

Nos. 10 and 11 (pictured below) are among the most scenic holes I’ve ever played, though the memory is somewhat marred by the nightmarish display that Randy exposed us to on the green.

12 is an exhilarating uphill par five summed up succinctly by the yardage book: “Hitch up your kilt and get your drive in play. Then have some fun.” No. 13 (the featured image at the top of this page and the background on my desktop) isn’t featured prominently in the video because A) it’s a 420-yard uphill ball-buster and B) the view out toward the Kessock Bridge connecting Inverness and the Highlands was jaw-dropping and we simply enjoyed the moment. The contours short of that green, and the way they interact with the angles offered up by the sharp dogleg are the defining characteristic of Castle Stuart that stick with me above all else five months later. It’s not hard to imagine Hanse jamming out on the dozer, enjoying the view and honing the hell out of his craft.

The stretch from 14 (green pictured below) through 16 offers more of the same thoughtfulness. Despite being the holes farthest from the water, the staggered cliffs guarantee world-class views interspersed between large dunes. No. 17 is a thrilling par three that terrifies me to think about on a windy day with a decent round going.

The finishing hole offers up a blind-ish tee shot that begs you to use the gradual slope that bends down to a massive green and feels forever away, but is surprisingly approachable with a long iron or wood. This hole is a friendlier version of No. 18 at Streamsong Black.

 In 2011, after a 15 year run at Loch Lomond, the Scottish Open was played at Castle Stuart for the first time. The event was shortened to 54 holes due to flooding, landslides and wind. 

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE PLAYING THIS COURSE?:

 Get there early. The breakfast sandos are delightful and it was the best clubhouse coffee we had in Scotland.

 Perfect blend of Scotland and America. Service is quick, coffee is fresh and strong, views are unbeatable, and the menu is delicious, fast and simple. The clubhouse is a distinctive Art Deco structure, think Royal Birkdale, but aligned vertically.

May-Oct: £210 per round, £275 for 36 holes. Apr & Nov: £155 per round, £210 for 36 holes.

The property offers on-site accommodations in the form of three cottages/lodges. Part of the beauty of Castle Stuart is in the location. It’s right next to the Inverness airport (and you can fly in from London or Amsterdam, among other destinations) and a convenient day trip to a host of other courses along the Moray Firth. We stayed in Elgin the night prior and drove to Dornoch after our day at Castle Stuart and Nairn. Parsinen achieved his stated goal of providing a high-end resort option to build critical mass for the Highlands region to be viewed as a true destination instead of three or four courses to add on to a larger itinerary.

In Season 2 of Tourist Sauce, a golf travel series from No Laying Up, the guys head to the Home of Golf for 12 unforgettable rounds of golf, and a lot in between.

No Laying Up’s original travel series explores the history and beauty of golf around the world. A visually-driven exploration shows the crew playing and diving into the stories of some of the most unique golf courses in the golf world — with fascinating characters to match. From Oregon, Ireland, Scotland — the guys' next adventure could be anywhere. But no matter the setting, you can expect the same humor and fun-loving wit from the No Laying Up crew.

How did No Laying Up's Tourist Sauce begin? The man behind the camera remembers | GOLF.com,

No Laying Up highlighting Michigan golf during new season of 'Tourist Sauce' debuting Wednesday | WXYZ Detroit,

Scotland

Episode 9: Castle Stuart

We wrapped our morning at Cruden Bay with lunch in their clubhouse. On the menu was Cullen skink, a thick, hearty chowder made from smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. We each ordered a bowl (I loved it!) and quite literally got our first taste of Cullen. Puns aside, none of us had any real expectations for the course. It made its way onto our itinerary for a couple reasons: both Tom Doak and Tom Coyne had written highly of it; and it sounded like a fun departure from the big, brawny, renowned courses we were in the midst of. We would have no idea how true that second bit would be…

Cullen is located in Moray, on the Moray Firth, an old fishing village that is as quaint and picturesque as an old Scottish fishing village connotes. It’s an area of Scotland that is a bit more remote due to the routing of Scotland’s highway system, with the end result being many golf tours sail past Cullen (and a host of other delightfully interesting tracks in the area) as they make their way from Aberdeen to the Nairn/Inverness area. I don’t want to tell you how to plan your Scottish golf trip, but I will say that the experience at Cullen was comfortably one of my favorites of our entire Scotland trip. Cullen is the type of course where nearly six months later I can remember damn near every hole and every shot I hit that day. It’s a course I think about often, replaying again and again in mind. It captured our group’s imagination, and as such, I couldn’t recommend any more highly making the hour and twenty minute drive from Cruden Bay up to Cullen for a spin (or two) around the links.

Before getting to the hole notes, I want to call special attention to our host on this day, George Clark. We could not have asked for a better sheppard around the links. Not only is George a tremendous player (two-time club champion in a very Crenshaw-esque manner twenty-five years apart), but his love and passion of Cullen augmented our day tremendously. George is the General Manager at Cullen, but even that job title doesn’t seem to do his work justice. He is involved, out of necessity, in just about every facet of the Club, and has been for many decades. And he does it all while living ninety minutes away in Aberdeen! Cullen is a labor of love for George, and we were privileged to bear witness on this day.

: like a lot of opening holes in Scotland, this benign par 4 more or less serves as a comfy warm up.

: you know the maxim, ‘the shortest distance between any two points is a straight line’? That’s what I think about when I think about this hole. The routing needs to get golfers up on top of the ridge and the shortest distance is a straight path directly up the ridge wall. It’s a bananas, blind, uphill par 3. I can’t think of another hole I’ve played anywhere that’s similar to this one (a thought that comes to mind with a lot of these holes).

: the drive at three is one of the more uncomfortable shots on the entire course. It’s really a par 3.5 with the fairway bottlenecking into a green that is protected by O.B. left, a sheer drop off a ridge right, and junk long. Here’s the hole flyover off the Cullen website (their website is 

: another fun par 3 played across a crevice in the ridge. The green is mostly blind, so again, it’s a bit of hit and hope!

View looking back from 4th green into Cullen.

: is a bit similar to #3 but with more length and more forgiveness. There’s O.B. left but it’s not quite as snug. There’s room to the right especially if you lay back off the tee. Like #3, it gets a bit tighter towards the green complex with a bunch of gnarly trouble left, long and right.

: the last hole up on top of the ridge plays back towards town, which is a wonderful backdrop. Again, the danger forces your miss on this hole. Short and left is dropping off the ridge, long is dead, but there’s plenty of room to bail out.

: George’s favorite spot on the course, and with good reason. It offers the best views of Cullen, the course, and the ocean. It’s a big, downhill par 3 played from on top of the ridge to the flat land below. A crazy fun tee shot were your ball is in the air forever.

: this short par 4 is a good birdie opportunity and also is a bit of a respite from the sensory overload from the past few holes. The flyover is below:


: a damn fun shot on this long par 3. It plays downhill towards the ocean with some whiffs of a reverse-redan green complex that funnels balls from short and left onto the green. DJ’s tee shot here during our round was a thing of beauty, one of his best shots on the whole trip, and his giggly reaction to the contact and watching his ball run is an indelible memory for me.

: a short par 4 with a burn protecting the green which forces strategy from the tee box. Soly had the length to carry the burn (even though he played to the wrong flag lol), while Tron two-hopped his drive in, and DJ and I came up just short. The beach and ocean hug the whole left side.

: this is the first of four straight par 3s, a stretch known locally as “Roon the Rocks.” It’s a long hole, 245 yards, with the defining feature being the large rock structure situated just behind the green. There’s a little cave in the rock that I 

 to explore. From the empty beer bottles in there, I’m guessing some local youths like to do nefarious things in there. It could also possibly be where the Bogey Man lives.


: this hole features prominently in our video. We were standing on the tee and I legitimately had no idea where the green was. Finally George had to point to it. You can’t really see any of the green complex, only a small aiming stick for general guidance. All this amongst the big, red rocks. Completely insane.

: a mid iron shot, 152 yards, but again with no visual on the green and having to thread large rocks and crevices. I think my favorite aspect of the tee shot is the proximity of twelve green.

13 green in the foreground, 14 green to the left.

: the last of the four par 3s is another long iron at 206 yards. The right part of the green is visible, and the flag as well–at least the day we played it. There’s a large rock with encourages a right-to-left shape off the tee.

: the lone par 5 at Cullen! The tee shot plays immediately across the 14th green, which again, is visually pretty interesting. The routing of the hole is fairly mundane, though the ocean and water offer hazard to the left, and there are some traditional links humps and bumps in the fairway that give a lot of character to the hole.

: this is a 350 yard par 4, and if I’m being honest, is the one hole at Cullen that doesn’t stick out in my mind too much. For that reason, here’s the flyover so you can see it for yourself:


: probably wouldn’t be in anyone’s top 3 holes at Cullen, but upon reflection it’s damn close. It’s a reachable par 4 (270 yards) with a lot of tall grass and trouble right, and the world to your left. The green hugs the tall grass right, and more than that, there’s an unpaved road which cuts right in front of the green along with a small ridge. It makes the green blind and introduces some fun dynamics for the second shot, assuming you haven’t reached the green with your drive.

: the home hole at Cullen really serves to bring you back to the clubhouse. In this way it’s a bit of an ‘easy’ finisher in the manner of a St. Andrews or North Berwick. It’s a 330 yard par 4 with generous landing areas and a fairly benign green complex. If you need a birdie it provides a good opportunity, as Soly was able to do in our six-club challenge match.

George said “quirky,” so who am I to say otherwise?

According to George, Cullen is not only one of 84 “true” links courses in the world, and also the shortest.

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE PLAYING THIS COURSE?

Cull your bag (really, you don’t need 14 clubs), clear your mind, and maybe enjoy a bowl of Cullen skink.

A fun place to sit and have a couple beers after playing. They have a nice little bar with a very friendly, inviting staff. Although we did not, you can eat there. Also, there’s a billiards table in the clubhouse in case you need any more competition.

Tee times: Cullen is open to the public and reservations can be made through the club’s 

.
Greens fees: a single round runs at 25 pounds, with 

.
Accommodations: We did not stay in Cullen, instead drove about 30 minutes down the road to Elgin where we stayed at the 

. Because of our late arrival and very early departure the next morning we didn’t get the full experience but the rooms were great and the beds comfortable. For those wishing to stay in Cullen, the 

 looked very nice. It sits up above the links with wonderful views of the course, town and water.

Finally, I want to give a quick shoutout to the 

 restaurant in Elgin. Not only were they open late when we needed it, but the food was delicious, the beer cold, and the setting unforgettable–the restaurant is inside an old church! A legit, big old church. It was extraordinary.

Episode 8: Cullen

Our crew is learning quickly that you have to pace yourself on these trips! The morning we got up drive up to Cruden Bay I was beaten down – the jet lag had finally gotten me. An overnight flight on a shitty 757 yielded no sleep. Then Kilspindie & Musselburgh straight into a late night at Duck’s. Then North Berwick and a drive up to St Andrews for a 2:40am wake-up call. Then 36 at Crail and Elie. I get grumpy and run-down when I don’t sleep. It was under those pretenses that I played Cruden Bay (and Metropolitan during Season 1 in Oz.)

And there were other factors that didn’t work in Cruden Bay’s favor – the two-hour drive, the gloomy weather, the transition to dramatic scale and elevation changes after playing the flat-ish courses of the first half of the trip, the overly-lush greens that I didn’t feel matched the rest of the course condition (we were told they were being extra-cautious on the eve of a big event.) In hindsight, however, all of that is irrelevant because the flourishes and truly memorable features are what stick with you. As seen in the video, nearly the entire stretch from the third hole through the sixteenth qualifies as a flourish. Cruden Bay is a grower. In hindsight, the weather was a great change of pace and provided a mystique for the course.

Last thought before the notes: any discussion of Cruden is about the experience and the feelings derived from playing amongst such dramatic features. At NLU we frequently field criticism for focusing too much on architecture, but I’ll preempt any negativity by pointing out that the layout at Cruden is less about architecture and more about nature and geology. Archie Simpson and OG Tom Morris (and Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler later on) let the land do the work and largely stayed out of the way, blind shots be damned. I underrated Cruden Bay in my initial estimation.

 last year – be sure to check that out for a more detailed review.

Just as we did at Elie we glossed over the first two holes in the video but I found them relatively interesting, with some wild movement in/around the fairways (as seen below.)

The fun really gets going on the 3rd, with the prospect of an albatross lurking over the hill to the blind green that features a unique ramp landing area just in front. The 4th is featured plenty in the episode and is the only par 3 on the front side. Pull your pants up and tighten your glove on the 5th, as seen in the video below (an aside: CB has a great website with well-produced flyovers of every hole.)

The 6th (pictured below) was one of the standouts of the whole trip. If there is a knock on Scotland it is that many of the courses have a weak collection of par 5’s on offer. Not the case at Cruden Bay (despite only having two.) The burn that DJ familiarized himself with in the video dictates the entire hole, and combined with the cliff-like right side of the green, makes for a thoughtful approach.

The 7th and 8th are all-world, as the video shows clearly. The views from 9 tee are worth the hike, but you definitely earn them. The 10th was just alright for me, dawg. I quite enjoyed the 11th and 13th, both of which didn’t stand out quite as much for the others in the group. The 12th hole is also a fun, short par 4. There were two things that stuck with me (beyond the golf) from this portion of the course: 1) the most curvaceous burn we encountered in Scotland – just a sexy body of water; and 2) the tee boxes on 13 and 14 are among the most peaceful places I’ve ever been. Set right next to the beach, framed by tall grass, waves crashing below and exceptional holes awaiting you. Sensory overload. The flyover for 13 gives a good sense of just how good.

From there you play up to the blind coffin 14th (where some of my conditioning complaints crystallized – I wanted to use the slopes more but the softness didn’t allow for a big hop).

The blind 15th was a treat (I’m with Soly, I like blind holes since it makes you commit and trust and embrace being uncomfortable) and the 16th was stout (in a similar vein as the 4th). The last two holes ran out of gas a bit but it wasn’t even noticeable since we were still trying to comprehend the stretch we’d played just prior.

WEIRD COURSE TRIVIA: The course was built 

 in 1899. Both were owned by The Great North of Scotland Railway Co. as a means of attracting visitors. However, the destination proved too remote and struggled to attract the crowds envisioned. The hotel was used as a hospital during WWII and demolished in the years thereafter.

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE PLAYING THIS COURSE?: Rest up. It’s not the easiest walk. Also eat breakfast so you’re not drinking the whiskey on an empty stomach.

CLUBHOUSE/FOOD: Les and his team are exceptional and will ensure you are looked after properly. We enjoyed lunch after our round. I had the steak pie, which was excellent. Soly was magnanimous enough to share some of his sandwich, which was also a delicious treat. We also ordered haggis and Cullen skink, both of which we tried everywhere we went. The clubhouse offers a commanding view of the property – definitely stick around to soak it all in after your round.

TEE TIMES: Here’s a throwback….email 

GREEN FEES: Range from £135.00 for one round to £175.00 for 36.

ACCOMMODATIONS: We simply passed through, having risen early in St Andrews and passing onto Cullen that afternoon. The drive up was interesting, as it took us through Aberdeen and Dundee, two of the bigger cities in Scotland. The Kilmarnock Arms and the St. Olaf are both recommended options for those wishing to stay near the course.

Episode 7: Cruden Bay 

Norman Xiong is one of the longest hitters in the game today. We challenged him to see how many different clubs he could hit past DJ Pie's driver. With the Trackman setup, he put on an absolute clinic.

On-site coverage of professional golf events, players and personalities. 

Mixed Bag: Pro Golf

How many clubs can Norman Xiong hit past an amateur's driver?

Looking back on our July trip to Scotland, Elie remains one of the top three highlights for me. Everything was turned up to full blast that afternoon – the sun, the burned out fairways, the views, and the quirkiness of the routing. As noted in the episode the reality of sixteen par 4’s/two par 3’s is more of a strength than a weakness. The two par 3’s are wildly different (#3 plays 200 yards downhill to a green sloping left to right, #10 plays flat and blind to a green that slopes wildly from right to left), there are a variety of drivable holes in the 230 to 320 yard range (#’s 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 15), some proper two shotters (1, 4, 8, 9, 18) and some total ball-busters (12, 13, 14, 16, 17). The variety of holes sets the tone for “par = whatever.” For example, #7, which plays 252 yards uphill, and #12, which is almost twice as long, are both par 4’s and don’t have anything else in common.

Beyond the variety, the routing does a masterful job of utilizing the land and maximizing the views throughout the round. Many links courses are plotted in parallel out-and back-fashion with coastline interaction limited to just a few holes. The stretch from 10 to 13 takes full advantage of the coastline (more on that later). What takes Elie to another level is the way it uses the downhill slope toward the water to offer up green sites that trundle down toward the coast in dramatic, perpendicular fashion on 6 and 9 (pictured below), and then brings an unexpected late flourish on 15. The reveal on each of these holes seems like an added bonus to the round, as most other courses would feature another layer or two of parallel holes where these greens sit. It does the unexpected.

We glossed over the first two holes in the video – they’re rather standard inland fare beyond the blind opening tee shot. 3 and 4 are cool (the fourth features a split-level fairway), but the course doesn’t truly get going until 5. Pictured below during a return trip later in this year (hence the greener grass), 5 plays to 365 yards and features a beautifully rippled fairway leading up to an elevated green.

6 (pictured below in greener conditions) and 7 offer a multitude of options: bang one up close to the green and risk finding a brutal bunker or opt for a surgical approach with a wedge. A raised road diagonally bisects 8 just short of the green and makes the hole appear more challenging than it actually is. 9 is a brute at 440 yards, but the hole falls off dramatically starting around 100 yards out and the proper play is to land the ball about 20-30 yards short of the green and trust the immaculate landing area to do it’s job.

As the episode makes clear 10 is one of the best holes in all of Scotland. A blind tee shot over the crest of the hill to a rock-hard fairway that sends anything with even the slightest momentum trundling down to the green. Could’ve played this one eighteen times in a row and not been bored. 

Here’s Guido Dan (from Season 1 of Tourist Sauce) putting from 80 yards out.

 11 and 12 are all-world, too. 11 features prominently in the video, and 12 is a 465 yard brute to a green protected by two bunkers about 30 yards short, right in the landing area for most long irons and hybrids. You get the shit knocked out of you then head to 13 (pictured below), which is no easier with heather down the left and a centerline bunker about 280 off the tee. A long, skinny green looms over the fairway at a 45 degree angle and rejects anything short or left. James Braid labeled this the best hole in all of golf, and while the Elie native was certainly biased, the hole presents a thoughtful case for such acclaim.

You reach the 14th gasping for air and facing a visually deceptive tee shot that goads you toward the bunkers down the right. 15 is another half-par short four that heads back down to the coast before the trek back to the clubhouse starts on 16. At this point Randy had had enough and was showing signs of overdosing on great golf. 17 and 18 are evocative of 1 and 2 in that they are relatively basic, solid par 4’s that get you where you need to be. The meat of the course (holes 5 through 16) is as good a time as I’ve ever had on a golf course – never thought I’d say that about a stretch comprised of eleven par 4’s and one par 3.

WEIRD COURSE TRIVIA: Golf has been played over the land currently occupied by the course since 1589. Old Tom added the second nine in 1895. James Braid later modified it, and said of anyone who lived in Elie/Earlsferry who did not play golf was a “crank.”

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE PLAYING THIS COURSE?: Check the weather forecast and try to plan this one for a bright, brilliant day. The views across the Firth of Forth to East Lothian and Bass Rock add a mystical quality to the round. Also make sure to set a pair of pants aside so you’re not subjected to the same fate as DJ 😉

CLUBHOUSE/FOOD: We didn’t set foot inside the clubhouse during our Tourist Sauce trip – went straight to the starter hut (where the periscope is) and then teed off. the 

 is an outstanding stop for beers, lunch, dinner or all of the above. I wish we’d had time to go back once more after our round.

TEE TIMES: Can be booked well in advance via 

 range from £47 in low season to £125 for weekday peak season. All day rates are also available.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Only 12 miles from St Andrews and is an easy drive through small villages and farmland. Recommend staying closer to the action.

Episode 6: Elie

The Crail Golfing Society is the seventh oldest golf course in the world, and possibly the most terrifying if you’re spraying the ball at all off the tee. I mean that jokingly, as you learn early on in the round to be on the lookout for errant shots, and also that the Scots are serious about their “FORE” calls. While golf is believed to have been played for hundreds of years prior, 1856 saw the first competition played across Crail’s Balcomie Links. Old Tom reworked the existing nine-hole routing in 1895 and added nine additional holes in 1900.

The theme of the course is one of simplicity and true minimalism, both in the aesthetics and the routing. Short grass abounds, bunkers are slung low in the flattish grounds, and greens largely follow the cant of the surrounding slopes. That’s not to say that the course lacks nuance – there are plenty of unexpected flourishes. However, those flourishes are of the natural variety and are present thanks to a combination of Viking fortifications and the unique geology of the area. The course is well-manicured and the greens kept to a slightly slower speed than you’ll find at many other courses in Scotland due to the high winds that often buffet the exposed site. If the perfect match play course exists, this is it.

Crail is the perfect change of pace compliment to a Fife trip featuring the brutes at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Elie. I look forward to returning to play the Hanse’s Craighead course on the next visit.

HOLE NOTES: #1 Perhaps the best opener of the entire trip, “Boathouse” is a short, downhill par-4 that affords a variety of different options. This is the hole where Soly played it over the boathouse. Seen in the title picture. #2,3,4,5 all head out along the North Sea toward Kingsbarns. They are *not* friendly to the wipey-scrape. “The Briggs” (#3) is a thought-provoking one-shotter that features prominently in the video. The fourth (“Fluke Dub”) and fifth (“Hells Hole”) are both brilliant dogleg-right par fours that require a decision on how much to cut off, and count among the strongest holes on the course. This outward stretch is pictured running along the right coast in the photo below.

#7 “North Carr” is a charming short-ish four that punches above it’s weight (a theme at Crail.) This is the hole that Poosh and I both took less-than-driver only to blow it OB right into the adjacent farm. Once we walked down the hill we realized the hole made us out-smart ourselves and blowing driver past the corner would take us out of beyond the OB risk. The approach is fraught with nuance, as an elevated grass path cuts diagonally short of the green, making the otherwise straightforward shot look harder than it actually is.

#11 “Lang Whang” is interesting both for the name and as it is the first of back-to-back par fives. This one heads back northward after the previous holes (8, 9, 10) all traipsed back south to the clubhouse. The next hole was also interesting. In the shot below Lang Whang is the hole bisecting the middle of the course with the three bunkers in a row down the middle. This photo also gives a sense of the compact nature of the layout.

#13 “Craighead” is the third of six total par threes on the day, all of which are relatively stern. This may be the most challenging of them all – playing over 200 yards even from the forward tees to an uphill green with severe slope in it.

#14 “The Cave” is the signature hole at Crail (or if not, it should be) – a pastoral par three playing down a steep hill to the boathouse abutting the first hole. The well-bunkered green site is punctuated by the bulkheads above the front bunker and a massive ridge separating the back shelf from the lower front tier. A cave sits to the right of the hole along the path to the back paddock, where the final four holes sit.

#15 “Mill Dam” doesn’t look like much from the tee, and it plays to only 264 yards from the tips, however it is an outstanding short four. Accounting for the firm (AF!) conditions, it was too short for my 3-wood but not enough for my hybrid, but you can’t 

 go for it. The risk lies in the the OB just off the back edge of the green and the fact that the entire surface slopes toward that OB. Genius hole.

#18 “The Quarry” is a challenging par three finisher that plays around 200 yards to a green canting from left to right. In the photo below you’ll see the 13 green and 14 tee below and to the right of the clubhouse. Then 15 through 18 wind back and forth to the left of the clubhouse. As mentioned in the episode, these holes look out toward the lighthouse that sits about eleven miles offshore marking a treacherous rock outcropping.

WEIRD COURSE TRIVIA: From the Crail Golfing Society website:

On July 1st 1789 the Society passed the ‘unanimous resolution that no member, in particular the Secretary, shall absent himself from the bowl on the pretence of tea drinking.’ Apparently the purpose was served, for three years elapsed before an infringement occurred, one member being then fined half a mutchkin of punch ‘for being about drinking tea. Mr L. Was convicted on his own confession.’

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE PLAYING THIS COURSE?: Expect the unexpected – you’ll hit a host of uncomfortable shots and have to chart your own unique way around the course. There are a bunch of humps, bumps, rolls, and bunkers in awkward spots that you won’t see anywhere else. We got our asses kicked. Along with Kilspindie, this course truly gave me an appreciation for shorter courses that pack a punch. The course is 5800 yards from the tips and will punch you in the mouth. Also expect to be received with authentic hospitality during your time on property. While we didn’t have a chance to meet the head pro, our interaction with the assistant pro, David Snodgrass, were exceptional and warm, despite us having played behind a few of the society’s grouchier members. It goes without saying, but the Society’s Secretary, David Roy, is a treasure – two parts historian, one part golf course architect, one part hospitality extraordinaire.

CLUBHOUSE/FOOD: Total charmer – the dining room boasts a resplendent view of the back paddock below and the North Sea beyond. Bountiful history is on display in the form of cups, medals, plaques, etc. We hadn’t planned on staying for lunch, yet in hindsight were glad that we did as it was one of the best meals of the trip.

TEE TIMES: Can be booked well in advance via the website. Balcomie will run you 90GBP during peak season for a morning time.

GREEN FEES: Balcomie will run you 90GBP during peak season and anywhere from 35-75GBP during off/shoulder seasons.

ACCOMMODATIONS: There are accommodations in the eponymous town nearby, however it is a short, straightforward drive over from St Andrews.

Episode 5: Crail

A host of elements make the Old Course what it is. Most often people focus on the history of the course, and for good reason. Simultaneously, however, the history sometimes detracts from what makes the course truly special. If one were to take away the Open Championship history and the design’s overarching influence on the game of golf you’d have the most fun golf course in the world. Those elements certainly don’t detract from the experience – it’s just that the golf course should be considered the main event. Here’s my attempt to explain 

My first two trips around the Old Course left me wanting:

“How am I supposed to nip a 60 degree of this hard pan?”

I harbored all of these thoughts during and after each of my first two rounds about St Andrews. And yet when I walked off the 18th green two summers later I declared that the Old Course was my favorite golf course in the world. Whoa!

It would be unfair to blame 29-year-old me. Inexperienced with links golf, I played 

 in lieu of the chess match demanded of the Old Course. I looked at the wide fairways and pulled driver at every opportunity. I did my best to “stay left,” as I had been advised (both on the motorways, and on the Old Course). I was out of position on nearly every hole, and I didn’t even know it – hell, I didn’t even know what out of position meant. With mounds and death-bunkers between me and the flag, reaching for the lob wedge was almost compulsory. And each time that lob wedge bounced off the hardpan and skidded into the equator of the ball. Maddening.

Fast forward to 2017: I’d transformed from a links caterpillar to a links butterfly. Trajjy 3-irons off the tee, punch 6-irons into greens, and bumpy 8-irons on the aprons were now second nature. I was armed with a much better understanding of both course management and my own capabilities. The Old Course was now a fair fight.

On the very first hole, I went against my caddie’s advice, which was to crank driver into the wind. Listen, Brett…. I’m not your average American. I know how to play links. Give me the 3-iron. After a good strike, I was left with 190 yards to the hole, with a wee burn in my path. Brett was already frustrated and told me I had to lay up as I wouldn’t get the next one over the burn. That wasn’t an option – I tried to prove him wrong. Into the burn I went. Carded a six. Dejected, I meandered over to the second tee. I’d teed off twenty minutes ago determined to re-write my personal history at the Home of Golf, yet my round was already washed away after playing one of the easiest holes on the course. Screw this place.

From there on out, I followed Brett blindly. With wind coming into and off the left for the entire front nine, Brett had me pound driver and let the stiff breeze blow my tee shots down the right side of the fairways. From there, I was stunned at how playable the golf course was. Assuming more risk down the shit-lined right side meant a better your angle for the approach. Lights started going off in my psyche. “Don’t be fooled by these wide fairways – be specific and strategic!” I told myself.

Angles matter at the Old Course. Having grown up in the States I can’t say I ever fully understood or appreciated the importance of angles. It wasn’t until I started playing courses with firm conditions that required landing the ball in front of the green and running it up that I recognized the importance of playing a hole backwards. Instead of mindlessly bombing away off the tee and figuring it out once you get there, you need to position yourself so that you have the right distance in from the right section of the fairway depending on the day’s pin position. This style of golf is paramount at TOC, and infinitely more interesting than the “hit it here, then hit it right here” style that’s often viable stateside.

It took a caddie like Brett to really hammer that home for me. He carefully studied the day’s pin position the wind, married those variables with what he’d gleaned from my game and offered up personalized, decisive advice based on those observations. Simply put, Brett opened my eyes to an entirely foreign game more than any caddie I’ve ever employed.

I’m not sure how many rounds Brett has caddied there, but there is a care that Brett puts into every shot that makes the player feel more invested in his/her round. I felt it the first go-around with him, and even more so the second time. As easy as it would have been for him to be on cruise control, nothing was routine. He didn’t just mindlessly hand me driver and tell me to swing away. Everything was conscientious and considered.

At times, this meant playing down an opposite fairway either to avoid trouble off the tee, or to create a better angle at the flag. Or both. There’s no set way to play any of the holes at the Old Course, and the options can be overwhelming. Again, this is where having a great caddie makes a world of difference. Going out here alone, you wouldn’t even know that some of these options exist!

The moment that gave me the most joy the first time around was a simple one: I had 156 into a par-4 on the back (I believe it was the 15th.) The wind was slightly helping, but it was about as easy of a club selection as I could make. Stock 9-iron. Brett re-centered me, and told me I had 112 to carry a swale, and all I needed was a 115 shot. Trusting him implicitly, I grabbed my 52 degree and hit a little punch shot that landed right at about 115. The ball rolled for what felt like a minute, and ended up 10 feet from the hole. Those previous mediocre rounds at TOC were clearly a “me” problem.

That day a miraculous up and down par on the road hole, and a mashed drive into the Valley of Sin brought us back into the town. With a modest gallery gathered I coaxed a ten footer down for a closing birdie. Four birdies on the back brought me home in 33 and I signed for a 73 from the back tees on a day the wind howled – probably the most fulfilling round of my life. Executing a shot down the “wrong” fairway because it was the right play was more satisfying than the purest of drives down a straightaway hole. I can’t recall ever walking off a golf course more in love with golf. I felt like an archeologist uncovering Pompeii.

On our return trip this past summer, I had to get Brett back on the bag. We lined up at 3 AM and begged for a tee time when they opened the doors at six, and were on the tee in the early afternoon.

With a completely different wind, Brett put 5-iron in my hand off the first tee. I made the mistake of walking onto that first tee box thinking I had this golf course figured out after a measly three rounds on it. I got tripped up several times, including at the second where I pulled a 3-iron after Brett suggested driver.

Not one shot was similar to any other shot I’d ever played at the Old Course, and it made me wish I could play it every single day. I made five birdies, but chased them with a whopping ten bogies. Some of them so mind-numbingly dumb that Brett struggled to hide his astonishment. Despite not being able to recapture the magic from the previous year, my appreciation for the course still grew. I’m often guilty of getting too caught up in my score, but that wasn’t the case here. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face coming off a three-putt on 18 for my highest score of the trip.

Add in the aforementioned layers of the history, the setting in the town, and the genuine excitement that comes from teeing it up at a place where the game was essentially invented, and you have a day of golf that can’t be topped. I can’t wait to get back.

HOLE NOTES: I’m not joking when I say I could do them all.

#1: As is typical with many Scottish courses, the first hole is designed as a warmup. Driving ranges were not even close to being a thing yet. It’s literally the widest fairway in the world, just inviting you to swing away as you wish.

#2: The chess match begins. The first seven holes are all played with shared fairways with back nine holes, but the second is the first one where the angle really matters.

#5: The first of two par-5’s. The mounding is deceptive, and with an elevated and blind green, it’s difficult to manage your distance.

#9: Another double wide fairway, but centerline bunkers make you be definitive on your line, and make you really consider whether you want to give it a go with driver downwind.

#11: The Eden – one of the most copied templates in the world, and an incredible hard per-3.

#13: Choosing a line off the tee and committing to it is essential, and it’s another hole that would be different every day you play it.

#14: Check the image above to see the incredible array of options you have on this tee.

#17: The Road Hole. The best hole in the world.

#18: An easy finish, and one of the more fun holes in the world, considering the setting.

WEIRD COURSE TRIVIA: Bobby Jones hated the Old Course so much that, at the 1921 Open Championship, he stopped keeping his score after the 11th hole and refused to turn in his scorecard. He later came full circle, and near the end of his life, claimed “if I had to select one course upon which to play the match of my life, I should have selected the Old Course.”

WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE PLAYING THIS COURSE?: Come in with an open mind, and be ready to play golf holes differently than you have in your life.

CLUBHOUSE/FOOD: Somewhat lacking. There’s a small hut near the first tee where there are snacks, water, and coffee available, along with a restroom. But there’s no clubhouse that you can access. There’s also an entire town right behind the 18th green…

TEE TIMES: Can be booked way in advance for the following year during late August and early September. You can also enter the ballot system two days before your desired date of play and hope to be drawn. If that is unsuccessful, you can line up at 3AM at the Old Course Pavilion and hope to get on the tee sheet when doors open at 6AM.

GREEN FEES: January-March: 88 pounds; April 1-15: 123 pounds; April 16 -October 14: 180 pounds ($250 US); October 15-31: 123 pounds; November-December: 88 pounds

ACCOMMODATIONS: St. Andrews is a tourist town so there are options aplenty. There’s the Old Course Hotel, but that’s only if you 

 want to open the pocket book. Same deal with the Rusacks, which sits just to the right of the 18th fairway. Decent hotels are plentiful in the area, as are small BnB’s. The ultra budget option is the dormitories, which is where we stayed and quite enjoyed our the space it afforded. We set up shop in the David Russell apartments at the University of Saint Andrews, just a short drive from the Old Course. The accommodations were basic yet ample – nice common area with a kitchen , each guy had a bedroom to himself, and a bountiful breakfast buffet was included each morning. Dormitory chic, I would call it. Would recommend.

Episode 4: The Old Course

I think the part of Episode 2 that rings the most true for me is the part about keeping score. It’s the absolute last thing you want to do while you’re at North Berwick.

I think NB is quite possibly the greatest match play course in the world and the only thing that can screw that up is worrying about whether you shot 85 or 84. The entire back nine is full of hero shots. If you’re successful with these shots, there’s nothing more fun than pulling them off. If you fail – and you take a few more cuts from the horrible place in which you missed – there’s nothing more fun than picking up your ball and heading to the next hole with your head held (relatively) high.

North Berwick was the first links course I ever played in Scotland, which set my impression for golf outside of the U.S. unfairly high. But it’s a place where that impression still remains today. And I think it’s also single-handedly responsible for exploding the portion of my brain that cares about keeping score. I can’t tell you what I shot the first time around (or anytime since), but I can tell you exactly what it felt like to try to hit over the wall on Pit or feed the ball down the slope on Redan or hold the green at Gate.

When you get done, you want to talk about the golf shots you were able to hit (or not hit), not the score you were able to put up. And luckily, the bar upstairs is absolutely perfect for doing so.

Of the courses that I’ve seen, it’s the one that most perfectly sums up what golf in Scotland means to me. There are no rules on how you have to play a shot, apart from those set by nature and physics, who happily laugh at you if you aren’t able to pull it off.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday (10:09 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.)
Tuesday, Thursday (10:09 a.m. to 4:09 p.m.)
Sunday (12:36 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

Between 60 and 140 pounds, depending on time of the year

I know it’s a cliche and I know it’s the most famous hole, but No. 13 (Pit) is as good as it possibly gets for me. It may not be the most subtle example of strategy in the world – as a giant stone wall guards the green and gets increasingly harder to navigate the farther you play from it – but it is probably my favorite example. My second answer would be The Entire Back Nine.

Before heading to the golf course, we hit up the Drift Coffee Shop just outside of town. It has to be among the best views of Bass Rock and North Berwick and has an incredibly good vibe. It’s made up of recycled shipping containers (shout out to the Sobotka family), which brings a good hipster vibe to the old world. And, of course, the coffee was great.

Like a lot of clubs in Scotland, there are actually multiple “golf clubs” that call North Berwick home. For instance, we got a look inside the nearby clubhouse of the Tantallon Golf Club, which was founded back in 1853. These clubs host all sorts of different medals and championships for their members and also create these (mostly) friendly rivalries with other clubs at the course or in the area. It’s not only a fantastic rabbit hole to start reading about how and why all of these were founded, but it’s also a good example of why the Scots are so passionate about golf. Imagine having a group like this constantly inviting you to play in tournaments for the sheer sake of beating the club down the road. It’s something that can and should be emulated more in the U.S. – clubs for the sake of golf, not swimming pools.

One of the things I found most interesting that was hard to translate to video was how the membership feels about their (relatively) newfound “must-play” status. The course has obviously been around for hundreds of years, but over the past 20 or so, the place has grown massively in worldwide popularity. This has left some members and locals that we spoke with feeling a little conflicted about what their course has become. We heard stories of members leaving NB for other lesser-known clubs because it’s gotten so crowded with excited tourists (you know, people like us).

It’s an extremely understandable concern on the part of the membership – you join a club to be able to play whenever you want. But it’s a tough balance for the club to strike. As we’ve said in this series and on the podcast, part of what makes the Scottish model of golf so affordable for locals is the ability to subsidize their memberships by charging high prices to visitors. As they figure out that balance, I wouldn’t be surprised to see prices go up and public tee times go down in the next few years.

Episode 2: North Berwick

I’ll never forget Kilspindie for the simple reason it was my first round of golf in Scotland. Off the plane, afoot in the home of golf, Kilspindie is a short, easy drive from Edinburgh International Airport. We had an early afternoon tee-time meaning we would be cutting it a bit close. There would be no time to casually change clothes in the men’s locker room, enjoy a needed coffee at the bar, or stroke a few practice putts. Instead we all hurriedly, haphazardly put on the requisite golf gear in the car, changed shoes seated on the car bumper, and had our tee balls in the air not 10 minutes after pulling into the parking lot. After years and years of anticipation, imagining what golf would be like here in Scotland, it was a surreal experience as those first few swings, and holes, zipped past in flurry of sights, sounds, and emotion.

Not every round of golf needs to be an exercise in self-flagellation, an act of sacrificing one’s score at the altar of ‘proper’ yardage, long-iron quotas or slope rating minimums. The Scots are clued in to one of golf’s essential secrets–the game is more fun when it’s about creativity, resourcefulness, and shot-making instead of trying to repeat a technically grooved swing over and over with static, dialed-in yardages.

Playing a hair over 5500 yards from the member tees, the Ben Sayers/Willie Park Jr. design is a par 69 laid out across a relatively flat expanse of land on Aberlady Bay and the Firth of Forth. What it lacks in dramatic terrain movement it makes up for in subtlety, quirk and fun. And of course the omnipresent elephant in the room here (and anywhere in Scotland) is the wind, nature’s x-factor which can transform these 5500 yards into all the length and slog with which one could hope to punish oneself. On the day we went around, however, the wind was relatively calm, which is to say it still possessed enough oomph to influence a great number of decisions and shot-shapes.

The true beauty of the wind, at least in regards to Scottish golf, is it renders calculated yardages more or less cosmetic in nature. The end result for a golfer is liberation, freedom to hit any club in your bag from just about anywhere on the course, sometimes in pursuit of creativity and other times out of sheer necessity. The meaninglessness of yardage is a bit of a mental hurdle to grapple with, but once you break through, and you will, there awaits a blank canvas on the other side upon which to paint (and hopefully execute) a beautiful array of shots.

The charm of Kilspindie is in its wonderful little quirks. Both nines start with fun par 3’s. There’s an observation deck on the third hole golfers can utilize to get a sense of the routing. The green complex at number four is sublime in its natural simplicity. The uphill, semi-blind tee shot on the ninth invites an aggressive line out over a big property boundary fence. An old stone wall is prominently in play on several holes coming down the stretch, and the eighteenth is a par 3.5 which plays directly to the clubhouse and damn near onto the adjacent patio. Collectively, these quirks are precisely what I most longed for coming across the Atlantic.

Kilspindie packs a lot of character into a relatively modest space. The walk is extremely manageable, an enjoyable jaunt along the bay with sight lines aplenty and the seaside breeze a constant companion. It’s an ideal round to play straight off the plane or as a second (or third!) round of the day, but I also believe it’s more than capable of standing on its own. It’s impossible to go around Kilspindie and not feel, deeply, on a molecular level, you are in Scotland, the game’s spiritual homeland. So relax, smile, and bask in the emotions.

: The only par 5 at Kilspindie. Into the wind can play closer to a par 6.

: Blind teeshot. There’s an observation deck off the teeing area one can climb to both see the routing of the hole as well as keep an eye on the tee shots of their playing partners.

: A signature hole. It’s just 365 yards but the #1 handicap because the green is just a dollop of land sitting precariously on a little sliver of land jutting into Aberlady Bay. An extremely fun approach shot!

No Laying Up

Videos

Episode 9: Castle Stuart

Episode 8: Cullen

Episode 7: Cruden Bay

How many clubs can Norman Xiong hit past an amateur's driver?

Episode 6: Elie

Episode 5: Crail

Episode 4: The Old Course

Episode 2: North Berwick

Episode 1: Kilspindie

Strapped, Iowa: Part 3, "Chasing The Mega Bonus"

TRAILER: Tourist Sauce, Season 2 (SCOTLAND)

Strapped, Iowa: Part 2, "Coldwater"

Strapped, Iowa: Part 1, "Budget-Friendly Golf"

"Caddie Sauce" at the BMW Championship

Tourist Sauce (Scotland): Episode 3, Musselburgh

Aronimink Golf Club: History, Restoration, BMW Championship Preview (Part One)

Aronimink Golf Club: Playing from the back tees (Part Two)

Episode 8: Tara Iti