Gailes Links, Irvine, Scotland

www.gaileslinks.co.uk

White tees SSS 72, par 71, 6535 yards               

Blue tees SSS 68, par 71, 5553 yards


Not to be confused with Western Gailes, its neighbour to the south, Gailes Links lies south of the town of Irvine close to the estuary of the River Clyde.  It is run by the Glasgow Golf Club which is the 9th oldest club in the world, being inaugurated in 1787.  It remains an all male club, so the course is not rated for ladies. 

The Gailes links first opened for golf in 1892 when the rising popularity of golf resulted in overcrowded courses in Glasgow and the club moved out to the Gailes linksland.  Members travelled by train from Glasgow to Irvine and then walked two miles to the course before a new station was built to serve the course.  The original layout was redesigned by Willie Park in 1911.  His design remains today with the exception of lengthening of the course from the championship tees to 6903 yards.

The original Ballochmyle red sandstone clubhouse was opened

in 1894 and is still in use today

Gailes Links is a traditional Scottish links course with heather and gorse lined fairways.  It is fairly flat and there are no sea views although the island of Arran can be seen on the horizon.  We played it with Lynn and David Lawson (and Maisie our cairn terrier) on a dull breezy day.  The fairways were rather soft for a true links course perhaps because of recent heavy rain.  The greens were unusually slow but had challenging and subtle slopes.  The prevailing wind is westerly and therefore across for most of the holes.

The 5th green nestles in a dell

The course starts with four par 4 holes which are traditional links holes but not particularly memorable.  The 5th is a challenging par 5 with excellent bunkering and a green nestled in a hollow.  This is followed by the only par three of the first nine whose green is well guarded by mounds and pot bunkers.  Two par 4s follow both with elevated greens sloping from front to back before the course turns for home.  The second nine has six par 4s which are a good mix of lengths.  The only par 5 on this nine is the 14th where heather, gorse and the Glasgow to Stranraer railway line await a sliced drive.  The green is approached over a large ridge with bunkers at either side and is guarded by pot bunkers to the right and left.  The best and most memorable holes in this nine are the two par 3s.  The 12th is a long carry over gorse to a steep plateau green and the 15th, although shorter, has two well placed bunkers to the right and a deep swale to the left.

The par 3 12th with its plateau green

Worth playing?  Yes - it is a fair test of golf though overshadowed by its more famous neighbours Royal Troon and Turnberry.

Falsterbo Golf Club, Sweden

www.falsterbogk.se

White tees par 71, slope 129, 6157 metres
Red tees par 71, slope 129, 5001 metres

Falsterbo is situated on the southernmost tip of Sweden where the Baltic Sea meets the Oresund.  The club was founded in 1909 but for the first two years golf was played to the east of the current course until nine holes designed by Robert Turnbull, Copenhagen's golf professional, were opened in 1911.  In 1930 the course was expanded to eighteen holes by Gunnar Bauer, a local doctor, at which time horses and cattle were banned on the course.  The only change since then was the rebuilding of the green complexes in the late 1990s.  Falsterbo has hosted a number of professional tournaments, most recently a Challenge Tour event in 2003. 

The clubhouse with the 9th green
in the foreground

On arrival at Falsterbo the first impression is of peace and quiet - it is situated in a nature reserve established for its rich flora and fauna and in particular because of the large numbers of migrating birds..  We had a friendly welcome in the quintessentially Swedish timbered clubhouse which dates 

back to 1914 and availed ourselves of the advice to go to the first floor and admire the views across the sea to Denmark.  The Falsterbo lighthouse, built in the late 18th century on the site of the oldest known beacon in Scandinavia, dominates the course.

The 1st to 6th holes are on the inland side of the course in a wetland area.  As a consequence there are a number of water hazards and the fairways and greens do not have the typical hard and fast running nature of links greens.  However the rest of the course is a typical links course and the whole is a pleasure to play.  The hazards are the many bunkers (nine greenside on the 7th and sixteen on the 9th hole) and the punishing rough which appears benign from afar but not when a shot has to be played from it!  The 11th is a standout par 3 with water

The 11th green is almost totally
surrounded by water

surrounding the green on three sides.  Concentration is required not just for the shot to the green but also to cross the narrow wooden bridge from the tee to the green.  The course then turns to run alongside the sea  The 12th is the only blind drive over a ridge but is a lovely hole heading towards the lighthouse.  The par 5 13th is a bit contrived around the lighthouse and will punish a slice which results in a blind second shot.  The 14th has the lighthouse as a backdrop and is a tricky par 3 with a difficult green to hold. 

There is then a delightful finishing stretch with the 16th green and 17th tee being in the tip of the peninsula.  The 18th hole is a lovely short par 5 with its green nestled in sand dunes next to the clubhouse. 

The Falsterbo lighthouse behind the 14th green

Worth playing?  Yes.  It is in a beautiful area
.

Viken Helsingborg Golf Club, Sweden

www.helsingborgsgk.com

Yellow tees par 68, slope 112, 4542 metres
Red tees par 68, slope 118, 4144 metres

Helsingborg golf course lies between the lovely old village of Viken and the Oresund, which is the strait between Denmark and south-west Sweden.  To get here we flew to Copenhagen and then crossed the Oresund Bridge which links Denmark and Sweden and is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe.

The thatched sheep shelter which was

built for a rescue boat and later

accommodated the club repair shop.

The course is set out on a narrow slip of links land on fairly flat terrain with views over to Helsingor in Denmark.  Golf was played on the land in the late 19th century but it wasn't until 1924 that the course was opened.  It was designed as a nine hole course by William Hester from Hoylake, Liverpool who had been the Professional and greenkeeper at Falsterbo from 1912 and who trained Sweden's first golf professionals.  The greenkeeper told us that the course has not changed since then and aims to be as close to playing golf in the 1920s as possible.  We even saw some players with hickory shafted clubs.

The 6th green with Denmark on the horizon

We played with Lynn and David Lawson on an overcast summer's day with a light breeze.  The tees are mats, the fairways are somewhat worn but the greens were in good condition althoug perhaps not as hard and fast running as classic links greens.  Fortunately the course was quiet as a number of holes cross each other which must give rise to a lot of shouts of 'fore!'.  There are no particularly memorable holes but some quirky ones, which is probably a good description of this club.  The clubhouse is delightful and feels as if it hasn't changed since the 1920s with many historical photographs and an honesty box.

The black timbered clubhouse overlooks the 9th green

Worth playing - Yes if you are in the area for the step back in golfing time.

Rhyl Golf Club, Wales

www.rhylgolfclub.co.uk

White tees par 71, SSS 71, 6315 yards
Red tees par 73, SSS 71, 5559 yards

Rhyl Golf Club lies on the North Wales coast to the east of the town of Rhyl, once an elegant Victorian resort which unfortunately declined in the late 20th century.  It was designed by James Braid and opened in 1890, leading to a claim to be Wales' oldest golf course. 

The 2nd green with the town of Prestatyn in the background

Rhyl is a nine hole course which lies on links land but is very flat.  There are few contours and no views of the sea because of a ridge which runs the length of the course,  Unfortunately the inland side is dominated by a large and rather noisy holiday park which runs the length of the course.  We played on a windy but dry day and were disappointed by the quality of the course.  The fairways although fast running were poor and the tees worn and infested by weeds.  The greens had clearly been watered and were slow and lush, not in keeping with a links course.  It has four holes out and five holes back but none were particularly memorable.

The course is bordered by a large holiday park

Worth playing?  No