I was more than happy to hit the road early this morning. I had a date today with a course I have long wanted to play, Cruden Bay Golf Club. Her reputation precedes her and I was anxious to see if she would live up to the billing. I made my way from St Andrews, up through Dundee and Aberdeen along the northeast east coast of Scotland. The drive was a pretty one with several miles of coastline driving to entertain the senses along the way. The North Sea was smooth as glass as the sun danced across it. I got to the course in plenty of time to get some lunch and get warmed up. The course was somewhat busy on yet another beautiful day here in Scotland. As I sat in the window filled dining room overlooking the course, I noticed the sign above, welcoming me and the other golfers to Cruden Bay Golf Club. Nice touch indeed.
After lunch I went downstairs to check in with the pro shop. It was here that I met Ru Macdonald, Golf Tourism Scotland's 2013 Young Person of the Year. Above and beyond his efforts here at Cruden Bay, he is also the host / producer of scottishgolfpodcast.com. We quickly realized we had a mutual acquaintance in Kevin Kirk, photographer with recounter.co.uk. Recounter is Scotland's leading reportage golf agency. As luck would have it, Kevin and I met the day before on the bus ride over to the Ryder Cup for the Sunday Singles Matches . We quickly hit it off and it will be interesting to see what fate has in store there.......Back to the golf.....With views like this below, it looked as though my camera would be as busy as my sticks.
Slains Castle, in the distance above, is a centuries old castle that was reportedly the inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula". I wish I had known the castle was here as I would love to go over and spend some time there. For today, pictures from a distance will have to do. After a bit of a warm up, I was ready to head out for my round. I wasn't paired with anyone today which was good as I wanted to be able to play golf as well as take plenty of pictures of this beautiful place. The first three holes were pretty straightforward and provided a nice start to the round with 3 straight pars. The par 3 4th as seen in the next few pictures was one of my favorite par 3's anywhere. It is set alongside a beautiful stone filled river off to the left. One thing I learned quickly, short is no good. My pitch mark was literally a yard short of the green's surface and when all was said and down, I had rolled back down the hill 15 or so yards short of the green. A tough up and down, especially when the pin was front right. Bogey!
To me, the front nine really begins here at the 4th and then continues with a succession of excellent holes on the 4th through 8th. The par 4 5th was a brute from the tips, especially back into the wind. I ended up with my 2nd bogey here.
The par 5 6th was a good hole as well. I loved the way the dunes framed the tee shot. This was a true 3 shot hole today. With a hard right to left wind here, I ended up just off the left side. Thankfully, I didn't run off into the creek that runs short and left of the green. Up and down for par....
After another interesting short par 4 at the 7th I came onto the tee at this little gem. The short par 4 8th sets beautifully at the base of some massive dunes. Despite being back into the wind, I was able to drive it just off the green to the left. Up and down to a back right pin for my 1st birdie of the day.
After making the trek up the hill to the par 4 9th tee, I was presented with a beautiful panoramic view of Cruden Bay. If the back nine was anything like the last few holes, I was really going to enjoy this next couple of hours. After a missed par putt on the 9th and a short walk to the par 4 10th tee, I knew that I was absolutely going to love the back nine. Here's what I saw from the tee. Enjoy...
Above and below are views of the Par 5 13th green and Par 4 14th tee......
On the right side below is the Par 4 10th and the Par 3 11th, surrounded there by the bunkers in the middle. It must be close to 100ft drop down to the fairway from the tee. What a view!
I really loved the next couple of holes as well. The Par 4 12th framed up nicely for me from the tee. Not a long hole but back into the wind, it took two good shots to find the putting surface.
The Par 5 13th was one of my top holes from the back nine. Again, I loved the way it set up from the tee. A definite 3 shot hole. After a good tee shot down the left side, I was able to set myself up for a short shot into the green. Happy to walk away with a par here. I loved the views of the coastline from the back of the tee as well.
The Par 4 14th was a risk / reward hole off the tee. I finally had the wind helping and off the left. I hit a big tee shot, carrying all the bunkers etc., leaving myself a little flip wedge into this very unique fish bowl of a green.
The Par 3 15th was the first of two very cool par 3's. The 15th is actually a blind tee shot. If you want to hit this green, you had better hit your mark on the side of the dune.....The Par 3 16th also took some serious attention. From an elevated tee, hitting into a green that slopes away from back to front, you had better get your distance right....
The Par 4 17th and 18th were straightforward holes. With two good tee shots I was able to finish with a par on 17 and a tap in birdie on the 18th as the sun was beginning to set. I loved seeing Slains Castle in the backdrop on this final shot of the day!
I couldn't have picked a better place to play my last round of this incredible trip. Cruden Bay Golf Club has far exceeded all of my lofty expectations. It has also ascended to my top 10 list of courses I have played in Scotland and Ireland. I can't wait to get back here next Summer. Until then, thanks for the memories Cruden Bay! You truly are a beauty..........
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