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After
two extensive remodellings following the World Wars, the
original Arran Course at Turnberry, built in 1909, had lost
much of its original character and charm, so much so that the
area's crown jewel, the Ailsa Course, was often deemed to be
missing an attractive enough sister course to make Turnberry a
world-class destination. Discerning golf travelers would make
the pilgrimage for the Ailsa Course, but few had any reason to
stay for the Arran Course. When a stretch of land north of the
existing course at last became available, featuring stunning
vistas of the Isle of Arran, the Mull of Kintyre, and Ailsa
Craig, developers seized the territory. Bains Hill, with its
unique elevation changes, offered the opportunity to inject
the old Arran Course with a fresh dimension.
With the
lands secured, the club enlisted noted British architect Donald
Steel to take the pre-existing Arran Course topography and the
gorse-fleshed crests and buttes of Bains Hill to devise a
layout that would suitably complement the world-class Ailsa
Course. The product is a linksland that rolls with the
turbulent swells in elevation along the Ayrshire coastline,
and the Bains Hill canvas gave Steel the luxury of building a
climax to the front nine that rival any on the Turnberry
property, and perhaps in all of Scotland. From the eighth tee,
the green at 'Kintyre's Cove' is concealed by a narrow ridge,
creating the illusion that land and sea merge at the left
fringe. Followed by a demanding drive at nine along the
coastline, which climbs to the course's highest point on #10,
this stretch along the Firth of Clyde takes the player on a
half-hour respite from inland that few links courses can
offer. While this narrow coastal ridge may stand out as the
highlight of the round, it also serves to accent the simple,
windswept landscape that has been given new life by the
extensive course enhancement. Traditional shot values and
hazards on this 6,853-yard layout have been restored and
revitalized, and at last the Ailsa Course's sister has come
into her own, making Turnberry one of a very select few to
boast two championship links at the same resort.
But while the
selection of holes that dance along the Bains Hill ridge are
the most talked about at the Kintyre Course, examining the
rest of the layout reveals a links that stands tall on its
overall merit. The opener at the Kintyre Course is a 530-yard
par five whose fairway is bisected at the 150-yard marker by
an obtrusive stream previously confined to the fairway's left
boundary. A strong drive makes the task easier, but a shrewdly
built pot bunker that sits 60 yards short of the green snares
the bold lay-up. Greenside bunkers are the defense on the
wedge approach.
At the
second, a pair of conspicuous features set the tone for a day
at Kintyre. A large sod-walled bunker forms the defense for
this sharply undulating green, which offers the player insight
into Steel's imagination, and strikes down the perpetuated
misconceptions of links courses being known for their flat
greens. Two putts at the second is something to be proud of.
The
third may seem benign at 323 yards, but it plays back
into the prevailing wind and is thus not the 'birdie hole' one
might suspect. With a green just 23 yards deep, distance
control is key to the approach, which must be carried up onto
this thin shelf.
A pair of
robust par fours causes many golfers to feel a touch
disheartened as they step to the sixth tee, a 184-yard par
three where hitting the green is essential if one hopes to
card a three. A pair of cavernous bunkers shield two of the
slopes that fall away from this elevated, two-tiered green,
and misses tend to collect in closely-shorn swales where
up-and-downs become rare feats.
The tee at
the aforementioned eighth sits atop a bluff, and players need
to first block out the distracting scenery before negotiating
the tricky tee shot. While measuring just 298 yards and
playing steeply downhill, driving the green is a realistic
option, yet the wiser play is to lay up. The green is set in a
rocky cove, and needs to be attacked with a short, precise
strike. A pair of deep bunkers protect the green at the entry
point, so players must decide whether to keep their ball out
of blustery conditions with a pitch-and-run, or attack the
tiny green through the air. The eighth is an anomaly to common
links golf, and yet it bears the strategy and character to
which great golf holes are predisposed.
At the very
next, many of the same features re-surface in a fresh and
exciting style. The 480-yard par-five ninth puts little
emphasis on distance, and yet the heroic who hope for an eagle
putt must be wary of the gully of gorse that runs down the
right edge of the fairway. Two small pocks protect the left
corner of the fairway on the tee ball, and all three shots at
this hole will be struck into the prevailing wind, and toward
Turnberry's landmarks: the monument to war heroes is on the
left, the lighthouse is center, and Ailsa Craig, out at sea,
can be seen to the right.
As the
incoming nine moves away from Bains Hill, the Kintyre Course
returns to the basic, straightforward links tradition. The
closing stretch truly begins at the 473-yard 15th, named after
the groundskeeper who, once upon a time, presided over what
were among the best hare shooting fields in all of Scotland.
There is scant room for error on the tee ball, which must find
its way between staggered fairway traps. The long approach
must be struck cleanly enough to carry a bunker that sits well
short of the green, off of which balls may bound onto the
front if they have enough pace. Two more bunkers protect
either side of the putting surface.
The quaint and challenging 141-yard 16th
hole is the shortest hole on either Turnberry course, offering
a welcome respite between a pair of heroic par fours. A score
of three is particularly hard to come by if the hole is cut in
the back portion of the green, where there is less margin for
error
The long par-four
17th is just steps shorter than 15 at 451 yards, and is every
bit as difficult. The presence of a stream and two bunkers on the inside of this
dogleg right are the true challenges at 'Lea Rig,' one of just
a few holes at Turnberry that were undisturbed by the building
of runways in wartime. The favoured line of the tee is the bold one,
as from the
right side the golfer is afforded a better angle to play the
long approach. Two deep bunkers guard the left side of this
slightly elevated green and put stress on the need for a
well-struck approach.
The closing hole is a
combination of the 17th and 18th holes from the Arran course,
and their top features have been fused to form this 514-yard, par-five finishing
hole. 11 bunkers dot this par five of modest length, each
placed strategically about like in a field of mines, and to
escape 18 without having to use your sand wedge is an
accomplishment in itself. The left side is especially
well-guarded, forcing players to take the longer route from
tee to green, and one of the trickiest greens on the course
completes a demanding closing stretch at the Kintyre
Course.
Donald Steel's
task at Turnberry was a desirable one for any golf architect, but like Robert
Trent Jones at Spyglass Hill in Monterey,
the scrutiny of building something that would live up to the
reputation of its 'big brother' hung over the project. With
two years and a host of glowing reviews under its belt, the
Kintyre Course now has its own identity as half of Turnberry,
one of the finest 36-hole golf resorts in the world.
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