Nine after Nine
BY ED HODGE
5 MINS READ
For many, it’s that most wonderful time of the year. Forget Christmas, it’s long, dreamy nights on the fairways as the sun dips below the final flag. It’s nine-hole golf, it’s nine after 9pm. It’s bliss.
It’s a remarkable fact that almost a third of the courses in Scotland are nine-hole layouts. Take a turn off the well-trodden championship paths and you will uncover 178 nine-hole courses – according to official records – and probably more on private land.
Covesea Links
With short-form golf highlighted as one of the key factors to encourage beginners into golf and for members to add more scores, Scotland is simply a nine-hole haven. The country is blessed with a vast supply of fantastic short-form courses, small pieces of land steeped in history and often acting as community centres within villages. Resultantly, they tend to be found in more peripheral areas of the country, at all points of the compass.
For instance, 23 of Scotland’s nine-hole course are actually on islands – Barra, Corrie, Lochranza, Machrie Bay and Tobermory to name just five gems worth uncovering.
Growing up in Perthshire, I’m a tad biased. The beautiful region boasts 17 nine-hole courses. Three- time Ladies European Tour winner Carly Booth learned her trade at Comrie, while former Open and Masters champion Sandy Lyle has a deep affinity with neighbouring St Fillans, labelling it his ‘favourite inland course in Scotland’. Mains of Taymouth, set in stunning Kenmore on the banks of Loch Tay, is another worth a visit.
Ballindalloch Golf Course
The Gleneagles resort is also home to the PGA National Academy course, a venue where those Murray brothers, Andy and Jamie, struck their first golf balls before becoming more adept with the tennis variety. “Their first experiences of golf were there,” says mum Judy, of her two talented sons. “It was perfect for them, the holes are quite short and nine holes are more than enough when you are small.”
Delve further and satisfy your passion for nine-hole golf at remote, unique locations. Go south. St Medan – the most southerly golf club in Scotland – is nestled around the shores of Luce Bay, offering some wonderful holes on springy seaside turf.
Go north. Traigh is one of the most beautiful parts of the West Highlands. A series of sandy beaches run alongside the course, with stunning views to the Hebridean islands of Eigg and Rum, and the Cuillins of Skye.
Like a bygone era, these clubs continue to act as community hubs, offering a warm welcome to intrepid visitors. They may not receive attention, but that is perhaps the beauty for the golfer in uncovering them.
Rothes Golf Course
“When I grew up I played a lot of nine-hole golf,” notes Richie Ramsay, a three-time European Tour victor. “My grandfather, Roddy Robertson, used to take me to the nine-hole course at Hazlehead in Aberdeen. He basically used to take me out with cut-down clubs, tape them up and take me out for a round. I was competitive with my brother, Robin, too. I always remember it was about level 5s forme so if I could get it under 45 for nine holes I was delighted.”
Since 2011, I’ve returned to my nine-hole roots at Kingsfield in West Lothian. It offers a well-maintained course, driving range, short-game facilities, family putting green and a coffee shop. It’s a fantastic modern model.
Down in East Lothian is where Scotland’s nine-hole history truly lies. Musselburgh Links, with a par of 34, is the location for one of the oldest courses in the world.
Musselburgh Links
Reflecting further down the years, Scotland’s nine-hole story developed when prestigious names built nine-hole courses. The Balgove course, under the charge of St Andrews Links, and Cruden Bay’s St Olaf course being such examples.
Back in the central belt, just off the M9, Bridge of Allan is home to a hillside nine-hole layout created by Old Tom Morris in 1894. A course that offers gorgeous views across to historic Stirling and beyond, the opening hole is iconic – it measures 223 yards uphill over a wall. Take your par-3 and run.
Over in the east to Fife, at Anstruther near St Andrews, discover the ‘hardest par 3 in Scotland’. The 245-yard 5th hole, ‘Rockies’, calls on you to strike blind from an elevated tee to a tiny, sloping green. The sea on the left is a worrying distraction. It’s fun golf, it’s friendly golf, it’s nine after nine. In today’s modern world, where time is precious, what more do you need?