The Missing Links: St Olaf course, Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, Scoltand

Monday, 24 October 2016

St Olaf course, Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, Scoltand

www.crudenbaygolfcourse.co.uk

Blue tees par 64, SSS 64, 4926 yards
Red tees par 68, SSS 68, 4692 yards

St Olaf is the nine hole course which lies in the middle of the Cruden Bay championship course (see today's date). It is on fairly flat but undulating terrain and is a welcome relief after the steep slopes of the second nine of the big course. Its main defences are gorse and strategically placed bunkers. The most memorable holes are the par 4 sixth and the four par 3s The 6th has an approach over a hill to an elevated green nestling in the dunes. This is followed by the par three 7th which plays over a gully to a sloping green. The ninth is a lovely par three to a large undulating green which is a real birdie opportunity with an accurate drive.

The 6th green

Worth playing? Yes as a fun little course. A welcome relief after the frustrations of the big course!

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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.