On my (um . . . many) trips to the British Isles I like to play a couple of unheard of or below the radar courses in addition to playing the best and the most renowned courses. It creates some variety, and I always learn something.
My most recent trip included a first visit to the Scottish Borders, a county south of Edinburgh and just north of the English counties of Cumbria and Northumberland. Most Scottish golf trips are naturally clustered in one of three areas: around St. Andrews; on the Ayrshire coast near Troon, Prestwick, and Turnberry; or in the Highlands visiting such gems as Dornoch and Castle Stuart. You have to go out of your way to visit the Scottish Borders. In my case it was a stop on the way to Silloth-on-Solway in Cumbria. Torwoodlee was midway between Fife and Cumbria so it was a logical place to stop. The course is located five minutes outside of Galashiels, the largest town in the Borders.
Like in all of Scotland, there is a rich selection of courses in every region, the Borders being no exception. I chose Torwoodlee because I like to play as many courses as possible designed by Willie Park, Jr., one of my favorite architects.
View from the 2nd tee shows the hilly nature of the property Torwoodlee is build on
1st fairway with a favored Park hazard: cross bunkering
The course was built in 1895, giving a rare opportunity to see what courses were like 125 years ago when the game was just taking hold. Most of the course, except those immediately near the clubhouse is essentially set on the side of a large hill, consistent with the topography of this part of the Borders. It plays 6,021 from the back tees. According to the club's centenary history there were 114 members (78 gentleman and 36 ladies) when Torwoodlee opened. Park mentioned that the "absence of hilly ground makes it particularly suited to lady members," providing a hint to which holes on the course are Park original holes.
The course is organized into two distinctive segments. The holes between the Gala Water and the railway line are on relatively flat ground and are distinct from the holes after you cross over the old railway bridge and play on much hillier ground. The flatter holes are the the remnants of the original nine laid out by Willie Park, Jr., that is, the ones between the river and the railway. The course acquired an additional 45 acres in 1992 and expanded the course to eighteen holes, with only a handful of Park holes surviving, most notably the first, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth.
The first hole plays on flat ground near the clubhouse and is a pretty simple affair ,with a cross bunker as the only significant hazard, although it doesn't really come into play today.
The second hole is a lot meatier, playing 401 yards up the side of a sloping hill. The course is well maintained, although the grass appears to be cut about once a week, thus the greens were a phenomenon and ran about 3-4 on the stimpmeter!
The club hired Ben Sayers from North Berwick in 1902 to suggest improvements and he added bunkers to the original 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th holes. In 1925, James Braid was brought in to suggest a number of improvements to the course as well. In the early years the course was cut using a horse pulling a set of blades behind it. After that the course was kept by a flock of sheep grazing on its grass.
View of the 5th green from the fairway
The heart of the course and the three most interesting holes are in the recently added nine holes: the fifth, sixth, and seventh. The fifth is easily the #1 stoke index hole and plays up the largest hill on the property, 418 yards from top to bottom. The green juts out from the mountain and is built up on three sides, making it difficult to hold and hit.
A view of the 5th green from the rear shows off the difficultly of hitting and holding the putting surface
The view off the 6th tee shows the beauty of the Scottish Borders region
The sixth tee box is the high point of the property and the view seen above is typical of those in the Scottish Borders with its rolling hills dotted with agricultural farmland punctuated with pastureland used by grazing sheep and cows.
This view greets the golfer from the 6th tee. The green is between the two trees on the left, far far down the hill
Once you soak up the views on the tee and focus on the challenge of the sixth hole, the golfer is thunderstruck by what lies ahead. Below you, probably the drop of a ten story building, at least 150 feet, likely more, is a hole that plays over a fenced in sheep pasture and two trees to a small green tucked away on the left. It is unlike any golf hole I have ever seen and quite interesting. You can choose either to try and drive the green on the left or play it safe and hit to the right. Guess what we all did? Why not got for it; how often are we going to visit Torwoodlee, so it wasn't a real consideration to lay up.
The view looking backward from the 6th green shows off the idyllic nature of Torwoodlee
Ultimately golf is a game that gets you outdoors for some fresh air and exercise and to commune with nature. Golf at Torwoodlee is that and more. The course gets very little play. We were probably the first Americans to visits in a decade or more. The air in rural Scotland is so fresh and clean, and the sweeping views force you to take it in and relax. The sixth hole helps you maximize all that and more. It was such a treat to soak it all in.
The tiny 6th green
On a course with relatively small greens, the sixth might be the smallest, quite fitting for a 355 yard hole.
The par-3 7th from the tee. The golfer can see the flag but not the green
The seventh is a demanding 152 yard blind par three that plays significantly longer up a hill to a putting surface you can't see.
The double green shared by the 8th and 13th holes
The course has two sets of double greens. The 8th and 13th holes share a set of greens as do the 1st and the 15th. After playing the 13th hole the golfer crosses back over the railroad bridge back to the original Park holes near the clubhouse.
The 18th green set in front of an old stone bridge on the entry drive
The 18th is a very narrow hole that plays along Gala Water, a tributary of the River Tweed. The heart shaped green is beautifully framed by the original stone bridge that is part of the entry drive into the course.
Throughout our round we kept wondering, why would a golf course be built in such a remote area? How much demand could there have been for a club to sustain a membership in 1895 and be viable? Apparently it was more than viable. In 1901 Harry Vardon played James Braid at an exhibition match at Torwoodlee, and in 1903 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle became a member. I told you I always learn something playing out of the way courses. Who would have thought?
Galashiels, where the course is located ,is a town of roughly 15,000, apparently large enough in golf crazed Scotland to support a course. I find this very impressive, and it is no wonder Scotland has more golf courses per capita than anywhere else in the world. In the United States there is a CVS pharmacy within a five mile drive of 70% of the people in the country. It seems to me in Scotland it is the same way with golf courses, there is a course always at hand. The Scots have it right!
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