THE MORAY FIRTH
The north of Scotland is a busy place when it comes to golf right now as we discovered on a January trip to the Moray Firth, taking in some of its most famous links as well as one or two lesser-known delights
Much is most definitely afoot on the golfing front in the north of Scotland. The second Trump course at Aberdeen is under construction; the prospect of a course at Coul Links just north of Dornoch rumbles on, with the Highland Council voting in favour of a revised planning application last December; and Royal Dornoch broke ground on its ambitious £13.9 million clubhouse project the same month.
The Moray Firth midway between those projects has been busy, too, with Cabot Highlands, Nairn, Spey Bay and Fortrose and Rosemarkie all catching my eye for various reasons. While some queried my wisdom when I decided to travel up in January, photographer Kevin Murray was very much up for joining me, especially when I found an unbeatable BA flight and car hire deal.
Nevertheless, when Fortrose and Rosemarkie posted photos of its links under snow with ten days to go, I anxiously emailed manager Mike MacDonald. “No problem,” he replied. “I just played 18 holes with two mates. Round in 63 in two hours 35 minutes.” I’m not sure what was more incredible – the disappearing snow, his score or that round time!
Suitably reassured, we flew up on January 29 and made straight for Nairn. It had been a while since my last visit and I was keen to see the Mackenzie and Ebert changes, including the repositioning and remodelling of the 1st, 7th and 14th greens, with those first two now closer to the shore as the links forges west along the Firth early on. Green surrounds have been redesigned to allow more shot options, while bunkers have also been reworked and natural open sand areas introduced in places.
A new standard
The stylish Garmin Approach S70 has set a new standard for golf GPS watches. Its crystal clear AMOLED touchscreen provides incredibly detailed and vibrant hole maps and makes navigation simple, while the other cutting-edge features provide all the accurate information a golfer needs to pick the right club at the right time.
I was suitably impressed on a bitterly cold day that saw the 397-yard 13th, as the links deviates briefly inland, demand a Sunday best hybrid to scrape home. After a scrappy front nine, I steadied the ship coming in, perhaps fortified by our midway stop at The Bothy to warm the outer man by the stove and the inner man via a Tomatin single malt! Surely one of golf’s very finest halfway huts.
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