Hello and welcome back to the second blog of the series. For this weeks blog I decided to play the timeless Montrose golf links and it was an absolute pleasure. Montrose GC is situated on the most famous coastline in the world for links golf. Montrose is believed to be the 5th oldest golf course in the world and the 3rd oldest royal club in the world after Prince Albert granted royal patronage in 1845.
A Scottish golfing blog would be incomplete without a nostalgic trip this old links course. The course gives a strong message from the very first hole. The right Out of Bounds features prominently through the length of the hole meaning a straight drive between fairway bunkers is required. The next shot is elevated to a raised green at the summit of the gradually rising hill.
I was joined for this round by the old man and brother, both chopping it round as per usual. I loved the early run of holes along the rugged Angus coastline framed with breath-taking views. There are some tee positions on this course that are distractedly beautiful.
The Above hole is the 2nd and by far my favourite hole on the course. A threatening risk-reward tee shot which requires to play almost over the beach to reach the fairway on this dog-left left to right. I would be lying if i didn't mention the fact I sliced my first ball in the sea but I will blame that on the wind. This old Links course is sadly seriously threatened by coastal erosion and signs of coastal erosion seriously threaten this iconic second hole, the beach is currently 70 metres closer to the beach than it was 30 years ago.
The 16th is an iconic par three with an amazing green complex (Shown below). This hole seems different from the rest of the course but the green is excellent and its surrounds offer challenges from every point of the compass if you miss the putting surface, humps and hollows offer different lies and stances. Given the hole is 235 yards off the white tee box regulation pars are rare;
History -
With records dating back to 1562 it is a course that has stood the test of time and was deemed worthy of staging Final Qualifying for the Open Championship, when held at nearby Carnoustie, in both 1999 and 2007.
Ben Crenshaw described Montrose as: “A magnificent stretch of marvellously natural ground which depicts how the game was born”.
Price -
The price for a round here was £34 (normally £50) due to GolfNow offering 2 discounted tee times per day at Montrose. Well worth taking advantage of this offer !
Was it worth it ?
Overall, In my humble opinion any golfing trip to the east coast would not be complete without a round on the Montrose Medal Course. The course will undoubtedly adapt and change over the coming years but if you want to experience the current course and layout then the erosion gives you a perfect excuse to visit in the near future!
My rating - 7.5/10
Signing off,
Lewis Wood
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