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I completely understand why so many golfers travelling to Scotland are desperately keen to play our great links golf courses.
Scottish links golf is the Holy Grail. It is how golf was meant to be played. You are following in the footsteps of the great Open Champions….you get the idea! I would argue that exclusively playing links means foregoing some fantastic golf courses, not just in Scotland, but around the world.
Heading to The Heathland
An invite to an early season round at Blairgowrie Golf Club is not something I would turn down. It really is a wonderful venue comprising two championship golf courses Rosemount & Lansdowne, a delightful 9 holer The Wee Course and one of the finest golf clubhouses in the country. For many visitors and members, including myself, the Rosemount Course is the favourite.
Today’s Rosemount course is a James Braid design with influences from the great Dr Alister MacKenzie. The more modern Lansdowne now regularly plays host to a number of championships. The course was designed by the sadly missed Mr Peter Alliss and his design partner Dave Thomas. Of Blairgowrie GC itself the legendary golf commentator and former Ryder Cup player once stated
“ The place just oozes charm and class…”
As I start driving north out of Glasgow towards Stirling, Blairgowrie is around 90 mins and 80 miles away. I can recommend the route for any students of Scottish history as Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument dominate the skyline. Take the Inverness route round the outskirts of Perth and head off up the A9 towards the town of Blairgowrie.
Naturally the golf club in Blairgowrie has to be situated on Golf Course Road. On the day I played the car park was on the busy side of packed. Members and privileged visitors manoeuvring the usual assortment of clubs,bags and trolleys preparing for battle.
The Clubhouse & The Golf Courses
I make no apologies for declaring that the award winning clubhouse at Blairgowrie Golf Club is simply magnificent. As soon as I walked in I was met by one of the friendly golf operations team. It is always much appreciated to receive some guidance on check-in, locker arrangements and food & drink options.
I was also delighted to see the same high standard of customer service extended to the team in the Professional Shop. Thanks to Professional Neil Cameron and the Club Starter who managed to get me out ahead of my scheduled time.
Standing on the 1st tee I was immediately struck by the sheer beauty of the club’s surroundings; set at the foot of the Grampian Mountains amongst glorious pine, birch and heather. The Rosemount is regularly voted in the top 50 golf courses in Scotland. It is definitely a very striking and impressive inland course. Although the fairways are lined by trees, there is plenty of room to let you open the shoulders off the tees.
On many of the relatively short Par 4’s I preferred to go with 3 wood or even a long iron for my tee shots; finding the better lines into the well protected greens. I just loved the feel of the firm and beautifully conditioned fairways which encourage and reward the well struck approach shot. Overall I was well pleased with my performance on the greens. Many of them are blessed with severe slopes and very decent speed for so early in the season.
The Tough Final Stretch
I would agree with many golf reviews that the Rosemount course saves some of its best holes for the final run in. From the 15th until you walk off the 18th green your game will be fully challenged.
After negotiating the short but tricky par 3 15th, I was just relieved to see the dangerous drive at 16 find the fairway. The final par 3 on the course at the 17th is a glorious looking golf hole. The large green features a two tier layout placing extra pressure on your tee shot to find the right level.
Reluctantly after such a fantastic afternoon of golf I walked on to the 18th tee. In the distance I could just about make out the fine clubhouse. Unfortunately the approach to the green is guarded by a cleverly positioned large tree. The final green is of course also overlooked by the clubhouse which, on such a glorious day, now had a small crowd gathered on the outside deck. I was more than happy with my lag putt from the fringe to afford a tap in par to finish a simply fantastic day’s golf in the most glorious of settings.