Among The Gems
Belleisle
About one mile south of Ayr on the main coastal road (A719) and situated in beautiful Belleisle Park, this magnificent course designed by James Braid is part of one of the best public facilities in the United Kingdom. One of two courses there, it plays as a parklands track, more like an American course than most here. The starter's office and pro shop are located on the bottom floor of the stately Belleisle Hotel. The Robert Burns Cottage and Museum are less than a mile away.
Course description: Belleisle hosted the Senior Scottish PGA Championship last year and is a regular stop on the Tartan Tour, which is run by the Scottish PGA. It is unique in that it opens with back-to-back par fives, but every hole at Belleisle is a distinct challenge. Hundreds of beech trees line the wide fairways, and there are wonderful views of the Isle of Arran from the sixth and seventh holes.
Year opened: 1927
Par: 71 (6,431 yards)
Signature hole: The seventh, a 155-yard par three, is called the Weeniat, meaning "small and compact." Five deep bunkers surround the green, awaiting the slightest error.
How to get a tee time: Open to the public daily, though the club prefers a call in advance.
Contact: Starter's Office, Belleisle Golf Course, Doonfoot Road, Ayr, Scotland KA7 4DU
Phone: 01 144-1292-441 258
Pro: David Gemmell
Rentals: Clubs and pull-carts
Carts: None
Caddies: Junior members are available with advance notice
Dress Code: Standard golf attire. Lounge and cafeteria open to all.
Of note: Belleisles's sister course, the Seafield, is well worth a round. It is shorter than Belleisle (5,650 yards, par sixty-eight), but only two of its par fours are under four hundred yards. It is partly a parklands course and partly, on the sixth through thirteenth holes, a links-style course.
Directions from Troon: Take the coastal road to Ayr. The course is located about a mile south of town on A719.
Good local pub: The Brig o' Doon House Hotel in Ayr, less than a mile away, is right next to Burns's cottage.
Glasgow Gailes
Like Western Gailes next door, this course is used as an Open Championship qualifying site Unlike the usual links layout, this Willie Park Jr. design returns to the clubhouse after nine The commuter railway comes into play on portions of the course.
Course description: Though it is a half mile from the shore, this course is still bedeviled by the firth winds. Heather lines the fairways, and when it blooms in midsummer the penalty for a less than accurate shot is all but certain.
Year opened: 1892
Par: 72 (6,513 yards)
Signature hole: The seventh, a 155-yard par three, is called the Weeniat, meaning "small and compact." Five deep bunkers surround the green, awaiting the slightest error.
How to get a tee time: Open to the public daily, though the club prefers a call in advance.
Phone: 0114412-4311347 far the course and 01 144-1419-422011 for the club secretary
Pro: Jack Steven
Caddiemaster: Jack Gibson
Rentals: Pull-carts. Clubs can be arranged with advance notice.
Carts: None
Caddies: Junior members are available with advance notice
Dress Code: Coat and tie are required in the main lounge and dining room, but there is another lounge with food and drink in which golf attire is acceptable.
Directions from Troon: From the center of Troon, proceed on B746 for 1.5 miles, then turn left onto A759. Go a half mile, then turn left onto A78 and go three miles. Glasgow Gailes is on the left, next to Western Gailes.
Kilmarnock (Barassie)
This club played at an inland site in Kilmarnock before moving to this picturesque Barassie seaside acerage just north of Troon in 1894. The present course was designed by Theodore Moone, and last spring nine holes were added to make this a twenty-seven-hole facility. It was a qualifying site for the '97 Open Championship.
Course description: Barassie is a traditional links course with fast, undulating greens that are among the most interesting in Scotland. Heather guards the fairways, and less than accurate tee shots just about eliminate any chance of reaching the greens in regulation. A first-rate seaside course, it is always kept in excellent condition. The length of the holes on the scorecard is no measure of the course's difficulty.
Year opened: 1887
Par: 72 (6,484 yards; the third nine measures 2,778 yards)
Signature holes: On the par-four seventh and twelfth holes pars are very hard to come by. Both stretch out well aver four hundred yards, and both require long, accurate tee shots and dead-on approaches. The seventh, a rolling dogleg, requires a strategic tee shot to allow for an approach to a narrow green, which is fronted by a bunker and has hillocks on the right. Gorse lines the entire left side of the twelfth and part of the right side as well.
How to get a tee time: You must contact the club in advance. Public play is limited to Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Contact: Secretary Robert Bryce, Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, 29 Hillhouse Road, Barassie, Troon, Scotland KA10 6SY
Phone: 01144-1292-313920
Pro: Gregor Howie
Rentals: Clubs and pull-carts
Carts: None
Caddies: No
Of note: It's the only course in the U.K. to have members of two different winning Walker Club teams. Gordon Sherry helped the Europeans beat the United States in Wales in 1995, and Jim Milligan was on the winning European team in the 1989 match in Atlanta.
Dress Code: Coat and tie are required for dinner in the formal dining room, but there is also a lounge where golf attire is fine.
Directions from Troon: Two miles north of Troon on the coast road (B746), directly opposite Barassie's railway station
Good local pub: Tower Hotel, where the locals gather to talk golf and soccer, is less than a half mile away.
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