Dumbarnie Links

Emboldened by a tot of Loch Lomond single malt and the sight of the sea in the distance, we launched our opening drives from the first tee.

From that moment on, Dumbarnie's gorgeous links matched the wonderful hospitality of a club whose reputation soars with each passing season.

Everything pre-round was flawless - from the initial welcome after leaving the car park to the splendid service in its impressive eating area.

The practice facilities—a superb putting green and driving range—are conveniently located adjacent to the starter hut. The course's condition is so pristine that there are even putting holes on the first tee.

We opted for the blue tees despite the jovial starter suggesting whites for mid-handicappers. It was a good decision but it elevated the challenge without making it impossible.

The opener looks a breeze from the clubhouse - a friendly downhill par-four of less than 400 yards. But a snaking burn in front of the hole plants a seed of doubt to those thinking about going for the flag.

It is followed by a cracking risk-and-reward par-five, nestled between grassy dunes with two burns cutting across the fairways. Decent strikes and smart strategy rewarded me with a birdie putt and comfortable par.

Innumerable dunes, framed by the sea, provide the spectacular view from the downhill third - a short par-four that bends inside a sandscrape to the left.

Podcast partner hit a corking drive only to find his ball in a bunker on top of a dune in the middle of the fairway. His splendid recovery culminated in a satisfying par.

We admired how course designer Clive Clark has ingeniously offered two routes on a couple of the holes.

These include the fifth where PP took the more direct route down the left of an island of bunkers to leave an approach 40 yards shorter than mine from the wider right-hand fairway.

Nevertheless, he still had to fly two more traps and a grassy mound to find the hidden flag on a steeply uphill green. I was short despite a well struck five-wood.

It wasn't my last tactical blunder. Indeed, the scorecard would show that my overly conservative course management ultimately cost me our match.

On the plus side, I was dialled into the par threes, beginning at the 165-yard par-three which is back out to sea and over a sandscrape into a green defended by two pot bunkers.

It has taken remarkable imagination to create such superb links with 600 dunes from land that previously only had three and many of these frame the par-five seventh.

It turns a corner inside more white-sanded traps before descending inside a dip of rough to the right before rising to a green with deep bunkers front and right.

I was standing in one of them, contemplating an escape route and was, therefore, unsighted when PP sank a giant putt for a birdie!

Fourteen holes on the course have sight to The Firth Of Forth and we were lucky to play on a day when the light was perfect.

The blues of the sky and sea contrasted beautifully with the yellows of the distant beach and grassed dunes, and the vivid greens of the course.

Unlike some of the nearby traditional links, there is heavy irrigation on Dumbanie so there is less roll but greater turf consistency.

Those vibrant colours fill the horizon from the eighth tee but players would be best advised not to be distracted on a par-three which is surrounded by pot bunkers with a burn snaking front and right.

After a pleasing opening, my round spectacularly derailed, complete with an attack of the shanks, on the 10th—arguably the course's best and most challenging hole.

The stripe dividing dark and light green grass on the fairway serves as a crucial guide away from large sandy areas on the right and left before it turns around a lake —Dumbarnie's most imposing water feature.

Its lung-shaped green ascends from left-to-right and is one of the closest to the sea.

The combination of the final six holes ranks among the best I have ever played.

It begins with the fiendish par-five 13th that demands a drive down the right to avoid a stream down the left (sadly, my ball found water).

Thereafter, the fairway winds between dunes and bunkers before the final shot requires a carry over a patch of rough and more sand traps below a perched, tiered green, framed by additional mounds.

The grassed walkways at Dumbarnie are another defining detail, one leading through a sandscrape and past a huge left-side dune to a verdant oasis on the par-three 14th.

Club selection is paramount here, and only Mrs. W found the target.

Bunkers and dunes fill the vista of the par-five 15th, where I again made a poor choice by opting for Clark's longer but wider left-hand fairway rather than the shorter route down the right.

Once again, my podcast partner was rewarded for his bolder play.

If there is one criticism of Dumbarnie, it might be that, similarly to Trump International, Aberdeen, almost every hole is framed by grassed dunes and bunkers.

Thus, after conquering the wildly undulating green on the par-three 16th with a neat up and down, I was relishing the variety of the penultimate hole - a barnstorming 316-yard par-four dogleg over a 300-year-old wall.

From the tee, I had no idea how to play it, so I ended up on the side of the dune and was grateful to be able to chip to the side of the hole, putt up the hill, and tap in for a par.

We then witnessed how it should be tackled by big hitters in the group behind us, who sailed the ball onto the green from the tee..

Regretfully, I boasted about my putting prowess from long distances before we took on the 18th—a dogleg par-four that finishes in front of the clubhouse.

Mrs. W and I found the gathering spot for short approaches, 15 feet below the pin to its left.

My first putt reached the top of the hill and fell back to my feet, and my second attempt met the same fate.

I laughed because, despite my lame finale, we had enjoyed one of the very best days of golf.

"I'm really glad you got me into playing top 100 courses," PP had said earlier in the round. Indeed, days like this are precisely why we play them.

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