Cruden Bay Championship, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

 www.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk

White tees par 70, SSS 71, 6287 yards
Red tees par 74, SSS 74, 5722 yards

Cruden Bay owes its existence to the Great North of Scotland Railway Company which commissioned an eighteen hole golf course for its newly erected Cruden Bay Hotel, both of which opened in 1899.  The railway brought golfers and hotel guests to nearby Port Erroll from where a specially constructed tram line delivered them to the front door of the hotel.  The course was designed by Old Tom Morris and Archie Simpson and the inaugural tournament in April 1899, graced by many famous golfing names such as James Braid, Ben Sayers and Andrew Kirkaldy, was won by Harry Vardon.  In 1926 the layout was redesigned by the partnership of Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler and apart from minor changes remains the same today.

The fourth is a testing par three with a

difficult carry to the green

On arrival at Cruden Bay there is a dramatic view of the sand dunes, fairways and greens of the two courses, the Championship and the nine hole St Olaf, and beyond to the sea from the elevated clubhouse.  Expectations are high at this stage but unfortunately are not completely fulfilled by the course.  The first hole is a long par 4 with a left to right sloping fairway.     The second is a weak hole

with a plateau green which is so steep that the pin cannot be seen from thirty yards short.  The 3rd is a quirky hole with a blind tee shot which must be placed on the left half of the fairway otherwise the approach to the green is also blind.  The 4th is a lovely par three which plays towards the sea from a elevated tee on a large sand dune over a deep hollow to an elevated green carved out of another dune.  On the left is the Water of Cruden and the small fishing village of Port Erroll.  There follows a roller coaster of holes starting with the fearsome carry from the elevated tee at the 5th. For ladies the approach shot to the 6th is almost impossibly difficult, usually requiring a wood which must carry a burn just short of

The approach to the 6th green is guarded by a burn and bunkers 

the green and hold a sloping green.  The 7th is another dogleg left to a steep plateau green.  From the 8th tee we commented on the enormous sand dune to the left, little realising that it had to be climbed to reach the 9th tee.  A killer climb is rewarded by wonderful views of the sea and golden sand beach of the Bay of Cruden.

Several rather nondescript holes follow with the 10th, 11th and 12th being rather wet as they lie in a flood plain on a lower level.  A burn meanders across the course at this point and comes into play at the 10th, 11th and 13th which is a par 5 to a green set in a bowl.  The two weakest holes on the course follow.  Both the tee shot and the approach shot to the 14th are blind and the par 3 15th is also a blind hole.  Unusually the 16th is also a par 3 and is a  classic links course short hole with the green guarded by the 'coffins', grassy hollows to the right and back of the green.  The course finshes with two wet and unmemorable holes.

The view from the 9th tee looking back over the 15th green to

to the right and the 16th green to the left

The terrain is very demanding at Cruden Bay and there are a number of hole routings with blind shots and some 'no-nos' of modern golf design.  This is offset by the very warm and helpful welcome which we had from all the staff.

Worth playing?  Yes but be prepared for a frustrating round!