The Missing Links: Tain, Scotland

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Tain, Scotland

www.tain-golfclub.co.uk

SSS White tees 72
Red tees 73

Tain golf club was founded in 1890 but like its near neighbour, Dornoch, golf is thought to have been played here for several hundred years. It was initially a 15 hole course designed by Old Tom Morris but in 1894 became 18 holes. It has been altered since so that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 9th, 10th 14th and 15th still retain elements of his original design.

The 3rd green looking back to the town of Tain

The course lies on the outskirts of the town of Tain on the south side of the Dornoch Firth. Only a few holes have sea views and much of the course is heathland rather than links. Links elements are obvious in the holes nearer the sea and the bunkers are all deep and revetted. Memorable holes are the 11th whose name, the Alps, is self explanatory. It is a par 4 for men and 5 for ladies with a hidden green protected by two large sentry dunes. The 12th runs along the Firth with a view of Glenmorangie distillery, after which it is named, in the distance. The 17th is a long par 3 for men and for ladies is a risk and reward par 4 with a driveable green over the Aldie burn.

This is a good holiday course where we found a very warm welcome from both the professional and the clubhouse staff alike.

Worth playing? Yes - a fun course with a warm welcome.

The 11th green looks over the Dornoch Firth

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The Links Project

There are 246 true links golf courses in the world and this blog is a record of our attempt to play all of them. My husband Ron and I are keen golfers and I came up with the idea of this project after he gave me the book by George Peper and Malcolm Campbell 'True Links' which lists them all.

The commonest question we are asked about our project is 'How do you define a true links course?' This will be debated by aficionados for long after we have (hopefully) completed our quest and there will never be a correct answer. The strict definition is from the British Golf Museum:

1. The course must be beside a river estuary

2. It must offer partial or occasional views of the sea

3. It must have few trees

4. It must have numerous bunkers

5. It must have nines that run out and back, the front heading to a far point and the back returning to the clubhouse

Peper and Campbell defined their list as follows:

Terrain - how close is the course to the sea? Do the fairways run fast and hard? Do the greens favour a run-on approach? How open is the site? How natural? Is there a freedom from trees? Is the invasion of gorse and brush controlled? How light is the environmental footprint on the land?

Turf - is there a sand base? What grasses are dominant on the fairways and greens? Is the rough managed ( creating biodiversity for flora and fauna)? How well does the course drain?

Weather - how exposed is the site to the elements? What are the typical wind conditions? Does the course play hard and fast all year round? Must temporary greens and tees be used in winter? Is the course susceptible to winter closure?

Peper and Campbell included courses which supplied the correct answers to most of these questions. But however defined, to me the poem by Sir John Betjeman encapsulates the feeling of links golf.