Played By NCG: Kilmarnock (Barassie)
Reason for a Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club
Myself and a colleague were up in the area for meetings and decided to taste the delights Barrassie had to offer.
Where is Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club?
Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club is located just a couple of miles north of the 2016 Open venue Troon. The club itself is situated directly opposite the Barassie railway station.
The club itself is within striking distance of famous courses such as Royal Troon, Prestwick and Turnberry, the course is also an Open Championship Final Qualifying venue.
What to expect
A classic links course. The course has humps, hollows, undulations and plenty of blind shots.
The area is a fantastic golfing hub, with Dundonald – host of the Scottish Open in 2017 – literally a stone’s throw away.
Even though the course is right by the coast, you very rarely see the coastline, yet the course has bags of character with gorse and heather throughout.
My best bit
The closing stretch of holes are fantastic and wouldn’t be out of place on many of the fantastic links courses Scotland has to offer. The 17th and 18th, whilst very pretty to look at, are two very difficult holes to finish with.
Well placed bunkers mixed with gorse and heather run parallel on both holes meaning a nervy finish was in store having a 1 up lead over my opponent.
What to look for
The greens throughout the round are tricky with many undulations to challenge even the best of putters. Mixing tricky reads with pace means that four putting, or even worse, is a real possibility and can be a card killer.
Approach with caution!
When I go back…
I think the best compliment I can give to Barassie is that I’d absolutely go back and for me that is a huge compliment given what else is on offer in the surrounding Ayrshire area.
Courses such as Turnberry, Prestwick, Royal Troon, Western Gailes and Gailes Links make this area one of the world’s best golfing destinations to visit, and Barrasie is definitely a course to play when in Ayrshire.
Played by NCG: Tadmarton Heath
Played by NCG: Trump International
Played by NCG: Burhill (Old)
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