Stonehaven Golf Club

Sonehave is located 15 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland, and you'll not find it on any books on Scotland golf that I've read. Quirky is one word to describe it, railroads and clifftop are two others. The quirky part is the course plays to 5,103 yards, par 66 on 62 acres of land. One par 5, seven par 3's, and the rest two shotters. Three holes criss cross other holes, and one crisscrosses two holes! A commuter rail line of sorts runs through the middle of the course and comes into play a few times, but trains will pass through half dozen times during your round. Stonehaven lies on the Braes of Cowne and it is played along the edge of cliffs that fall dramatically into the sea. It's routed playing over deep gorges, onto tilted fairways, up and down steep hills and even over a German bomb crater on the 1st and 2nd holes. The wind is always howling off the North Sea.It was designed by a couple of well regarded architects of the early 1900's, Archie Simpson and George Duncan, and I guess they made the layout on what they had to work with. The course is hilly, with OB, blind shots, three on par threes! There's light bunkering, mostly around the small greens, with a number of them close to the edge of the cliffs, as are some of the tees, like the 9th at Turnberry. The course is kept in fine condition, the clubhouse small and practical, and is truly a hidden gem that has to be experienced.