Cruden with Company

Date: July 2012

Location: Cruden Bay Scotland

Course: Cruden Bay

Golfers: Cody, Mark and I

Conditions: A little damp from all the recent rain,13-16 Celsius (56-61 F) and light winds.

Details: Four memorable courses in a seven day stint with a great friend from home (Part 1 of 3).

#3 Green

Overview: A much anticipated arrival of our good friends from Houston, Cody and Haley, was finally here and I was looking forward to the first of four rounds we had planned during their two weekend stay. Being familiar with Cruden from playing 6 weeks before, I thought this would be a great course to introduce Cody to links style golf with some great ocean views. I worked out the details with Mark and he was happy to share his home course with another Texan. Mark is a great advocate for Cruden and jumps at the opportunity to offer a discounted rate to play a top 100 course in the UK. 

They arrived in Aberdeen on Saturday to a full day of cold sideways rain, a nice way to welcome any visitor to Scotland. Fortunately, this was the worst day of the trip and we didn't have any outdoor activities planned so no rescheduling or battling the nasty conditions. Cody and I had golf at Cruden on Sunday and I was a little worried the weather would carry over to the next day. The rain eventually stopped and luckily a links course handles water very well, so this was good news after Saturday's downpour. 

#1 Tee Box

Golf Details: We had a 12:10 tee time and arrived with plenty of time to get loose and walk around the grounds. I was excited to play it for the second time with a little experience under my belt from my prior round. I shared my earlier experiences with Cody about links golf and tried to explain the brutal rough and undulating greens which make it so tough, but he would witness soon enough the patience and consistency it takes to shoot a low score out there. We hit some range balls and spent some time on the greens getting loose. The course was a little wet but very playable, in fact when it's dry, it's almost impossible to stop a drive where you'd like it to so the course was a little slower and more manageable (assuming you hit it straight). We met Mark upstairs, Cody bought some Cruden gear and we made our way down to number one tee. #1 is a fair entry to the course with trouble if you miss the fairway badly, but a pretty safe par 4 overall. Two good shots off the box, nice approaches and we walk off with a couple pars to start the round. #2 is a shorter par four with an elevated green with trouble all day if you miss right. Cody tugs it a bit left and winds up in the thick stuff which led to the first blemish on the card and a quick lesson on staying in the short grass. I hit the fairway but come up short on my approach which leads to a tap in for bogey and we're off to challenge the rest of the course. 

Getting ready for the first par 3 on the course

The first par three on the course is my favorite and Cody agreed it was a great golf hole. We both manage a par and get back on track in pursuit of a good round on a tough course. We make our way through the front nine trying to stay out of trouble and catch up on the last few months. We cover anything from the insane heat in the states, dismal Astros who finally released Carlos Lee and chances of our Houston Texans winning a NFL Championship in the next few years (hopefully we're right). I think by hole 8 he accepted the fact that it wasn't going to warm up much more and the sun came out on it's own will, if at all. 

Approach on a par 5

The final few holes of the front nine had ups and downs with some tricky pin placements which made putting rather difficult. I drove the short par four(missed wide last round) unfortunately missed the eagle putt but came back with a good 6 foot birdie. Cody's expectations were exceeded by the course, which truly has some outstanding views that are hard to capture with pictures. He hit some healthy divots in the damp conditions and I believe Cruden wants half their fairway back from the divot pictured to the right (no, that's not a Castle in the background). 

#8, Short Par 4

After nine we'd arrived at the highest point on the course, where it really opens up to the North Sea. The next few holes are really well designed with a picturesque par four protected by a burn backed up by a bunker guarded par three and closing with a tight par four with a slopping left to right fairway which leads you back down closer to sea level. These holes and a few others make this course really something to enjoy. The only downfalls are the blind tee and approach shots on four or five holes. Cody and I discussed that the blind par three on 15 keeps Cruden from the top 20 in the UK. It was easier playing the second time, but not knowing a pin placement on a par thee seems a bit unfair. 

#10 View, Never gets old

Favorites: Welcoming Cody with a links round with decent weather. We both had some really great holes, but the margin of error in links golf is very small and any mistake can snowball quickly. Making the turn and knowing what was waiting with the great views ahead. Catching up on things back home and laughing about some of the ridiculous lies we had in the rough (if we found the ball). Mark took a few pictures for us, it was obvious I'd be paying for the after round pint taking it all in. We recapped the round and watched some of the Wimbledon final in the clubhouse before heading back to Aberdeen. 

#9 Fairway, may be the best coastal view

Final Thoughts: Round one of four was a huge success and Cody enjoyed the course and it's tough challenges. I had to play interpreter some of the time as Mark's Scottish accent had Cody scratching his head. This was a great opening round and we had three more challenges in the next week on different courses throughout the area.