Loch Lomond Golf Club

Loch Lomond Golf Club proved to be one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences that I have had at a golf club. The level of luxury and service rivals any top club in the world. Loch Lomond is arguably the most exclusive golf club in the UK, and it proved extremely difficult to arrange a round. After two and a half years of trying to get on, I gave up, and as these things go, I was randomly approached a few months later with the opportunity to play. What a round it turned out to be!

We pulled through the imposing guarded gates of Loch Lomond Golf Club and made our way around a small bay. Holes 17 and 18 can be seen along your left, as well as a sight of the club’s large yacht, which is available to members to use on the 25 mile long Loch Lomond. The picture is framed by a beautiful view of Ben Lomond in the background. Once rounding the bay, the imposing Rossdhu Mansion comes into breathtaking view. The stunning manor house, built in 1773, serves as one of the world’s most luxurious clubhouses.

We met our host member in front of the clubhouse and made our way to the tastefully understated, yet amenity filled, gorgeous locker room. A visit to the pro-shop and a chat with the pro told us that we were one of only four groups out that day, and we would have the course to ourselves. A beautiful lunch and drinks set the scene before heading out to the range and teeing off. The exclusivity and lore surrounding Loch Lomond leads one to expect a stuffy and “up-tight” experience behind the gates, but reality is the polar opposite. Everything was incredibly relaxed. Staff and members were equally friendly, and everyone seemed to be great friends sharing jokes and stories and enjoying each other's company during our visit.

The Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish designed course is currently ranked #73 in the World. The views of both Loch Lomond and the surrounding hills are breathtaking. Unfortunately, during our visit there was low lying cloud cover, but the temperature and weather were otherwise excellent. Hopefully, another visit to the club can happen when it is nice and sunny!

The approach to the 1st green (pictured above) sets the tone for the course. The tee shot works uphill and to the left, demanding a well placed tee shot on the right-hand side of the fairway. Heavily bunkered, but fair, green complexes were to be found the entire round, with thick lush rough punishing any wayward balls.

The 3rd is a dogleg left par 5 working out towards the loch. The tee shot demands a big ball to carry the bunker guarding the corner, and trees short right of the green put a premium on well placed layup shots.  A small body of water short right of the green deters people going for the green. It is an excellently designed hole.

The par 3 5th measures 175 yards with a gorgeous view of the loch and hills (in the clouds) framing the green. It is another example of a very fair, well designed green complex that punishes poorly struck tee shots. The green is considerably deeper than it appears off the tee.

The 6th hole is a 580 yard par 5 and is the number one stroke index hole. This picture was taken from 255 yards out in the left rough, and shows the beautiful bunkering on the second half of the hole. The loch sits ominously close on the right side of the hole, and everyone in our group subconsciously aimed or pulled their shots left trying to avoid the water.

Number 8 is a par 3 directly in front of the clubhouse. It is a fair 160 yard hole with a frightening amount of bunkers distracting golfers from the primary objective - hitting the green. After having called in your food and drink orders using the club phone hidden in a tree off the 7th tee, Loch Lomond staff meet you off the edge of this green with food, drinks, and cigars. The staff seemed to always know where our group was on the grounds, and anticipated our needs and desires. For instance, upon finishing the rounds, our normal shoes had been polished, our golf shoes were taken to be cleaned and polished, and our car had been valeted from the off-site lot in case we needed anything from the trunk.

The 9th is a short 325 yard hole, whose main defense is a wickedly small and well bunkered green. A hybrid off the tee left just under 100 yards to the hole, which was positioned on a thin band of green measuring less than 15 paces wide. 

The 12th hole required a solid drive in order to put a short iron in hand for the approach shot. The green  is very intimidating with a large false front / collection area short right (seen pictured above with the golfer and his caddie). It was one of my favorite holes on the course, and I would love to have stood out in the fairway and hit practice balls into the green all afternoon.

The 14th hole was a reachable 320 yard par 4. Golfers have two options playing the hole. You can hit a hybrid club down the left, or aim directly at the green, hitting over the marsh and burn on the right. Click on the photo to enlarge and see both options off this tee box. Our group saw three birdies and a par on this hole. Three of us playing off 3 handicaps hit the green (unheard of according to caddies), and oddly enough the player who took it down the left side made one of the birdies. 

I was fortunate enough to have an eagle on this 16th hole. It is a 515 yard par 5 and, after hitting a drive down the right side of the dogleg left fairway, I was left with 240 yards into the green protected by a small body of water (pictured above). A solid 3 wood left a make-able 15 foot putt. My caddie was a man named Jim who had been working at the club fourteen years. He was incredibly helpful the entire day, and he read that eagle putt perfectly. He was invaluable during the round and I was grateful to have him on the bag. 

The finishing hole was a dogleg left hugging the contour of the bay. Big hitters could aim at the right edge of the clubhouse to cut off the edge of the loch. The risk was aiming too far left and getting stuck behind the trees (as I did) or, worse, having the slope kick your ball into the water. It is a strong finishing hole, which capped off a course featuring many tough, but very fair, holes of golf.

When our round concluded, staff were waiting off the green to take our clubs and check on our needs. We headed into the bar for drinks and dinner. After a few pints, we placed our dinner orders and headed into the luxurious locker room to have a shower and change clothes. As would be expected, the shower was once of the best I have ever experienced. On the patented PowerShower rating scale, it received an unheard of rating of 9, tying for first place with Prestwick Golf Club’s member locker room showers. The food and atmosphere were second to none, as was the menu and drink list.

The golf at Loch Lomond was extraordinary, but it was the overall experience that will make my visit to the club so memorable. I have to thank our host member for his incredible generosity, good golf, and good chat throughout the day. The sense of occasion surrounding the round will not be matched any time soon!

Renaissance Club

While sitting on the train to North Berwick on my way to Renaissance Club, I fully expected to compare every aspect of Renaissance Club to its neighbor, Archerfield. On the train back to St Andrews post-round, I had come to realize that the golf at Renaissance Club offers something different to the club just down the coast. Archerfield’s two courses are there for the entertainment of the members, but at Renaissance, Tom Doak created a challenging world-class course, worthy of fighting its way into the upper half of the UK's top 100 courses.

Renaissance Club opened up in 2008 with a similar ethos to Loch Lomond. Different from most Scottish courses, a largely international membership base is able to fly in and relax in a golfing haven, hidden from society, while being provided with anything of which a golfer could dream. To exemplify this, we overheard the chef asking a member, “What would you like for dinner tomorrow?” to which the member replied, “Lobster would be good...” The chef answered, “I’ll have one brought in.”

         
The temporary clubhouse would make most permanent clubhouses jealous. Marble floors, sinks, and showers in the locker room make me wonder what the permanent locker room will be like. (Could we see a PowerShower rating of 10??) I could go on about the club’s offerings and treatment of the exclusive membership, but what really stood out was the golf course. (Click on the pictures to see full, large detail.)

The hole in the above picture is the 4th. After a strong first three holes, this fourth sets the tone for the round. The fairway has plenty of room to the left, but the left tree forces the golfer to favor the right side of the fairway. The green complex is something of genius with bunkers short right, and a massive backstop on the left side of the green, again encouraging the right side of the fairway for an optimal angle into the backstop. 

The 7th hole is a dogleg right with the picture above being taken right at the bend of the dogleg. The green was extremely large with a tree guarding far left pins, slopes guarding the front, and bunkers guarding the right side. 

The 8th hole (green above) is a drivable par 4. It is also the first place that the original stone walls surrounding the course come into play. The green, like many others on the course, is massive and very undulating. None of these pictures do the slopes justice. The unfinished clubhouse can be seen in the background... It will be extremely impressive. 

At the turn, a member of staff came out to offer us tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and snacks.

                           

There wasn't a single weak hole on the back nine. The 10th, pictured above, is a long dogleg right requiring a carefully placed drive on the left side of the fairway. In another stroke of designing skill, Doak placed the last bunker on the hole at 185 yards out. How many par 5s have you seen without a single bunker around the green? Instead of bunkers, large slopes guard the green. 

The 11th hole was my favorite hole on the golf course. It was an extremely strong hole, which carefully straddled the balance between too difficult and enjoyable. The picture above is taken from the tee, while the picture below is taken looking backwards from the green. The pictures don't do the massive scale of the hole justice. 

Another massive green is found at the 11th with bunkers forty yards out, thick grass and dunes left, and slopes filtering towards the ancient walls to the right. A common theme seen at the course is open, harmless entries to the greens, but miss left or right, and you're in trouble. 

The 14th hole puts a premium on accurate driving. I know this personally, as I was stuck in a deep fairway bunkers on the right side of the fairway (look carefully in the picture). A "figure 8" style bunker guards the dead center, but a natural chute on the left side of the fairway will slingshot a good drive past it. 

The 18th hole was playing downwind during our round and I took full advantage with a high flighted "North Carolina" style drive. The wall running across the fairway makes for a distinctive last hole that will not soon be forgotten. A shelf on the back left portion of the green makes for an interesting pin in a "make or break" situation. 

As you can tell from this writeup, I can only say good things about Renaissance Club. I was treated extremely well and everyone was extremely friendly. The course was in perfect condition, although the greens were slow. I can't wait to go play again when the greens are running fast on a less windy day. I found myself wanting to write about every single hole on the course.

Looking over the 14th, 13th, and 11th holes on the course.

After reading about the course and hearing me sing its praises, you may ask yourself, why isn’t Renaissance higher in the Top 100 in the UK? The main reason is that, due to its young age and high level of exclusivity, much of the golfing world has not seen Renaissance Club. That is how the membership likes it. Another reason would be the lack of seaside views, like those found at Kingsbarns or Castle Stuart. According to my host, once the new seaside holes are finished, they will welcome the ranking panelists. At that point, I would be shocked if Renaissance doesn’t place solidly within the top 100. 

THE NEW HOLES:

There are a number of new holes in the process of creation at the course. They will change the routing fairly drastically. I am going to focus on one hole in particular that will likely be the signature hole. It is a par four with the sea down the entire left side. I was told by my host that the range of tee boxes will allow the hole to be made barely driveable if hosting a Scottish Open or other event. I cannot wait to play the course again once these holes are complete. 

Tee box set within the dunes

New fairway being shaped right beside the beach

New green with grass growing immediately ocean-side

Castle Stuart Golf Links

           Being in close proximity to both Dornoch and Nairn, Castle Stuart Golf Links is definitely the “new kid on the block” being only two years old. Located in Inverness, Scotland, it is a rural course, and is worth the long drive. When I was offered the chance to go play Castle Stuart with a group of St Andrews golfers for a mere 25 pounds, with free transportation, I jumped on the opportunity.

            The day we played the course was some of the worst weather in which I have ever played golf. We saw every form of weather, short of snow, during the four-hour beating.  There was hail which felt like getting shot with BB guns, horizontal rain which stung any exposed skin, high winds which put any shot above the ground at its mercy, and sunshine which made us sweat under our Galvin Greens. The moment at which I knew Castle Stuart was a good course was while standing on the 18^th fairway, having lost eight or so balls, covering my eyes for fear of having them put out by hail, and thinking, “I wish I could go around again!”

            Six of the holes on the course are bordering water. These holes are truly on the water and when the tide is high, water can be splashing up next to the tee boxes, greens, and fairways. One of the best examples of this is on the first hole with a hillside of gorse on the left, and the water splashing on the player’s right. The 10^th is a spectacular hole with the player hitting from an elevated tee down to the fairway, which has the water running down the entire left side. The remaining twelve holes that are not bordering the water are no letdown. The views are spectacular and each hole poses a challenge to the player. 

            The Scottish Open was just held at Castle Stuart. The course received tons of rain before and during the week, which led to a shortened event and very low scoring. I hope that this low scoring and the poor conditions don’t taint anyone’s view of Castle Stuart and what it has to offer. I will hopefully make a trip back to the rural location within the next year!

***A more extensive blog post with more hole descriptions and pictures will be posted upon a future trip to the course.