XXII: Castle Stuart
​Golf trips to Scotland are often centred around golf clubs and courses which have been traversed for centuries, history seeps from their pores and in many ways, they feel like the places which truly matter. It takes a brave man then, to build a modern links in the home of golf where tourists seek history and remnants of the game and hardy Scots who have spent lifetimes on the finest links of the world see right through the imposters. The game of golf is fortunate that Castle Stuart visionary Mark Parsinen broke ground in the North of Scotland with timeless and soulful golf at the forefront and 15 years on, like the golf course itself, Castle Stuart sits so naturally in Scotland’s golfing landscape.
Castle Stuart's art-deco clubhouse
Castle Stuart’s art-deco style clubhouse came as a stunning change of pace from the links courses of the month gone by. Big, bold and perfectly framing up the stunning views of the firth and mountains, a walk through its doors gave us just enough of a glimpse of what was to come and the scenes abound were nothing short of spectacular. It doesn’t matter who you are or your golfing preferences, if the views from the clubhouse at Castle Stuart don’t get the juices flowing then you’re in the wrong game!
The inviting first does little to cool players' excitement
The opening four holes at Castle Stuart are special – there’s no doubt in my mind. The first three get straight to the point, running straight out along the thin strip of land wedged between a hillside and the shore, delivering a picturesque introduction to the setting and golfing philosophy of Castle Stuart. The straight away first offers plenty of room but retains the opportunity for golfers to find their ball on the rocky coastline straddling the right-hand side.
The spell-binding par 5 second features an intriguing split fairway beside the sea but its infinity greensite diving front left to back right which lives longest in the memory as a remarkable early showing of Castle Stuart’s ten flagsticks with nothing but sea and mountains beyond.
The driveable third and its narrow green
The third and fourth make a wonderful pair. Pretty much any golf course worth its salt offers a short par four and the driveable third is simple, unassuming and flooded with questions. 300 yards, with only two bunkers would at face value appear straightforward, however a narrowing green with the sea long and a harrowing drop-off of short grass left makes any approach nervy.
So often do we see a run of seaside holes end in abrupt disappointment with drama reserved for the coast, however the first one-shotter at four only elevates to pushed up green between the dunes with the course’s namesake and its iconic spire looming in the distance – a wonderful intersection of old and new.
The one-shot 4th, backed by the course's iconic namesake
An hour in and I felt like I had a handle on the spirit of Castle Stuart. The layout sits on the land gently with a light touch, allowing the linksland to do the talking and any earthworks were subtle, blending into the surrounds– standing for what Scottish links golf is all about. Resisting the urge to punish golfers, the holes are a wonderful hybrid blend of centuries old traits of traditional links golf and the modern school of intelligent width off the tee, demand around the greens driven by contouring and mindful bunkering, and plenty of opportunities for heroic recoveries from tough spots with short grass aplenty.
Looking back, it turned out Castle Stuart’s yardage book presented its golfing business case perfectly; “Castle Stuart itself reflects an appreciation that the game of golf is more about error and recovery than it is about perfection. It’s ethos is more about redemption than punishment”. This is what makes Castle Stuart so damn fun – playable for everyone, but gettable by few.
The stunning boomerang shaped 8th green
There are misconceptions about the relationship between width and ease and to call Castle Stuart a second shot golf course would be entirely lazy and fail to acknowledge the importance of teeing strategy. It is because of this width that thought is required on each tee – not every part of the fairway creates an equal approach, one side often left with a far more straightforward approach and the other impaired by bunkering, broken ground or an element of blindness.
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It would however be fair to say that as a result of Gil Hanse’s aptitude for large characterful and contoured greens and surrounds, the sheer quality and variety of second shots and recoveries around the greens will be Castle Stuart’s legacy. The narrow approaches through false fronts at the second and sixth, a flick wedge into the dramatically picked up green at 9, a deep spine bisecting the middle of the 10th green, the dramatic tumbling ground short of the 13th and 14th greens and the downhill second into a fine closing hole. Each of these shots is loaded with strategy, intrigue, the potential for chaos and brilliance. That’s the magic of links golf is the endless number of ways to get the ball in the hole and Castle Stuart has bottled that up with a modern flair which makes you want to keep dropping balls down and hit the shots over and over again.
Infinity greens and contoured surrounds charaterise the layout
The greatest complement I can pay to Castle Stuart is that it in no way feels new. The way it sits on the land with maturity, blends into its surrounds seamlessly and the turf reacts to a well struck iron are far beyond its 15 years. When you combine a golf course built for enjoyment and pleasure, implement firm and fast fescue where balls bounce, bound and run, alongside one of the most breathtakingly inspiring settings for golf on the planet, you are catering for every breed of golfer in the game. The type of golf course you walk off the 18th green and would just as happily find yourself back on the first tee as posted up in the clubhouse with a beer.
Like a handful of the best modern designs going around, the width, compelling nature of the large green complexes and their surrounds makes no two rounds the same – a change of a pin position here and a flip of the wind direction there completely changes the dynamic of the course. Castle Stuart is the new age archetype for a golf course you could never tire of and on any given day if a golfer can’t soak it up and enjoy a round here, they’re in the wrong sport!
At the end of the day, views and holes like this at the 11th live in the mind