Cruden Bay

Date: May 2012

 #2 Green

Location: Cruden Bay Scotland

Course: Cruden Bay

Golfers: Mark (Member and co-worker) and I

Conditions: Brilliant- 22-25 Celsius (72-77 F), Wind: Just enough to keep it pleasant


Side Note: Clicking on the photos will show them full size.

Overview: After being in Scotland for close to two months now, I've come to terms with it's just not going to get very warm here, no matter what month it may be. The sun makes all the difference and any given hour of the day, there's a 40-50% chance of temporary showers. I've battled the elements on the rounds I've played and now realize the ball won't travel as far in cold thick air, such is golf in Scotland, the views and courses are worth every miss club I've hit. With that being said, this round occurs during the most pleasant 7 days I've seen so far. The entire UK has been blessed with Texas Springtime temps without a drop of rain or wind. Naturally I was itching at work to sneak away and take a mini holiday to get all the golf in I could... this didn't happen as I just got back from one. I was  hitting refresh on weather underground every 5 minutes to confirm that the temps would stick around until the weekend and to my delight, they did. 

#3 fairway, Slains Castle Ruins in background

Midday Thursday I'm scouting my magazine, " Top 100 courses in the UK, looking for my next first class golf experience in Scotland." Just as I've narrowed it down to a few courses, a co-worker who's a member at Cruden Bay (#45 /100) says, " Hey Matt, I've got a spot open Saturday if you want to get out and play Cruden." (I've translated the Scottish dialect to avoid any confusion). This is a no brainer as it's £15 for a member guest compared to £80 for a visitor. We're all booked for noon and I'm hoping the weathermen are right this time. 

#4 Par Three

Golf Details: After a 35 minute drive north of Aberdeen with the windows down enjoying the sea air, I arrive at Cruden about 30 minutes before our tee time. The weather was great, I actually got pretty warm for a few holes. Mark meets me in the pro shop and I take a few minutes to grab some Cruden logo goodies, gladly pay my 15 pounds and head off to the putting green. Mark tees off first, shares some local course knowledge and then I pull one a bit left. I learn quickly the rough is not where you want to be. First few holes had pretty tight fairways with the true links layout with rolling fairways and medium to large tiered greens. I've developed a habit of being a bit shaky on the first couple of holes here, maybe it's the nerves on these great courses, who knows. I settle down by #3, a short par 4 with a view of the ruins of Slain's Castle in the background (supposedly the motivation for Dracula). Manage my first par and move on to one of their signature par 3's. The tee box is level with the green but the fairway between drops about 30 feet all the way to the large green which is protected by a bunker. Not really any safe miss here and luckily I stay out of trouble, hit the green and have a nice two putt for par. If you go long on the back left of the green, there's an inlet from the ocean that runs parallel, just another challenge on a day with windier conditions.  #5 Tee Box is elevated with a great view of the fairway and holes 1 and 2. I really enjoyed playing 3,4,5 very fun mix of holes to start the round. 

Golf & Beach is tough to beat!

By the turn I'm sold that this course is a lot of fun with a mix of risk/reward holes. #8 and #9 couldn't be more different- two par four's that play 257 and then 452. #10 is another elevated tee box with a small stream running 60 yards shy of the green.  My favorite tee box view from the course, which was hard to decide after 18! By hole 13 the links have come in about 50 yards from the beach to run alongside for the next few holes. A few blind shots in the middle of the back nine leave me with a few round busters, but I move past the temporary frustration and enjoy the rest of the round. 

#15 is a blind par three leading into #16, another par three that plays 175 on the number, straight as an arrow. Another unique stretch of golf at Cruden that makes some players love it or hate it based on golf reviews. I loved it, thought it was a great par 70 course with a lot of scenic views, challenging holes and the course condition was very good. It helped that I played with a member who could provide course knowledge. We finished the last couple of holes and headed to the clubhouse for a pint and to catch some of the Golf tournament (good to see nothing changes from the states except we watched the European tour!). We caught up on the round, finished the pint and parted ways. I thanked Mark for taking me out and look forward to the next trip back.

#5 Tee Box

Favorites: #8, very short drivable par 4. Few holes on the back that you could hear the beach in the background was pretty neat. #3-5 had it all, short par 4 with a great view, challenging par 3 and long but fair par 4. Being that the round was warm, the ice cold pint of Tennent's in the clubhouse hit the spot and was a good end to another memorable round in Scotland. 

#10 Tee

Making the turn, looking back at the front nine

Final Thoughts: Tough to beat the perfect weather, good company and checking another great course off the list. I hope I get to replay Cruden again during my stay here, if not I have great memories from this visit.

#9 Fairway, ocean is starting to come into view on the left