Castle Stuart Primer: "The best course built in the British Isles since the Second World War."
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That's John Huggan's declaration in his column previewing Castle Stuart, host of this week's Scottish Open marking a return to links golf after years at Loch Lomond.
Huggan focuses on the course's impressive width and the potential for a variety of setup opportunities should the European Tour staff see fit to use them. Included in the story are extensive quotes from co-architect Gil Hanse on the potential for low scores if there isn't much wind.
"So many architects get fixated by the notion of making really good players look bad. I don't want that at all. I want to see them making birdies and showing off their skills. And I want our course to lend itself to all of that. If that means low scores, so be it. Besides, if top players playing well can only shoot, say, 69 then there is something wrong with the test presented to them.
"It is odd that so many people don't appreciate how interesting and difficult short grass can be when used as a hazard. My mind always goes back to the play-off for the 1989 Open Championship at Royal Troon. Greg Norman had missed a green but had nothing but short grass and a bank between him and the hole. He stood there and thought about it. Then he switched clubs. Then he thought about it more. Eventually he just chunked the shot. The best player in the world had been perplexed by the subtlety of what was in front of him. His mind was full of doubt."
And Huggan says the three short par-4s will be the holes to watch.
As for which holes are likely to provide most entertainment, subtle or not, Hanse picks out four: "The three short par-4s - the third, ninth and 16th - will be, for me, the most interesting. I can't wait to see how really good players tackle those holes. There are so many choices off each of those tees.
You may recall that Castle Stuart's evolution has been well-chronicled on this site due to my affiliation with Hanse and Jim Wagner, the co-creators of the links with developer Mark Parsinen.
But as a refresher, here are some of the past links.
Grow-in photos.
YouTube videos on the making of the course...
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4 (making of the bunkers)
And after the course opened, images from John Kemp, one of the talented lads who helped build the place.
