Barassie, and Hillhouse Links
Wedged in the vice like grip of two railway lines this club holds an 18 and a 9 hole course. Whilst it runs directly up to Dundonald and opposite Western Gailes it is quite different in character. It feels lusher and the soil richer than Western Gailes. The course is more naturally linksy than Dundonald though it too has expanses of less featureful landscape. The first is a straightaway par 5 but the second demands more careful planning across the ditch and a well angled green. The third is also decorated with trees and a raised green but then you take a hike beyond to the next tee. And the landscape changes dramatically. Holes 1-3 and 13-18 share a more protected, home county, terrain that could be found on a heathland course lusher too. The intervening holes are raw and exposed, flatter and populated by whins and vegetation more able to withstand the winds off the sea that lies just beyond the railway the other side of Western Gailes.
The first of these, the fourth hole ,is a par 3 exposed to all of the above with a burn running down one side, a long narrow target, bracketed with bunkers, and a very testing hole. A few years ago there was a reorganisation of the course layout such that your SatNav will need to bump on a hole to give you the correct yardages. Something it would have been useful to know before I set off! The yardages are perfectly easy to pick up on the course but I find a watch helps speed up play as club selection can be made in advance of reaching your ball.
Wind is the dominant factor on these middle holes and the ball runs beautifully if you can ride the wind to get the right lines. Just enough variation to keep things interesting and testing. This section finishes with the second and penultimate par 3. Again it is very well set in the landscape making use of the contours and running in the opposite direction of the 4th hole.
The course then goes back through the trees to the land of trees, comparatively speaking. The 13th is a really good hole with a long dogleg and a partially hidden green obscured partly by the hill side but also by a bunker. Good play to be on in two. The remaining holes take you to and fro but end with a really good eighteenth; 365 yards off the yellows a tempting dogleg and a raised green. A lovely hole to play and finish on.
A swift lunch took us back on the 9 holer Hillhouse course; 2756 yards of testing par 4s and only two par 3s. The first par 3 was 220 yards and some of the par 4s were not much longer but positioning, particularly in a building wind was key. More treacherous whins and rough made this a good golfing challenge
The 8th and 9th play back towards the clubhouse and alongside the railway line. It shouldn’t trouble you but some people seem magnetised by train tracks. Is there something Freudian about having an absence of a Hornby set in childhood that drew our youngest member to test the limits of his insurance policies? It is lucky that Scot Rail is running at 50% capacity
A thoroughly enjoyable day from the welcome in the pro Shop to the generous donation towards Alzheimer’s Society. Thank you very much
