Old Barnwell Golf Club

It began with a dream. A desire to build a world-class golf course inspired by the best heathland courses in England. And then, the discovery of an out-of-the-way site chocked with skinny towering pines reaching for the sunlight. Beneath the pines another discovery: the perfect rolling terrain and sandy soil reminiscent of the revered Swinley Forest Golf Club. Great golf was a part of the vision, but not the full dream. The final element was creating a club that was a vehicle for good rather than simply a destination for investment bankers and tech bros. If you're going to dream, dream big. The result is Old Barnwell. A little corner of the South sprinkled with magic.

In the last two years Aiken, South Carolina has become a hot golf destination. Many golfers are familiar with the attractions of the Palmetto State's quality golf scene, although, primarily they are courses located in the Lowcountry or along marshes, rivers, or the ocean: Yeamans Hall, Harbour Town, Secession, Kiawah, Congaree, Caledonia, and Chechessee Creek. Aiken, located across the Savannah River from the Augusta area, has always had good golf: Palmetto Golf Club, dating from 1896, with an Alister Mackenzie pedigree; and Sage Valley, a popular destination during Masters week. Old Barnwell is a noteworthy new addition to the neighborhood. The course opened in 2023, along with another highly acclaimed course nearby, the Tree Farm.

Aiken, especially the old town, is a charming Southern city, surrounded by cotton fields, rolling hills, and horse farms. Aiken, along with Kentucky, Saratoga Springs and parts of Florida, are among the East Coast cities well-known by those in the equine world. Even the street signs in Aiken tout the horse culture and have silhouettes of horse heads on them. (Godfather fans, I know what you're thinking, but that's not the idea.)

Old Barnwell is situated in the Sandhills region that stretches from North Carolina through the middle of South Carolina and into Georgia. Sandy rolling hills equals good golf. If the course is designed the right way. And Old Barnwell is. My initial impressions after playing Old Barnwell are:

1. It is a great golf course on a great piece of golfing land

2. The course starts easy, is a brute during the middle stretch of holes, and then has a fun and less demanding set of finishing holes

3. Putting from off the greens is almost always the better play than chipping, since the course plays fast and firm

4. Blind shots make for interesting golf, and the architects did a good job of sprinkling in blind shots around the course

5. It is not a bomb-with-driver and then wedge-to-the-green course; you need to think your way around and pick the right angles off the tee and into the greens.

6. The 14th is an all-world, risk-reward sub-300-yard par 4. Wow.

Their website describes the club as being, "Nestled on 575 acres of sandy soil and rolling hills surrounded by towering longleaf and loblolly pines, Old Barnwell is a private national club."  The course was designed by Brian Schneider and Blake Conant, who have decades of experience working with Tom Doak as part of the Renaissance Golf team, although this is their first solo effort.

The view from the clubhouse across the 18th green shows off the expansiveness of the property

While standing behind the eighteenth green, which is next to the clubhouse and first tee, most of the holes are visible across the vast expanse of land below. From this vantage point one might think that the property is relatively flat. One would be wrong. There is a lot of movement in the land, and the architects took maximum advantage of tucking fairways and greens behind the rises in the land.

Bunkering around the 1st hole

I'm a fan of a "gentle handshake" on a golf course, and Old Barnwell starts off with a relatively easy par five to ease the golfer into the round. The second is also an easy hole, a short par four of 300 yards or less, depending on your tee box. Although easy, it is best to pay close attention to what the ball does around the green, because it sets the tone for the remainder of the day. Hitting approaches into greens short is almost always better, often fifteen to twenty yards short of the putting surface, because balls tend to bounce forward on the firm turf. Golfers should also take note of how missing the undulating greens in the wrong location (sometimes over blind knobs) will shoot the ball off the green.

I always like to compare new golf courses to courses I know, and in some respects (not visually), Old Barnwell reminded me of Merion, because Merion is a thinking person's golf course. Balls must be positioned on the correct side of the fairway to allow for a favorable approach to access greens, or trouble awaits. This generalization can be used on most golf courses, but at both Merion and Old Barnwell, the penalty for not playing smart is magnified to a far larger degree than it is on most courses. That's a good thing for those who like to think their way around a golf course.

The view from the 3rd green shows off the openness of the property and also highlights the way the greens fall away if you're not smart about how to approach

The 4th green from the side

The fourth hole is the first par three, playing 165 yards. As seen above, it is a well bunkered hole. A crisp iron shot is required at precisely the right distance to avoid the menacing bunkers on the right, seen here. 

Behind the 4th green is serious, serious trouble

The view above awaits the unhappy golfer who hits long on the fourth. As is the case on every hole, short is always a good play into the greens. 

The 4th green

The two prior images of the fourth hole, taken from the side and from the rear, show the menacing nature of missing. This shot, taken from in front of the hole, shows how well the architects hid the hazards. They're invisible from the tee. The good news is that a shot approaching the green short finds little trouble, with a high probability of the ball bounding onto the green.

I scored well on the first four holes, but then mayhem ensued. The fifth is a 420-yard par four with a forced carry off the tee, and an elevated green that falls off sharply on the left. Bumping and running into the green is the best option. Hitting short and then putting from the firm fairway is also an excellent choice. 

The 6th green falls off sharply

The sixth hole is tough but fair. It is 425 yards, and plays from an elevated tee to a wide fairway. The challenge comes from the tabletop green that falls off on all sides. 

The 7th from the back tees

The seventh hole, seen above from the tee, is overly severe. As advised by my caddie, I picked the correct line off the tee (over the left bunker) but ended up in the right bunker that shoots out into the heart of the fairway. In retrospect and looking at the hole from the side and back from the green, the effective landing area for a tee shot is maybe only 20 yards wide, hugging the left edge of the fairway.

To add insult to injury, there are two deep greenside bunkers fronting the severe green, where the opening is only 15-20 yards wide. And, the green is also in the table-top style and falls off on all sides. Normally the smart play would have been to land short and have the ball run up. Unfortunately, on the day we were playing the wind was howling. That's not a figure of speech. We could literally hear the wind howling around us (sustained 15-20, gusts up to 35). Each player of my foursome attempted to land the ball short, sometimes twenty yards short, and each time it went long. Or was fed into a bunker.

The overly difficult 7th green

As seen above, the green falls away on all sides and the approach has to be precisely hit between the two bunkers. I don't think I've ever said this about a golf hole before, but perhaps the hole needs to be softened? The course is new and still in its teething stages. To ask a golfer to thread the needle that finely twice on one hole may be too much. I listened to a podcast with the course owner and he says some members lay up short of the right bunker and then hit to the green. I don't know what the prevailing wind is, but that simply wasn't an option on the day we played.

Walking off the seventh green most golfers will no doubt have bruises on them. The ground level view of the seventh doesn't do justice to the challenge at hand. The drone shot below better shows the harsh nature of the green.

The 7th green seen from a birds-eye view. Photo credit: Morgan Purvis

I was lucky enough to play Old Barnwell with my friend Paul Rudovsky. Paul has played more top 100 courses around the world than any person ever born. He has played every course on any top 100 list compiled by any magazine or website. That's any list, ever published. More than 400 top-rated courses. He loves Old Barnwell and likens it to the Old Course at St. Andrews because of the thoughtfulness required to get around it with a good score. On the seventh hole, he found two tiny areas where shots could be successfully hit into. It's too bad my ball didn't find either of those. He also found similarities to St. Andrews because Old Barnwell also has many hidden bunkers lurking to bite the unsuspecting duffer. And, if you aren't positioned correctly, approach shots turn into blind approach shots. When Paul compares a course to the Old Course it is high praise indeed. I would like to return on a day without such strong winds to see if I can place my ball in better positions.

Thus concludes a stretch of three holes, each of 420 yards+ with difficult-to-hit-and-hold-greens. But wait. There's more challenge to come.

The 8th green has a well-guarded entrance

On the card, the eighth seems like a respite hole. A 345-yard par four. The green complex is seen above. Once again, it has a tiny approach area to the green. Hit the correct line and distance and all is good. Short right is death, as is short left. Playing long, above the bunkers is a fine choice, since the ball bounds down the hill like a pinball.

Bunkering on the 12th green

The twelfth hole is the second par five on the course, and plays to an elevated green with the set of deep sand traps seen above awaiting the dreaded pulled shot. It's a pretty hole because you're up on one of the long ridges bisecting the property, and it offers wide views of the valley around it.

The 14th hole's blind/hilly approach

Fourteen is my favorite hole on the course and it is the beginning of a really good set of golf holes that take you all the way into the clubhouse. I was taught years ago to "beware of the short par four." Golf scorecards can be deceptive. 245 yards from the white tees. You're mentally thinking, alright, birdie hole! The proper shot off the tee is to the left and leaves a good approach to a green you can kinda' see. The issue with hitting and holding the shot left is that the entire fairway cants to the right, so any slight miss will see balls tumbling down the hill and will leave the approach seen above. What isn't seen is a set of deep bunkers in that swale fronting the green. The flag stick is ten feet tall to make it visible to those who hit into the valley of sin, although the putting surface is not. A well-hit short iron is demanded. I pulled off the shot, hitting exactly the right distance and line, and it was very satisfying. It's a really fun hole. My caddie said most people walk off the green with a five rather than a three. That's the mark of an excellent short par four. 

An aerial view shows the challenge better. Most balls settle in the bottom of the image below. The green is seen on the back right, so the majority of golfers, whose balls settle left, have to hit over that collection of eleven bunkers. You can also see that in order to leave a tee shot in the A position requires the golfer to hit to that narrow strip of fairway about fifteen paces wide. And, the fairway slopes downward to the valley floor. A BRILLIANT HOLE!

  The 14th seen from above. Photo credit: Andy Johnson

The par five 15th uphill approach

The next two holes (fifteen and sixteen) are back-to-back par fives that play to elevated greens. The fifteenth features a long wall of bunkers set at an angle to the fairway off the tee. It is a three-shot hole for all players, measuring 625 yards from the back tees, 565 from the white tees. I read that part of the inspiration for Old Barnwell's design was Woodhall Spa in England, a course that has some of the deepest bunkers in the world. I'd say they replicated parts of Woodhall Spa very well. Oh, and don't go left approaching the elevated green. As seen above, there is a cavernous penalty on the left side, with both a grass bunker and a deep sand bunker. 

The sixteen hole, a 565-yarder, has a blind tee shot up an expansive hill. The land sweeps downward and to the right along the fairway, and the putting surface is a push-up green sitting on a perch atop a hill, with multiple tiers set in a little amphitheater.

The good news about Old Barnwell (aside from the seventh hole) is that the fairways are generous. Although the entire property is surrounded by tall pines, almost none come into play during the round.

The par 3 17th, with a postage stamp green

The seventeenth is a semi-blind shot of 120 yards up the hill. Misses left will receive unfavorable kicks and bound down the hill. Misses right end on top of a grassy knoll. Straight shots are good. Honestly, for a 120-yard par three with a ball on a tee the golfer should be asked to hit with precision, and the small putting surface certainly requires that.

The approach to the finishing hole with tall unruly grass above the bunkers

The grassy growth seen above the bunkers on the approach to the eighteen are a cool feature. It's too bad we don't see more of them. Visually they are a nice look. I'm obviously speaking as someone who didn't hit into them.

I can't remember a golf course where so many of the golfers in my group (myself included) putted off greens. Putts at Old Barnwell require the same exacting standards as the tee shots and the approaches. What's interesting about the greens is that when you look at them they don't look overly wild. But they are deceptive and there are many subtle places where balls hit on the wrong line just shoot off, including mysteriously, uphill putts. Despite that, we all had a blast all day long. Old Barnwell is a great place to play golf. I try not to get into the speculation business, because my prognostications are often wrong, but Paul believes Old Barnwell will easily become one of the top 100 golf courses in the world as more raters see it. I have an unusual set of friends. In a good way. I know everyone who has played the top 100 courses in the world, thus, I know more than a half-dozen people who have already played Old Barnwell, even though the course just opened and is closed during the summer season of high heat and humidity. They are a privileged, motivated group that like to chase exciting new courses before everyone else plays them. I have yet to hear a bad review of the course. 

Another interesting and unique part of Old Barnwell is the approach taken by Nick Schreiber, the founder and owner. Although a private club, he wants the club to be inclusive (the birth of new oxymoron: the inclusive-private club) and used to expand the game. As such, he has set up a series of initiatives to give back to this great game we all love, including a large youth caddie program, participation in the Evans Scholarship program, working with Annika Sorenstam to help more women enter the game, and working with historically Black colleges and universities to host tournaments. Kudos to him for being so generous and having the vision to do what he has set out to do.

Another part of the club is dedicated to kids, inspired by the "wee course," in North Berwick, Scotland. There is a kids' course near the first tee, set of 25 acres, which has fifteen holes ranging in length from 75 yards to 305 yards. The flags, appropriately whimsical, are tie-dyed. One of the holes was designed by a nine-year-old as part of a design competition, and it features an elevated tee, a ramp, and two penguin bunkers. Another hole has an elevated spiral that I can't describe. For more pictures of these really interesting holes click here. Some golf courses and country clubs tolerate kids. This place gives them a big bear hug.

The kids' course. Fun is the order of the day. Photo credit: Nick Schreiber

An image of the scorecard for the kids' course is below. Note, there are no pars listed. After completing each hole the youngster simply writes in an emoji describing how they fared on the hole: meh (sad face), better (slight smile), best (wide smile). What a groundbreaking idea. I liked it so much that I went back through the scorecard of my round on the adult course and put in meh faces next to my scores on the sixth, seventh, and eighth holes.

Although it is a private course, as is the tradition with many Aiken area courses, they open the course to the public during Masters week for $2,300 for a foursome ( $575 per person).

In addition to the world-class course already on property, there is another course planned. The Old Barnwell website explains, "The Gilroy, expected to open in 2027, will serve as a holiday course, presenting players with strategy and fun in equal measure." I love what the owner is doing here. In the same way that Mike Keiser redefined what destination resort golf could be several decades ago, Nick Schreiber is pushing boundaries and redefining what golf is and what it can be: "Old Barnwell exists to celebrate all that’s exciting, affirming, and joyful about golf, with a modern approach that serves all kind of players, families, boon companions, and connoisseurs of the game. We’re creating programs that empower, invite, and celebrate people and communities historically underrepresented in the game of golf – to create new traditions and a legacy that belong to everyone."

Old Barnwell is the first solo design by Schneider and Conant. I'd say it's the best debut since the smashing debut by David McLay Kidd at Bandon Dunes.

Well done all around.

A Golf Odyssey with the Real McCoy

As of today, there are 62 Type A personalities that have played the top 100 golf courses in the world. Bob McCoy was the second person to complete the feat, in 1988. In itself, this is a noteworthy accomplishment. Bob’s real claim to fame, however, is playing the top 100 again, but this time in 100 consecutive days. The idea behind the “100 in 100” was a lark, something he made up when a Japanese golf magazine journalist asked him what he would do as an encore after playing the top 100.

Click to view the book on Amazon

Tom Wolfe coined the term “A Man in Full” in his second novel. Wolfe’s character is one of fiction, but Bob is indeed “The Real McCoy.” A talented hockey player who grew up in upstate New York, he was able to get into Harvard based on his hockey skills, not his academic prowess. He stayed on the get to an MBA at Harvard as well, before starting a successful career on Wall Street. With an entrepreneurial bug, Bob retired early to start a popular research and information service for the electrical and power industry. He also started a successful and widely read newsletter titled The Golf Odyssey, where he shared his stories and tips about his golf travels with paying readers for decades. 

The book chronicles Bob’s planning for and playing the top 100 courses and is adapted from his Golf Odyssey, thus the title of the book. 

So, to state the obvious, how exactly do you plan and then play the top 100 courses in 100 consecutive days? Remember, this is not just the top 100 in the United States, which, while also logistically challenging, would be easier; it is the world. It’s not like you can call Augusta and just book in a tee time. Or, book the three über-private Japanese courses on the same trip and make the timing work. Beyond Augusta, there are other courses that are painfully difficult to get a game on, notably Cypress Point and Morfontaine in France. And, as we all know, travel snafus such as missed flights and connections as well as weather problems, make this an endeavor that sounds good, but to pull it off is a feather in the cap indeed. It does help if you are a member of Pine Valley, Baltusrol, Royal St. George’s, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and Oakmont, as McCoy was.

The book mixes in Bob’s fanatical level of planning and obsessiveness with his impressive bio, and with stories of the enduring friendships he has made through golf travels over a lifetime. One of the most interesting parts of the story is that it brings you back in time. Bob played the “100 in 100,” in 1997. Difficult as it is to imagine now, his was an era before cell phones, GPSs and even the printing of MapQuest routes before you leave. He did it the old-fashioned way, organizing and planning through land line phone calls and faxes. He did it with dog-eared and crumpled maps. Not the most efficient way to travel, but that was all there was. He had to stop for directions often and as we’ve all experienced, you get directions from someone who is completely confident in their veracity, and they are totally wrong!

What is also impressive is that McCoy set a rule for himself: walk every hole. No carts. I don’t know about you, but the stamina required to do this after flying and driving for long hours is incredible. Also, no private jets; commercial air travel only.

Ben Crenshaw, said about this driven golf lunatic, “Bob McCoy sure knows how to do it right, and I always enjoy his comments on courses I haven’t played.” Herbert Warren Wind was also a fan, noting, “He is one of the great travelers of all time, like the hero of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days.” Gil Hanse wrote the book’s foreword and said, “His pursuit of 100 in 100 is only one chapter in a life well-lived, it is a story worth telling and one that will enthrall travelers and golfers alike.”

Beyond the fastidiousness of Bob’s behavior and pure luck of his feat, what also comes through in A Golf Odyssey is how gentlemanly McCoy is. There is never even a hint of boasting or ego, just thankfulness and humbleness. The book is a great read. 

Click to see the book on Amazon

Dumbarnie Links

I finally made it to Dumbarnie Links in the Kingdom of Fife, twenty minutes south of St. Andrews. I was originally scheduled to play shortly after the course opened in 2020 but covid had other designs on those plans. After countless reschedules and false starts I finally teed it up, and it was certainly worth the wait.

Dumbarnie was designed by Clive Clark, a former professional golfer who played on the G B & I Walker Cup and Ryder Cup teams and finished third in the 1967 British Open tied with Gary Player, behind only the winner Roberto De Vicenzo and Jack Nicklaus. While playing in the 1968 Masters Clark aced the 16th hole, hitting a 2-iron off the tee! Clark was also the head professional at Sunningdale in the 1970s and '80s and served as a broadcaster for CBS during the Masters in the early years. He has done golf course architecture for decades and was a partner with Peter Alliss for many years jointly designing courses. Clark has thirty-five courses to his credit, but by far Dumbarnie is his crown jewel. Clark's design philosophy from his website, "We strive to frame holes, enhance their artistic and playable value and breathe life into them, expertly crafting balance, personality and a sense of spirit and soul." That certainly is a mouthful in terms of design philosophy.

 The striking setting of the 1st tee shot at Dumbarnie sets the tone for the day

Dumbarnie offers a unique starting proposition, a shot of Scotch whisky on the first tee for all players! After drinking a wee dram the golfer is presented with a striking first hole. The fairway on the first hole, like on the entire course, is a generous one. It is a relatively easy hole tee to green provided you miss the burn that snakes down the left side and separates the green from the fairway.

Dumbarnie's 2nd, a par five of 569 yards

The second hole also has the burn running through it, creating two distinct sections to the fairway and it also separates the green from the fairway. The punch bowl style green is artfully framed by sand dunes.

Dumbarnie is built on a massive 345 acres set on two different levels, connected by a steep slope joining the lower to the upper. Like its neighbor Kingsbarns, Dumbarie is a man made creation, sculpted by Clark and his team, rather than being entirely natural. Just like at Kingsbarns, the result is a delight. I am not a stringent unyielding purist who thinks that only courses built on entirely natural land forms are worthy ones. The course is both visually stunning and bewitching.

Dumbarnie's 3rd hole from the tee

The third hole, a par four, plays from an elevated tee and is a dog-leg to the left. It creates an interesting risk-reward decision early in the round as you decide how much of the corner to cut. The green is very well protected by dunes, tiny pot bunkers and a large sandy bunker short left.

A closeup view of the third green from the fairway

Dumbarnie's Par 3 6th

The sixth, a downhill par three of long iron-hybrid length has a sparkling view of the Largo Bay with the Firth of Forth and views to North Berwick and Edinburgh in the far distance. It is said that the course offers water views from every hole and it probably does, although on some holes you have to turn around to see the water because they play away from it. Thirteen holes play directly towards the water, more than any course I can recall. The setting is an enchanting one, part of a larger 5,000 acre estate that has been in the same family for 400 years. 

Dumbarnie's 7th hole,  approach to the green

The seventh, the second par five on the front nine, begins the transition away from the coastal holes to the holes set on a higher plateau. The hole isn't overly taxing provided you avoid that pot bunker seen in the middle of the picture, which is 50 yards short of the green.

In addition to impressive water views throughout, the countryside of Leven, where the course is located, is also charming. This view is on the left side of the seventh fairway

The perfectly situated par three 8th hole

The 8th is a beautifully framed par three, consistent with Clark's philosophy of framing holes and giving them spirit and soul. I frankly don't care whether all this was created by the gods and discovered by the architect or entirely sculpted by bulldozers. The end result is the same. Malcolm Campbell, who wrote a book identifying what makes a course a true links course, has given the thumbs up to Dumbarnie. It is in fact one of only 247 true links courses in the world.

The 8th personifies Dumbarnie more than any other hole and highlights Clark's self proclaimed title of "an artist among golf course designers." The hole is of short to mid iron length and the green is narrow and well bunkered. Jack Nicklaus isn't a fan of elevated fairways or greens and it seems neither is Clark, most tee shots and shots to the par threes play down hill.

Completely by chance I met Clive Clark while coming off the 18th green and had a chat with him about his design philosophy. Above all he wants golfers to have fun and to enjoy themselves, and his creation here delivers in spades. More designers should adopt this philosophy, which is ultimately why we play the game, as opposed to getting too caught up in golf architecture snobbery and looking down on new courses not done by the latest in vogue architects. 

Dumbarnie's 11th green

The 11th is another short risk-reward par four, only 294 yards, protected by a swale in front of the green and a two tiered putting surface. 

The 17th off the tee

The seventeenth hole is far and away the best one on the course. There is a 300-year old farmer's stone wall running through the property that Clark took exceptional advantage of. The hole plays 358 yards from the black tees and you can choose to either hit very safely to an elevated fairway left off the tee, or you can try to carry the stone wall and a myriad of tall grasses and gorse to attempt the hero shot.

The 17th as seen from safe fairway area to the left

I played it safe and to the left which is why I was able to capture these pictures. My playing partners all tried to carry the wall and the hazards into the wind. Their shots were less than ideal which gave me plenty of time to snap lots of pictures. 

The 17th, approach to green

The pot bunker seen in the foreground is 35 yards from the green, leaving a demanding sand shot to the elevated green. From tee the green the hole offers scores of strategic playing options.

The 17th, approach to the green up close

The clubhouse at Dumbarnie

At first glance the clubhouse at Dumbarnie is totally out of character with Scotland and specifically with traditional clubhouses you see in Great Britain. This is true. The beauty is felt once you are inside. The clubhouse is not meant to look pretty or traditional from the outside, but to offer outstanding views to the course, the firth and beyond. It is a great to sit inside after the round to savor the experience, as is sitting outside the clubhouse in the beautiful Scottish sunshine. I went from being a critic of the clubhouse to really liking it.

The routing of Dumbarnie

The course routing graphic above shows how artfully it was done. Take a closer look and you will find no two consecutive holes play in the same direction. In fact, you will have to work hard to find any two holes that play along the same point of the compass. This is a welcome break and was a real juxtaposition after playing traditional courses such as North Berwick on this trip where we had 3-4 holes, sometimes more, in the same direction playing into the wind, which grind a golfer down. In this regard Dumbarnie is better than nearly Kingsbarns, which I also love, however, having just played it with a wind coming off the water, there were no downwind or upwind holes. Every hole played into a cross wind because the holes run parallel to the water. Castle Stuart similarly has holes that run largely parallel to the water. The routing at Dumbarnie, like that at Carnoustie, is something special with its continual change in direction.

Dumbarnie is the 35th course I have played in Scotland and I thank god in all his grace for allowing me to get past most of my health issues to be healthy enough to enjoy so much of what is good in life and to do so with my friends.

When I reflect back on my favorite courses in Scotland and try to rank them, it always turns into a fool's errand. Hide the women and children before you look at what I wrote here, because you will find it appalling that the Old Course at St. Andrews isn't anywhere to be found. Sorry, I just don't like it. Cruden Bay would be at the top of my list, followed by North Berwick and Prestwick. I love the old school courses with blind shots and quirkiness. Carnoustie would make the top five. I love the routing and the variety of holes, and the difficult finish. Despite the current owner Turnberry would be next, followed by the triumvirate of new courses Castle Stuart, Dumbarnie, and Kingsbarns. Loch Lomond would be in the top ten even though it has had issues with the location it was built on and is by no means a traditional Scottish course. And Dornoch has to be in any top ten in the country. Such a list in inevitably misleading because when I rank my top 50 courses in the world, all of these also make the cut, a testament to how strong the golf in Scotland is.

Silloth-on-Solway - England's Cruden Bay

The clubhouse at Silloth with the Union Jack at half mast to mark the Queen's passing

America has some phonetic place names that roll off the tongue in a lyrical manner: Tucumcari, Sheboygan, Walla Walla, Valparaiso, Kokomo, and Ronkonkoma come to mind. They not only mark a location on the map, but conjure up images in the wandering mind of far off places that an itinerant traveler would love to see one day (although from personal experience I can tell you there is no need to visit Ronkonkoma). Many were taken from Native American names and are rhapsodic. 

While America has some amusing locales, the mother ship remains England. After all, a land that produced Shakespeare, Milton, and Chaucer has a birthright in the field of toponymy. The upstart colony can’t compete with a country that has towns named Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Virginia Water, Barrow-in-Furness, Preston-under-Scar, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Goring-by-Sea, Wells-next-the-Sea, and Branksome Chine. Many of these towns take their name from a mixture of Old English and Old Norse, and in my view they can’t be beat.

Okay, enough of the diversion, back to the topic at hand, which is golf, and specifically a new find called Silloth-on-Solway. What? Another one of those barmy place names. Silloth means roughly “sea barn,” and Solway is the body of water the town is located on, as in Solway Firth, part of the Irish Sea. The golf course is located directly on the Firth with clear views across the water to Scotland, with the rounded peaks of the Galloway Hills in the Southern Highlands only eight miles away. The area has been designed by the government as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Sandwiched above the Lake District of England, with its sweeping views of the Cumbrian Mountains, and below the Scottish Borders region, Silloth is not a course you happen upon by chance. Located almost three hours from Prestwick to the north or two and a half from Royal Birkdale to the south, this is destination golf. Silloth had its heyday during the Victorian Era, when it was a beach holiday town. 

Even when you are intent on finding Silloth-on-Solway, it is a challenge, as the course is hidden behind the town. The GPS system on our car couldn't find Silloth and left us on a dirt path near the outskirts of the course. You have to take a circuitous route to finally get to the clubhouse, which is located behind an industrial park. 

I have yet to find a Willie Park, Jr. designed golf course I didn’t like. I went out of my way to play at Silloth because I love Park’s designs at Sunningdale and Maidstone. It was also recommended by three golf aficionados whose opinions I trust, beginning with Ran Morrissett who wrote an enticing profile on Golf Club Atlas, albeit it accompanied by some dated pictures. Another motivator was the fact that Darius Oliver included the course as one of the top 100 courses outside the United States in his Planet Golf book, where we writes glowingly about the course, “Silloth is less conventional and full of hidden greens, blind driving zones, large central hills that obscure targets on par fives and small plateau greens on long, downwind par threes . . . golf at its most raw and the game is poorer for the fact that courses like this are no longer being built.” Finally, my friend Fergal O’Leary, implores rabid golfers to visit, “PLEASE GO TO SILLOTH! You’ll be immensely rewarded! I will forever vote this course comfortably within the Top 100 courses in the World.”

I took Fergal’s advice and went to Silloth and was indeed rewarded. It has one of the best opening stretches of any golf course in the world.

The 1st fairway to Silloth

You know Silloth is going to be different right from the get go. The picture above shows the first fairway with its natural undulations among the dunes. The approach on the first green is blind with a long pole sticking up so you have an aiming point. 

The 1st green at Silloth set among the sand dunes

The first green at Silloth is a "Dell," green. Dell greens take their name from the original par-3 5th hole at Lahinch, and they are holes almost completely surrounded by dunes with only a small portion visible to the unwary golfer trying to hit the green from the fairway (or tee). 

The 2nd, a par four of only 315 yards, plays from an elevated tee and the green is also of the Dell variety. The image below also shows off the other ubiquitous feature of Silloth, namely its abundance of gorse bushes. The course is routed among sand dunes topped with gorse.

Silloth's difficult to hit 2nd fairway

The 2nd green, like the 1st, is set among the dunes

The winding 3rd fairway to Silloth, set among the healthy gorse bushes

The third hole is a dogleg left with a wildly undulating fairway--you won't find many flat lies on the course--set between two lines of dunes. The image above was taken from the top of an observation ladder you climb to see if the coast is clear, because it is yet again another blind shot. You can start to get a sense of why I called Silloth England's Cruden Bay, because of its abundance of blind shots and because of its routing among the dunes. The unconventional course is rough and tumble with a sense of spirit that is rare to find in golf.

The 3rd fairway at Silloth, note the zany fairway humps and another aiming pole in the distance for your approach to the green

The elevated third green requires the golfer to hit a precision shot to carry a swale in front

The seemingly simple approach to the 4th green at Silloth

There is another aiming pole off the tee for the blind approach to the 4th green. It is at this point that you either fall in love with the golf course or hate it. I like blind shots since they introduce an element of surprise, but some people hate them. Two of my playing companion friends hated it and it felt like there were too many blind shots, particularly because there is so much gorse to contend with. They aren't opposed to blind shots per se, but it is the combination of the abundance of blind shots with the penal nature of the gorse that they thought was unfair. In my mind you have to put yourself back in time. After all, the course was built in 1892 when blind shots were common. If you want to play the most recent Tom Fazio course without blind shots, go ahead, Silloth probably isn't for you. While many of the world's best courses have blind shots including Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Prestwick, Lahinch, National Golf Links, and New South Wales, the combination of an abundance of blind shots with the gorse does make Silloth particularly challenging. It didn't bother me, in fact, I found the unconventional nature of it exhilarating.

In addition to a blind tee shot on the 4th, the unsuspecting golfer has no clue as to what is to come on this bunkerless hole. Hit the green and there are no worries. Miss the green and you will face a challenge unlike almost any other in the world of golf.

The deep grass hazard to the left of the green...

...is matched with an equally deep grass hazard right of the green!

The fourth is a hole that sticks in the mind long after you play it.

The green of the par-5 5th hole with pot bunkers

The par-5 fifth hole is the first one on the course that doesn't feature a blind shot. In addition to blind shots and gorse hazards, the course also features strategically placed pot bunkers as seen here on the fifth, which hugs the beach from tee to green.

An expansive view of the par-3 6th from the tee. The hole plays over a disused railway line you can see running in a straight line in front of the green

The green of the difficult par-4 7th hole at Silloth

The 7th hole plays 415 yards up a rising, humpy fairway and sports another blind shot to a Dell green set in the dunes. This shot also shows to good effect the nature of the greens at Silloth, which as you can surmise, are not flat.

The par-3 9th hole has a well-defended postage stamp green that falls off sharply should you hit to the right

The approach to the par-4 11th plays over this hill seen on the right

The drive off the 11th hole features . . . drum roll please . . . you guessed it, a blind shot! Unless the tee shot is positioned to the left it blocks the golfer out from the green.

The club calls the 13th hole, nicknamed Hog's Back, its signature, but I thought it was one of the poorest designs on the course. A par-5 of 509 yards, the drive is a forced carry over heather and gorse and for someone who hadn't played the course before I wasn't sure whether the fairway was to the left or the right on the second shot. It's to the left, and the third shot plays to a goofy elevated table top green that is inconsistent with the rest of the greens on the course.

The back nine features three par fives, including two back to back. The back nine is inevitable a letdown after the excitement of the start. The front nine has five holes with blind shots (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 7th) and the back only has one (11th), in addition the back has less gorse and less severe dunes. It also plays more inland and further away from the Firth. The finishing hole at Silloth is a card wrecking par 4 that we played into the wind, making it a real tester.

Although I mentioned that the course is a design of Willie Park, Jr., as is frequently cited, it was actually laid out by Davie Grant with an assist by Mungo Park, Willie's uncle and the winner of the Claret Jug in 1874. Park, Jr. made his changes around the turn of the 20th century and Alister Mackenzie consulted for the club just prior to the First World War, but due to financial difficulties the only imprint from the Good Doctor is today's third green and fourth tee. The club's history gives the majority of the credit to Grant, "the major influences in the design of the Silloth course have been Davie Grant, in his original layout, and the Greens Committees of the 1900s. The more celebrated Willie Park Jr., Willie Fernie and Alister Mackenzie appear to have been supporting players."

It is interesting to fantasize about composite courses, a compilation of the best holes you have played made into one fantasy course. Well, Silloth-on-Solday has many of the holes all here in one place. The 5th hole resembles the 9th at Maidstone; the blind par three Dell hole at Lahinch is replicated often on approach shots; the 6th hole, with its sea of gorse off the tee like County Down’s 4th hole; the 7th is reminiscent of the first at St. Enodoc; the 13th is like the 10th at Maidstone; and the 14th has the rippling fairway reminiscent of the 8th at Prairie Dunes. Ran Morrissett describes the 4th as similar to the opening hole at Pine Valley as well.

I’m in total agreement with my friend Fergal's thoughts about Silloth, “I’d like to end this with a very strong opinion I personally hold as follows. I get so frustrated when people say 'if X course was located closer to Y city/region, then it would be rated so much higher.' This lazy attitude is insulting to the course and the club should never suffer in the rankings just because of its location. If the course is worthy of merit and is architecturally superior to a list of overrated courses, then give credit when credit is due! Making the extra effort to find the best courses on earth is the exciting part! We frequently rank courses in Tasmania that are essentially at the end of the earth, so don’t tell me the northwest of England is too far out of the way.” Of course, he is 100% right. Courses in Ayrshire like Troon, Prestwick and Turnberry are naturally clustered together for a golf trip as are the courses around St. Andrews, thus they get a lot of notoriety. Silloth stands alone in the far north of England, therefore it doesn't get the accolades it deserves.

The course suffers from what I call a lack of “Instagram” appeal. Magazines and websites tout the newest cool thing, which you can’t fault them for since it supports their business model and advertisers. Some clubs, especially new ones, go out of their way to court raters, bending over backwards to accommodate them. Silloth suffers from opening in 1892, and not 2022, thus there is no fanfare about it and no sexy marketing campaign to engage in. 

Bernard Darwin wrote in A Round of Golf: “I never more violently fell in love with a course at first sight. There never was a prettier or more truly golfing beginning to any course than there is at Silloth, a tee shot down a shallow valley, with sand a hillocks and heather on either side—a little reminiscent of some of the shots at Formby or Birkdale. Fascinating greens that go dodging about amid delicious country.”

We should treat old historic courses like this with more respect, and a three hour drive among delightful country is hardly an imposition. Silloth has heart and soul and a unique character and is worth the journey!