The Missing Links: August 2018

Thursday, 23 August 2018

The Machrie, Islay, Scotland

https://www.campbellgrayhotels.com/machrie-islay-scotland/golf/

Blue tees par 72, SSS 70, 6309 yards
Yellow tees par 72, SSS 70, 5104 yards

The Machrie Golf Course lies on the south west coast on the inner Hebridean island of Islay. The name is a corruption of the Gaelic 'machair' which means fertile plain but is used to describe the dune grassland on which true links courses are built. Originally designed by Willie Campbell from Musselburgh in 1891 three years before he left for the USA to become head professional at Brookline Country Club, it was modified by Donald Steel in the 1970s. The course was renowned for its number of blind shots and traditional layout but unfortunately ran into financial difficulties. It was rescued in 2011 and completely redesigned by architect DJ Russell who widened the fairways, eliminated many but not all of the blind shots and placed a premium on shot placement.

The second hole is protected by
the Kintra burn on the left

The fifth green lies in a dell

We hadn't played the course for more than thirty years and were interested to try the new layout which has received largely positive but mixed reviews. Accompanied by golfing friends Marc and Beth Swiontkowski we played on a breezy and showery but clear day with lovely views over Laggan Bay.

The fairways are wide but stray off them and you will find punishing rough and probably lose your golf ball. There are many undulations and swales on the fairways and on and around the testing greens but only five bunkers on the whole of the course. The starting hole is a gentle left to right dogleg with a wide fairway but don't be lulled into a false sense of security as the second hole is a testing par 5 with the Kintra river running along the length of the hole on the left. Turning along the coast with views to the Rinns of Islay over Laggan bay the par three third has two of the bunkers on the course guarding the front of the green which slopes from left to right. The 5th is one of the few remaining blind tee shots over a large dune to a lower tier of fairway. The second shot is downhill to a receptive green nestled in the dunes. A short par 4, the 7th is a hogsback fairway with a large dune guarding the right side of the green so placement of the drive is paramount. The eighth runs up a valley to a plateau green tilted from back to front and with a deep narrow gully short. The traditional links shot cannot be played as any shot not landing on the green will run backwards into the gully. The first nine is completed by a simple unbunkered par three facing the ocean. It would probably benefit from some strategically placed bunkers.

Looking down the 6th fairway to the Rinns of Islay

A shot to the eighth green needs to carry

the whole way or risk ending up in

the gully short of the green

Turning back for home the Machrie burn runs along the left side of the par 4 10th but a good line to the green is on the left half of the fairway requiring some flirtation with the water. A short par 4 which is potentially driveable follows with a sloping and tiered green. The 14th is another par 3 which would benefit from bunkering but has a testing two tier green. The 17th is a short par 4 with a tight dogleg to the right to a green in a dell. It is the perfect example of how important placement of the drive is on the Machrie to avoid blind shots to the green. The 18th is a rather featureless long par 5 running uphill back to the hotel which we also felt would be improved by bunkering.

All in all the Machrie is an honest links course without pretensions to be what it is not. It is an excellent links course which can be enjoyed by all levels of amateur golfers.

The 14th green has two tiers but no bunkers

Worth playing? Definitely - perfect holiday golf for all levels of golfer.

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.