By Neil White
“My son caddied for Harris English on that day,” said the proud dad who had walked me down the corridor of legends at Royal Aberdeen.
English, who went on to play for a victorious United States team in the Ryder Cup, came unstuck when he played in northeast Scotland.
He wasn’t the only future star to be humbled in the 2011 Walker Cup – Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley were also part of the team defeated by Great Britain and Ireland.
Celebrating that match is part of an admirable history presentation in the traditional clubhouse at Royal Aberdeen, where we enjoyed a pre-game coffee and chatted with the locals.
NOW READ – NCG Top 100s: Royal Aberdeen course page
CHECK OUT – NCG Top 100s: Scotland courses ranking
Perhaps prompted by thoughts of that unlikely victory 14 years ago, the first nine were a blitz of scoring, especially by my podcast partner. Indeed, our driving and approach play was so good that we were disappointed that our scores weren’t even better.
The head professional doubled up as the starter for our late afternoon round, and Mrs W, my partner, and I all rose to the pressure by thwacking drives down the middle of the first hole. This par 4 is directly down towards the sea from the clubhouse with a rolling fairway, typical of those we would encounter throughout the round.
I am not saying the back nine is weak, but the outward nine are so impressive that they propel Royal Aberdeen into the world’s top 100. The par 5 2nd, for example, sits between dunes, demanding a central drive before it funnels towards the green down a snaking fairway.
During this April visit, the gorse bloomed yellow, but it was best to be seen from a distance. The fairway grass was delightfully tight, and the greens were in excellent shape early in the season with lovely run-offs.
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The 3rd, with its tee next to the beach, is a scintillating par 3 of around 200 yards. It demands correct club selection to accommodate the wind, which was in our favour on the way out.
For me, the short par 4 5th is one of the best on the course, offering the possibility of finding the green for even a mid-handicapper. However, the drive is blind over big fairway mounds, and those straying right could find themselves in a grassy chasm. This will leave a short pitch over a steep incline and a drop towards the target.
My podcast partner was playing as well as I have ever seen him, emphasised by a towering drive into the curving par 5 6th and a second shot, which flew the fairway’s crazy contours and the fairway bunkers to find the putting surface.
Joy turned to disappointment because he three-putted. Nevertheless, his Stableford points rush had continued. I loved the holes in the middle section of the course, beginning with the par 3 8th, which the club acclaims as its signature hole. On this day, the approach towards the sea was against the wind into a green surrounded by bunkers that fell from back to front. Finding the target felt like a big win.
Arguably, the most intimidating drive is on the long par 4 9th, where a stretch of rough and burn must be carried to find what only appears to be a small landing space in front of a new bunker. The follow-up is uphill, with gorse on the left and rough mounds on the right. I reckon it was the toughest hole on the course. Much is made of the blind tee shot over a hill of rough on the 10th, but the second shot over a dip with a small brook into a risen green is just as difficult.
It was my best effort of the day to reach it in regulation against the wind and notch a par and PP followed suit. At this point, I was two-under handicap, but he was a staggering eight-under. However, the cold wind was easing into our bones, and the course was about to bite back.
The par 4 13th is called Blind for an obvious reason – the hole is not visible until the player is on top of it. Club advice is to keep the ball right from the tee, but too far means the ball will disappear into gorse bushes or, more likely, tangly rough.
I couldn’t see the pin from the left of the fairway, but after establishing the line, I crashed a three-wood to the front of a narrow green that fell front to back. Short approaches could fall down the false front, and the overly ambitious will find trouble over the back.
My favourite hole and best performance of the day was on the 14th, where my partner proved that shots offline could find a heap of trouble down the left (his first ball) or right (his provisional). Even for those hitting down the middle, a burn awaits to gobble up drives while a raised dyke, prompting memories of North Berwick‘s wall, defends the green. I was most chuffed to record a par four.
A strong trio of holes is completed by the 15th where the instruction is to follow the path with a blind drive. But that is not the end of the show because a big bunker sits on the left side of the fairway, and more traps surround the green.
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The sand is superbly consistent at Royal Aberdeen, but the rivetted bunkers are often steep or just plain awkward to find a stance in. That is my explanation for a bogey. I still hoped to grind my way to an even handicap round when we came to the 17th – a stunning par 3 of 185 yards out towards the sea that poses a tough question over club selection.
I found the bunker on the left of the green. As the others looked for their balls in the rough bushes, I chipped to four feet and knocked on the par.
I needed a par on the 18th to complete the job, but that reads far simpler than reality. The home hole is a long par-four down an avenue of gorse to a fairway straddled by bunkers. Approaches must avoid the quintet of sand traps around a long green, not be too daring, and not go out of bounds at the rear. Apparently, most members play it like a par 5, which makes complete sense and is what I recorded.
Royal Aberdeen, or Balgownie as it is known in these parts, had delivered a superb variety of holes that challenged but also offered opportunity. We could well imagine how the GB&I team had mastered it and how the Americans had been beaten up by it.
About Neil
Neil is a panellist for the NCG Top 100s course rankings.
Listen to his podcast The Golf Pilgrim here.
NCG Top 100s Rankings
Royal Aberdeen is one of several stunning links course on the northeastern coastline, and well worthy of a place in the top 50 in our GB&I list, as well as ranking high in the Scottish list!
NOW READ – NCG Top 100s: Royal Aberdeen course page
CHECK OUT – NCG Top 100s: Scotland courses ranking
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