Dooley Noted Reviewing the Castle Course:
After recently playing the Castle Course at St Andrews. My thoughts are; the course is tough enough, and the club-house services are good enough to write about those experiences. The background to this post is that I had a group of 12 gents on a St Andrews golf tour. They played the Old Course, 36 holes at Muirfield, Carnoustie, The New & The Castle Courses at St Andrews. We used two hotels due to the time of year and room types. One hotel was the Hotel Du Vin located in town, and the other hotel was almost next door to the 18th green on the Old Course, the Best Western Scores Hotel.
I stayed at the Scores Hotel right in the town of St Andrews and only a stones through to the 18th green at the Old Course. I did have a room with a view; the view was great overlooking the beach and the Old Course 18th green. Moreover, if you are checking into the Scores anytime time soon, do ask for room 204.
At the Club Services:
Watching my group in action, they found the clubhouse services easy to use and the staff were accommodating. Notably, the Golf checking-in was a smooth process, and the range is in a lovely location to the clubhouse. Indeed, the most critical club service to me is the Caddy service for one main reason. A great caddy adds so much more value to the overall golf course experience. The good news was that all the group of 11 golfers enjoyed their caddies experiences, as did I.
The Course:
It was a spectacular day to play golf on the day I played at the Castle Course, and clearly, it was an easy day to enjoy playing golf. Notably, there was plenty of water underfoot resulting from a wettish Scottish summer. I enjoyed the views of the bay looking back towards the town of St Andrews, and as the caddy pointed out, on a clear day, you can see the outline of Carnoustie in the distance. The back nine holes were full of beautiful Scottish views.
I found managing the greens to be the primary course challenge. Plenty of slopes to catch out, double-breaking putts and the pace of the putt. The bunkers are deep and nasty as you should expect on a championship golf course. The fairways are fair, but undulating in places and it is vital to hit the ball into the right areas off the tee. I did find it difficult at times to trust the lines off the tee, as some of the tee shots can be slightly blind. A nice mix in length to challenge you on all the par 3.
All of the above taken into consideration, indeed, my favourite hole has got to be the 17th hole. A par 3 over the cliff and you need to hit the ball to the left side of the green and let the left to right slopes take the ball to the centre of the green! However, Dooley noted suggests to certainly book a caddy for around here and enjoy their direction. Yes indeed, I would undoubtedly say the Castle Course at St. Andrews is worth a game or several.
Also, please read on more about playing golf in the wind by clicking on the following link. CLICK HERE.
Golf in Scotland, check out Dumbarnie Golf Links.
Take a look at a last-minute Scottish Tour. Click Here to read on.
Contact Information | Email: [email protected] | Website CLICK HERE | To make a Booking CLICK HERE | John Dooley Concierge Golf Ireland | Luxury Golf Travel