Playing Monifieth
The regular London-Aberdeen train thunders past the first tee of Monifieth’s Medal Course with a timing that catches most visitors off guard... usually just at the top of their backswing. In much the same way as at Prestwick, where the railway line also runs along the side of the first hole, it’s not uncommon to find you’ve carved it behind the last coach as it disappears up the line towards another golfing mecca just a few minutes north.
Monifieth Golf Links is undiscovered country for many golfers, but it shouldn’t be. Historically, its pedigree sits proudly alongside the greats of golf. Laid out in 1845 by Allan Robertson as a 9-hole course, it was extended in 1880 to 18 and has remained a gem on this pretty Angus coastline, and along with Panmure and Carnoustie one of the great triumvirate of majestic courses along this coast. A second Monifieth course, the Ashludie, was later added and the two are managed by a Trust. The links are shared by four golf Clubs whose Clubhouses are aligned along nearby Princes Street and their “backs” face out onto the 18th green. Monifieth was an early pioneer in using handicapping methods for play, and in the 1930s installed a ball-marking machine at the Starter’s Box to enable members to personalise their golf balls, something which is the norm these days. If your ball was lost, and handed in, you paid the Starter threepence to get it back: a penny to the Starter, and two pence to the finder. Golf balls were expensive to lose.
That ball marker would not have been much use for those crossing the railway with their tee shot off the first. The course begins from a broad tee area, next to the attractive bungalow-styled Starter’s Box with its verandah, the large putting green and the tapering car park right next to the railway. This medal course is a typically Scottish links, like St Andrews’ Old Course or Moray Old Course, where it starts and finishes in the town. The railway is dominant though, always heard and occasionally seen all the way to the 6 th green. The 6 th and 7 th holes also flirt with the legendary Barry Burn, of more concern on the 7 th where the Burn turns south to run parallel with the fairway before cutting east at 180 yards off the back tee.
Of the outward third, three of the tees are precariously positioned short and left of the previous green: stands of mature pines give some protection though from errant hooks, although the sound of “fore” rings out frequently during a round. Walk-backs maximise the length of the course though and, at par-71 and 6655 yards off the tips, this Championship Qualifier where Tom Watson cut his teeth prior to winning his first Open at Carnoustie bites at every opportunity. The fairways are true links: old dunes become a formidable test through the middle of the course across the fairways of the 5 th , 9 th , 12 th and 15 th sometimes creating blind shots for the ball that lands below the ridges. Undulations abound, particularly on the first four holes and the parallel 17 th and 18 th fairways. These add to the drama at the 4 th where a rising old dune ridge tops out at about 160 yards from the green. Land short, and the view to the green is partially hidden, but what you can see is a large mound creating a neck, and protecting the front right approach to the green. The putting surface is itself set almost in a bowl, with an embankment of fescue and marram encroaching the centre of the green on the left, and the banking to the higher 5 th tee on the right. It’s no wonder that this hole, ‘Featherbed’, plays SI 1, and Monifieth’s Professional recommends it be played as a par-5 all day long.
Those who have had the experience of playing Monifieth revel in its true test of golf, picking their way through the amazing dunes, the broom, gorse and heather. As a traditional course, it is uncompromising: its rugged dunescape demands both length and accuracy for the professional, but provides great fun and a sense of achievement for the handicapping golfer. The course significantly switches direction eight times in your round, with long par-4s requiring the most demanding drives. Holes like the 10 th are no exception: water lies to your left in a small, island-adorned lochan, heather mounds climb on top of each other to the right, and with the gathering bunker to right of the green perhaps the driver off the tee here might not be the sensible shot to play. Big greens nestling in gentle dells tempt you for the “have a go” shots, although the resultant putt back across these fast, firm surfaces might best be compared to the degree of wedge required were it on the fairway. One particularly challenging pin position can sometimes be found on the 12th, when the target is set into the back left turn of the huge, kidney-shaped green. Protected by a bunker front left, it’s the epitome of greenkeeper’s revenge.
Whilst the course is generally open, rippling and exposed like a links, the abundance of mature trees gives it a parkland feel in places. The running line of pine down the 4 th almost feels like Rosemount. Monifieth’s bunkers are more often than not perfectly circular, beautifully maintained and perfectly positioned to cleverly catch the unsuspecting player: if your GPS doesn’t tell you where they are, it would make sense to buy a Strokesaver at the Starter’s Box.
Walking off the 18 th green you’ll feel that you might want to go right back over to the 1 st tee, only a matter of yards away through the pines, and do it all again. The sheer pleasure of playing this unexpected gem of a course is reward in itself, but those visiting the land of the Budden should seek out both courses here in Monifieth. Why not grab some lunch at your Clubhouse, and then pop out to play the Ashludie in the afternoon? Although it is around 1500 yards shorter than the Medal course, it pushes the golfer to be accurate with its slightly smaller greens and, surprisingly, much more difficult contouring around them. For those reasons, an afternoon’s game is equally memorable and, with a Strokesaver, will feel even more fun.
Given that links golf demands imagination, both the Monifieth Medal and the Ashludie are the type of courses that make you creative in ways you’ve never imagined your golf could be, and allow you to summon up shots that are normally reserved for the greats of golf. Don’t drive by on the road to Carnoustie without paying these links a visit; your time in Monifieth will be well rewarded.