38 hours later, with the grandstands and TV towers still up, I made par on the 18th hole of the Aisla Course at Turnberry playing out of the fescue. Not quite the same, but I'm not sure which one of us was more exhilarated.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. If ever there was a round that required the blow-by-blow, this is it. (Warning: This will probably be a very long post.)
JULY 30TH, 12:30PM
The Wife and I arrived at the Turnberry Resort, driving down from Glasgow. It was a beautiful day -- sunny, warm (for Scotland), and of course with a bit of a breeze coming off the Firth of Clyde. We had a few activities planned at the resort for the afternoon, but at about 4:30pm we made our way down to the clubhouse and pro shop. Because the course was essentially closed for the day (to allow a handful of corporate sponsors of the Open their chance to play), there was not a lot of activity. After clearing it with the pro shop, we were permitted out to walk the course and take some pictures (some of which you'll see below). I'm certainly not the first person to say this, but Turnberry is an amazingly beautiful golf course. It would be hard to convince me that it's not the most beautiful course.
After ensuring that my rental clubs and caddie were all arranged for the morning (plus a little shopping in the pro shop), we headed back up the hill to the resort for dinner.
Before moving on, just a quick aside about the golf-related features of the resort itself. On the grounds in front of the resort, there is both a
JULY 31ST, 5:50AM
My alarm went off, and I woke up. This is significant because it means that unlike my usual mornings of golf rounds that I have been anticipating for months, I actually slept the night before. A few minutes later, breakfast arrived at our room, and by 6:15am I was out the door.
The weather was absolutely perfect -- about 55 degrees early in the morning, with a forecast for 65 and sunny, with -- get this -- virtually no wind. Here was the view out our window:
I arrived at the pro shop just as it opened, and got set up with my rental set (Taylor Made R11 D/3W/5W, 3-hybrid, and 4-SW irons), then headed quickly over to the range to hit a few. I already knew from my experience getting fitted for my home set that I was going to like the irons, and I hit the 3 wood fairly well, but the driver I had a lot of trouble controlling. My driver has an extra-stiff shaft (that's what she said), and I had a hard time finding the rhythm (also, that's what she said) with a shaft that was just "stiff" (obviously, THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID).
Back over by the putting green I met my caddie for the day, Lee, a nice local guy in his 40s who had been caddying there since he was 16. He was on the bag when Mark Hayes set the course record with a 63. I figured I should trust him, which meant I mostly kept my yardage guide in my pocket for the round. It was just he and I for the day -- I wasn't paired up with anyone else -- and that meant it felt like the course was exclusively mine. (And yes, that was truly awesome.)
JULY 31ST, 7:00AM
"Now on the tee, from USA, Scott Paul."
(Okay, that was in my head. But it was loud and clear.)
Let's take a quick overview of the course stats. Playing from the Championship Tees (which, of course, I did since they were still out there from the Senior Open), the Ailsa Course is a 7217 yard par-70, which carries an unofficial USGA rating of 76, with a slope of 134. Also, FYI, Scotland's courses are generally measured from the tee to the front of the green (whereas US courses are generally measured to the center of the green), which means you can add another 200 yards or so to the total yardage for comparison's sake. There almost no water intrinsic to the course (just a small "burn" that comes into play on the 16th hole)...but there are 65 bunkers, and every fairway is treacherously lined with fescue and, often, gorse. It is a championship course in the truest sense.
HOLE 1: AILSA CRAIG
Almost certainly the easiest hole on the course, number one is a gentle dog-leg right par 4, just 354 yards. A lay-up iron short of the first bunker on the left leaves just 125 yards into the green. Lee handed me the 4-iron, and with a few butterflies churning I yanked it out left of the bunker. Fortunately that was an area where the galleries had been standing just a few days before, and so the fescue was trampled down and I had a clean shot. Unfortunately I hit that a bit fat, and ended up short of the green-front bunker. From a tight lie I hit a good pitch over the bunker, leaving about 15 feet for par. Alas, 3-putts though led to double-bogey. I hate 3-putts, even when they're on a severely sloped green on an Open course playing with a rental putter. SCORE: +2.
HOLE 2: MAK SICCAR ("MAKE SURE")
The course guide uses the phrase "trouble lurking in almost every direction" to describe the 2nd. So that's not very reassuring. I hit the driver, and in what would be a theme for the day, hit a hard hook into the fescue. I had to punch out from the there and didn't advance it very far, but my next shot found the center of the green, and I was able to 2-putt for bogey. SCORE: +3.
HOLE 3: BLAW WEARIE ("OUT OF BREATH")
This 489 yarder that plays into the prevailing wind (hence the name) is the first par 5 on the course... oh, wait, that's right, it's a beast of a par 4. I guess it does play slightly downhill. I hit driver left again, and didn't even get out of the fescue on the first attempt, then just barely out on the 2nd. My fourth shot was into the pot bunker on the right edge of the green, which meant I had my first "British Open Bunker Shot." On Lee's advice I played well right of the hole to give myself a better chance of getting out since I was fairly close to the riveted face of the bunker; and I am proud to say that I put it just where he told me. Despite that bright spot, after 2 putts I had a disappointing triple bogey for the hole. SCORE: +6.
HOLE 4: WOE-BE-TIDE
The first hole on the course that runs along the sand dunes bordering on the Firth of Clyde, this is a beautiful 168 yard par-3 with massive bunker front and right of the slightly elevated green. Lee handed me 7-iron ("It's this one, boss."), and I hit the center of the green, then just missed my first chance at birdie. SCORE: +6.
HOLE 5: FIN ME OOT ("FIND ME OUT")
My favorite hole on the course, this is a beautifully framed 479 yard gradual dogleg left that runs between 2 high sand dunes. The green is protected by 4 pot bunkers, and any wayward shots quickly find thick rough and gorse brush. As Lee said to me on the tee, "Now the fun begins."
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| 5th Green, Ailsa Course |
HOLE 6: TAPPIE TOORIE ("HIT TO THE TOP")
A long (231 yard) uphill par 3, this was playing a bit shorter since the tee box was advanced forward. It was still over 200 yards and uphill, but to my surprise Lee handed me 4-iron. ("She'll get there, boss.") I trusted him, and he was right. ("Nice shot, boss.") Par. SCORE: +8.
HOLE 7: ROON THE BEN' ("ROUND THE MOUNTAIN")
Providing the first good view of the famous lighthouse, the 7th is a gorgeous hole. It's the only par-5 on the front, playing at 538 yards. The green is obscured from the tee by a big mound that sits 240 yards out on the left side, and the proper tee shot is either over that mound or to the right of it between the fairway bunkers. I hit what finally seemed like a good tee shot shooting the gap of the fairway, but the "fast and firm" surface had no interest in holding my ball, and it rolled all the way through the fairway and into the thick fescue. I never found it. After a drop, I hit a fat shot that left me about 80 yards in to the elevated green, and a wedge and 2-putts yielded a bogey 6. SCORE: +9.
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| 7th Fairway, Ailsa Course; the "mound" is seen on the left. |
My drive on the 8th was way right, actually in the 15th fairway -- it would be the only time I hit my second shot from any fairway all day, even if it wasn't the proper one. My approach was just off the green on the right, and I took Lee's advice to bump and run with an 8-iron before holing a 6-footer for par. SCORE: +9.
HOLE 9: BRUCE'S CASTLE
I'm going to let the pictures do the talking here. But suffice to say, this is the most beautiful hole I've ever played, and probably ever will.
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| 9th Teebox, Ailsa Course; the Ailsa Craig is seen in the background |
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| Teeing Off on 9 |
HOLE 10: DINNA FOUTER ("DON'T MESS ABOUT")
Nearly matching the 9th for awe-inspiring beauty, the tee shot requires a course over the Firth of Clyde to a devilish fairway that has two pot bunkers directly in it's center, and further ahead the often-imitated "island bunker" (with a mound of fairway in its center). I avoided all that nonsense in the center of the fairway by hitting a massive slice right. This time I found a trampled down area for a clean swing, and my approach left just about 12 feet for birdie...which I left one revolution short. SCORE: +10.
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| Tee Shot, 10th Hole, Ailsa Course |
In comparison to the previous 2 holes, the 11th isn't that much to look at -- just a basic 175 yard par 3 with bunkers fronting both sides of the green. But if you're smart when you're standing on the tee box you'll turn around and look back on what you just played:
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| View from the 11th Tee, Ailsa Course |
HOLE 12: MONUMENT
A breather of a hole after a series of beasts, this is a fairly straightforward 447 yard par 4. I just cleared the right hand bunker that sits about 260 yards off the tee, and for the first time all day found the shorter first cut of rough (which is only about 3 yards wide all the way around the course). From there it was just a wedge into the green, and 2 putts for a relaxed par. SCORE: +11.
HOLE 13: TICKLY TAP ("TRICKY LITTLE STROKE")
My drive here returned to the pull-hook form of the early holes, though in the end that ended up being the safer side. I was back to the thick fescue, but was able to get a club on it and managed to run one up the narrow fairway chute, almost all the way to the green. An nice up and down meant back-to-back pars for the first time all day. SCORE: +11.
HOLE 14: RISK-AN-HOPE
Everything slopes to the right on this uphill par 4. I believe, unless I'm mistaken, that my drive did find the fairway initially, but the slope kicked it right into the thicker rough. Lee pulled out the wedge but then paused and looked at me before I took it. "I can get a club on it," I told him, and he quickly switched it out for the 7 iron. It felt like it was the hundredth time he had been my caddy at that point. The ball came out clean, and settled on the right edge of the green. 2 putts, for a 3rd straight par. SCORE: +11.
HOLE 15: CA' CANNY ("TAKE CARE")
A famously treacherous par-3 that plays over 200 yards and has absolutely no room for error. The left side of the green is protected by 3 deep pot bunkers and heavy contouring, and off the right of the green is a 30 foot drop-off filled with 3-foot-high fescue. I decided to give both sides a try -- my 4-iron tee shot was right of the green, and after about 5 minutes of searching we managed to find it about 3/4 of the way down the steep slope. I was able to get more club on the ball than I thought and so the follow-up went over the green (and the bunkers), leaving either (a) a very delicate pitch back over the bunkers to the downhill slope back at the drop-off, or (b) an only-in-Scotland putt trying to utilize the contouring to funnel the ball around the bunker in my face and back to the green. I chose *b* because when in Scotland, you do as the Scots do. Lee was disappointed in the result -- I had about 25 feet left from the front of the green -- but I was pretty pleased that it ended up on the putting surface. Suffice to say, 2 putts was the best I could do from there. SCORE: +13.
HOLE 16: WEE BURN
Another well-framed hole, this time with nice views of the resort off on the left. This has the only intrinsic water hazard on the course in the form of Wilson's Burn that runs in front of and to the right of the green. My drive was into a trampled down area on the right of the fairway, and must have really hit hard because I only had a wedge into the severely contoured green. This was probably the only time I made a bad lag putt all day, completely misjudging the speed and running about 15 feet past the hole. I hate 3-putts. SCORE: +14.
HOLE 17: LANG WHANG ("LONG WHACK")
17 is the longest hole on the course (558 yards) and the only par-5 on the inward 9. The tee-shot is semi-blind and requires about 170 yards of carry into a chute between two huge sand dunes. I did not achieve this, hitting a pulled pop-up left that we never found. After dropping in the fescue, I hit consecutive 8-irons to the middle of the green, then lipped-out what would have been a great par putt. SCORE: +15.
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| 17th Fairway, Ailsa Course | Between the Dunes |
HOLE 18: DUEL IN THE SUN
Named after the famous battle won by Tom Watson over Jack Nicklaus in the 1977 Open Championship, the 18th is a fairly straight-away 370 yard par 4 from the regular tees, but a sharp dogleg left 461 yarder from the championship tee box. "Hit it to the TV tower, boss," said Lee, and I did, finally hitting a pure dead straight drive to the middle of the fairway. Or so we thought; by the time we got out there the ball was nowhere to be found. Perfect drives are not meant to be lost, and so we searched for about 10 minutes, with Lee finally coming across it well buried under some nasty gnarled rough. I hacked at it with a wedge and actually almost ran it up to the green, settling just about 5 yards short ("That's a great oot o' dar, boss."). I putted from off the fringe up the hill and left it about 10 feet short; but finally made a putt dead center of the cup for an immensely satisfying par on the last. SCORE: +15.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Just a spectacular golf course. 85 from the championship tees with Open-level rough without hitting a single fairway? I'll take that. Three-for-three getting out of bunkers? I'll take that. I do feel like I cheated a bit -- the weather could not possibly have been any more perfect, and there was really almost no wind the entire round. Definitely not what we're used to watching from the Open. But I'm not complaining.
I do want to give a special thanks to Lee, who guided me around the course and without whom I probably would have shot 95 or worse. Plus we finished in about 3 hours and 20 minutes, which is just about perfect as far as I'm concerned.
Ahhhh, Turnberry. Ye will be missed.
Is Leigh available to rent for FFL drafts?
ReplyDeleteI imagine he would be. He's a man of many talents; apparently he's one of the top Halo players in the world.
ReplyDeleteToo jealous to write anything witty.
ReplyDeleteAuthor's note -- I had originally spelled my caddie's name "Leigh," but after reading this (http://www.golfchannel.com/news/travel-articles/tom-watson-turnberry-resort-scotland-tiger-woods-golf/) I realized the proper spelling would be "Lee." Sorry, Lee.
ReplyDelete