Cruden Bay and The Meldrum House.......Something Old and Something New

I was excited to get us up to Cruden Bay this afternoon for our round. As is their custom, the day's groups are always called out on the chalkboard in the dining room. I've never seen this done anywhere else. Nice touch! I was glad Kristen was up for walking along with me this afternoon. Cruden Bay, especially the back nine, has some really pretty holes. One of my favorites from the front nine is the Par 3 4th hole below. It plays to over 200 yards and you cannot be a yard short. If you are, the false front will run you back down the hill, leaving a very difficult up and down. Knowing and doing are sometimes two different things. That being said, I came up a yard short and down she went. I was able to get up and down for par though so I have that going for me.

The next two shots are of the very difficult Par 4 5th hole. It was dead into the wind and gave me all I wanted.

Below is the Par 4 7th hole. It was also dead into the wind off the tee. The second shot has you going through the dunes at the crest of the hill to a small green. Neat hole....

The following pic is of the drivable Par 4 8th hole. Today wasn't drivable as we were again into the wind. The green sets back into the hillside, making the winds very deceiving. Despite being a short hole, par is still a good score here when the wind is up.

The highest point of the course is the Par 4 9th tee. From here you can see the almost the entire course. The 9th was the one hole that just didn't seem to fit for me when I was here last time. They have since redesigned the 9th as well as the tee boxes for the Par 4 10th. Well done on the redesign!

The next two are of the Par 4 10th. I love how this green sits back into these hills. The winds were up and the sound of the breeze through the long grass would put you to sleep if you let it.

The next two shots are taken from the back of the Par 5 13th and Par 4 14th. Love this coastline......

Last shot from Cruden Bay is of the Par 3 16th below. From a somewhat elevated tee, the winds can play games with you here. Err short of the green and the ball will filter to the green and hopefully the hole. I flew it a yard or two too far and carried through over the back of the green. I was able to keep the round going with a good up and down here. We really enjoyed our day out here at Cruden Bay. Kristen agreed that it is one of the most scenic of all the courses she's seen with me over here.

I was hopeful that The Meldrum House would live up to expectations as we would be here for several days. As soon as we pulled into the property, it was clear that we would be just fine. Below are several pictures of The Meldrum.

The two pics are of the very cool Cave Bar. I was pleased to see that they housed over 100 single malts here in the cave. After a wonderful dinner there in the hotel, I made my way to the Cave to sample some of their wares.

Shamish stood guard outside The Meldrum while we were there. Love these Highland Coos.......