Monifieth (Medal)
Number 40. Played throughout 2012. Traditional links designed by Allan Robertson & Alexander Pirie.
Standing on the first tee there are 2 main things you notice, firstly that the fairway seems reasonably wide and secondly that the railway line down the right hand side seems awfully close! Aside from the railway line the 1st is a fairly easy start and it isn’t a long hole so a GIR here is to be expected. The 2nd and 3rd are fairly straight, the tee boxes are set either behind or beside the greens of the previous holes. There are some new bunkers at around the 200 yard mark on the right and left of the fairways that may cause the average driver some problems. At this point you could be forgiven for wondering why this was an open qualifier. However, it must be said that the rough is down due to the winter and the wind wasn’t too bad on the first 3 holes, by the end of the 4th hole with the wind howling around me and a nice snowman on the card (8) I had a greater appreciation of the difficulty of this course! The 4th is a cracking hole, 431 yards slightly downhill, the green is protected behind two massive dunes and leaves only a small sliver of green to aim for. A very tough hole to reach in two and once on the green things don’t get any easier , perhaps due to its sheltered position, but it seems to be a lot quicker than previous greens and has a number of subtle breaks. A classic hole fraught with difficulty but having said that my favourite of the day.
After such a monster hole it is a relief to see that the next is a short par 3. You tee off from an elevated tee box, again the wind can be an issue but a bigger problem is that damned railway line! The green is a decent size and is protected by some decent bunkering. It is certainly not a gimme par. The 6th plays over a wee burn and you are playing one of the few blind drives on the course. Beware that the railway line cuts into the right hand side of the fairway and it is possible that what looked like a good drive from the tee could be ob by the time you wander down to find your ball! Here you now start to make your way back towards the starters box. At this point if the wind which may have been your friend on the way becomes the enemy! The 7th is another 400 yard plus par 4. This is possibly the most tree lined of the fairways now given a recent felling programme. It has a lovely receptive green nestled in some dunes that is very pretty. The 8th doubles back on itself and should be drivable for some of the big hitters at only 273 yards. The green is pretty big and is certainly an easier hole than the SSI 16 states (in my opinion easiest hole on the course). After a short par 4, the huge 532 par 5 is the final hole on the outward 9. A decent drive should leave you positioned high above a big drop in the fairway. It is best to avoid this dip as it is pretty waterlogged and from the bottom the green is difficult to locate. A decent 2nd wood should leave an easy pitch to the green. It feels like a tight green as you have 2 tee boxes – one at the back (16) and one to the right (10).
The 16th heads back towards the starters box. The 3rd fairway is on the left and the Ludie course is on the right. A copse of trees are on the right and the best line into the elevated green is from the left hand side of the fairway. It’s a lovely green with a few green side bunkers making the approach challenging. Don’t be afraid to go long as there is not as much danger at the back of the green as there is from the bunkers at the front. The 17th is another of the Medal’s long par 4s. Some excellently positioned bunkers give you all the problems on this hole and, again, getting on in regulation can depend on the wind! The final hole is par 5 with the hole meandering down to a green protected by trees at the back and bunkers on the front right and left of the green. It is a nice large lush green but it is a hole that should be reasonable to finish with a good score.
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