Southerness Golf Club

The site at Southerness Golf Club is alluring, even spectacular in places. It yields great seaside views from holes twelve and thirteen, but you’ll also catch glimpses of the sea–the Solway Firth–from more distant areas on the course. Vistas of pristine scenery often stretch for miles beyond this typically windswept, naturalistic linksland. Included among these are the Galloway Hills to the west and north, and, on the course’s other side, the Solway Firth, which is either not far from or touching several of these golf holes. A distinct separation between the holes themselves helps to deliver a sense of near-total seclusion as you play. Philip Mackenzie Ross, the Golden Age architect who restored Turnberry after it was repurposed in WWII as a potato field, created Southerness’ intelligent and venerable design. This links, by contrast to the vast majority of its long-established peers, is relatively new: it was built in 1946 for the princely sum of 2000 pounds. Yet, however straightforward the holes may appear in some ways, the high quality which Ross built into this design has become, essentially, priceless.

Main Course Defenses / Strategic Emphasis:

The most salient tee-to-green features of Southerness are its bending fairways, its punishing rough, and its raised green complexes, all of which affect how players may best approach the putting surfaces and pins. The fairways here are wide enough, but once your shots leave the more beaten track, there is little or no refuge from the typical hazards of seaside golf: bracken, heather, gorse, marsh, and long grass. The rough, not the bunkers, is the most penal hazard. As secondary obstacles, you’ll find a few scattered swales, hollows and bumps, generally in the vicinity of the greens.

The overall character of these fairways leans towards flatness, even if a few are rumpled somewhat. But there is no shortfall: the design’s key challenges lie elsewhere, as they do with other basically flat yet very famous courses, such as Doral or Harbour Town Golf Links, Kingston Heath or St. Andrews. Players will contend with scattered fairway pot bunkers at Southerness, especially when seeking to cut a dogleg. On some holes, well-placed bunkers affect long approach shots by their positioning in the landing zone well before the green (30 yards or more). The angles of bends in the fairways, especially subtle ones, can also be miscalculated from the tee, so a good course map (or a review of hole flyovers from the club’s excellent website) should come in handy. Raised green complexes are virtually a constant at Southerness, and, in conjunction with greenside bunkers, make approach shots something of an art: fine judgment and control of ballflight are both musts if you hope to get close to the pins. Greens are most often elevated reasonably above grade so that the ball can be run on most surfaces, especially because the turf plays firm and fast. Doing this is hardly a snap; you’ll have to judge the bounce(s) carefully.

Playing Demands and Length:

The slope here–rated at a maximum of 148–alludes to the high level of difficulty for the average golfer. Consider that Carnoustie, widely regarded as Scotland’s most difficult championship course, slopes at 145. It’s important to realize that this is ultimately a finesse course, though, as the layout strikes a fine balance between the demands it puts on both driving and approach shots.

Southerness may appear short on paper. But a course’s total length is not tantamount to what really counts: its average length per full shot. From the championship tees the listed length is 6735 yards, yet par is only 69, meaning that from tee-to-green, players should strike, theoretically, 33 instead of 36 shots (the standard for a par-72 course). This means that golfers must take an average of 204 yards per shot to reach the greens at Southerness. By contrast, a par-72 course requires 36 shots to reach the greens, and so, if such a layout were to require the same 204 yards per shot, it would stretch to 7344 yards. At 6735 yards and par 69, then, the upshot is that Southerness PLAYS like a far longer course. Unsurprisingly, the course’s scratch rating is 73 against par of 69.

Playing Some of the Key Holes:

Southerness’ greens are moderately difficult, and many have significant pitch and roll in places. They also run quickly, largely because of their beautifully conditioned smoothness, yet are not glassy. What will be more problematic for most players are the greenside challenges, most notably the bunkering, some steep falloffs, and some awkward chipping areas. Southerness, then, consistently presents rigorous holes; there are no simple pushovers.

Par-4s: Long and Longer:

Many golfers opt to play the shorter yellow tees here, from which the course runs 6039 yards. Why? Both medal (white) and championship (blue) tees include eighth par-4s over 400 yards. Six of these eighth holes reflect the same lengths on blue and white. And from both blues and whites, only three of the holes fall under the 400 mark. A string of daunting yet elegantly designed four-pars, comprising 12-14 and also 16, contributes to the stern task of making your score on the way home.

Uncontested as Southerness’ signature hole is the twelfth. On this dogleg right, the risk/reward play off the tee for long hitters is to carry the two spectacle bunkers at the elbow of the dogleg, but accuracy is equally important given what lies beyond. Most players will likely use discretion off the tee, taking the safer route down the center of the fairway. This means a longer approach shot into a green defended by a pond, several sizable and scattered mounds, an array of gorse and heather situated both right and left, paired pot bunkers, and beyond the long green, the Irish Sea. Fittingly, this is marked out of bounds. All of this conspires to make the approach at twelve a firm test of ball striking control. The waters of the firth, as well as the beach, lend an ideal backdrop for this green.

Outside of the singular twelfth, three more outstanding yet seemingly less heralded four-pars are the third, ninth and thirteenth. The third demands two solid and well placed shots to traverse its 462 yards, shots that must avoid five cleverly-placed fairway bunkers. Hole nine, which is a lengthy, bending, angular affair, tops out at 471 yards from the blues. Swinging right from the tee to an offset fairway, this brute scampers to the left afterwards, moving back toward a green with four fairway traps that guard the landing zone. The thirteenth, running 467 yards over bumps on a fairway punctuated by four pot bunkers, looks endless from its raised tee, but it is as scenic as it is intimidating. The Southerness Lighthouse appears off to the right, probably a half-mile in the distance and beyond a large dune not far from the tee.

Par-5s: Interesting Birdie Opportunities:

The two par-5s, both relatively short at 532 and 537, may both present birdie opportunities provided that you hit the ball straight and preferably a long way. I like five a bit better, as it has a bit more ground movement before the hole, notably in the last fifty yards of the fairway, where there is a pronounced right-side dropoff into the rough. For long hitters, then, an approach to this hole on a lengthy second shot will be awkward and even tricky. Eighteen’s fairway is angular and a bit bumpy, but also studded by a quartet of bunkers that guard the landing zone starting at 60 yards from the green.

A Quintet of Par-3s:

I found myself liking these holes nearly as much as the challenging par-4s. The quintet of threes averages 187 yards per hole, yet three of them are of middling length, which for most golfers will require a 5 to 7 iron. These are balanced by a longer pair, the seven and and fifteen, that run 213 and 218 yards. I especially enjoyed the shorter, more fortress-like par-3s: four, ten, and seventeen. Four, which sports five greenside pot bunkers, is especially notable for its two-tiered green, and landing on the wrong one may induce three-putting. The small, bunker-laden tenth green is further protected by a frontal mound, discouraging run-on shots. Seventeen’s narrow green, well-elevated and surrounded by falloffs that often lead to trouble, is the core of this hole–the archetype of a shorter, bunkerless par-3. Into the wind, this is a demanding par.

Some conclusions:

Doubtless the vistas are striking here, the landscape inviting. More importantly, Southerness supplies a tough test of golf, even for par shooters. It is the kind of course that may well grind the unduly confident or unthinking player into the ground. You need technique, skill and planning to conquer Southerness (by making pars regularly) or–by the same token–to simply hit your target score; course consistency never slackens, hole after hole. Although the fairways seem a bit wider than average, the rough here is relentless, while the ample bunkers are placed judiciously enough to inflict more damage. The most important reason it helps to drive the ball long and straight is the sheer length of these par-4s.

The Scottish gentlemen with whom I played several holes were genial, warm, and welcoming, as was the pleasant lady at check-in.

Southerness may excel as a test of control from tee to green, yet it struck me that it’s an even better overall test of golf. Combine this with its other strengths, and playing here should be a “can’t miss” proposition for anyone who loves the game of golf. I can’t think of a better golfing experience I’ve had over six years of writing these reviews.

Good solid traditional Scottish links course. A little unusual in that a farm sits inside the front 9 loop. The 12th stands out - a dogleg right par 4 that takes you down to the water. Course was in very good shape.

It's a solid 2 hour drive from the Prestwick/Troon area. The staff was extremely friendly and they have a nice clubhouse.