Cruden Bay GC
Playing Cruden Bay GC in a driving rainstorm — and I mean a torrential downpour accompanied by gale-force winds — has got to be one of my most memorable Scotland golf experiences. I’ll never forget pulling into the empty gravel parking lot, making my way into the deserted pro shop, and asking the pro if there’s any way he could work in a single. To my surprise he paused, looked at the timesheet very, very carefully and with all seriousness replied, “Yes, I think we can work you in this morning.” Dry Scottish humour indeed. That’s about the only thing that stayed dry that day.
This is a photo of the par 3 4th, which plays 183 yards from the gents tees. Now, it looks quite lovely and harmless here in the photo taken by Aidan Bradley, but into the teeth of a gale it’s a monster. With a driver, I think I managed to get it about halfway to the green. I was quite happy to make contact, truth be told.
Cruden Bay is located 40-minutes (23 miles) north of Aberdeen. Its uniquely challenging terrain and magnificent views make it one of the best links courses in Scotland. It’s ranked as one of the top 100 courses in the world (Golf Magazine) and one of the top 40 courses in Great Britain (Golf World). For more on the course, check out this article in Links Magazine about Cruden Bay. I highly recommend getting a subscription to Links Magazine; they have a great ongoing series of the Great Courses of Britain & Ireland featuring a different course each issue.
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Rob Babcock
Author/Golfer/The Golf Guide Guy
GolfAdventureGuides.com
Posted in Scotland