American Gil Hanse’s first design project in the UK was designing the acclaimed Craighead Course at Crail just to the east of St. Andrews.
It was his excellent work at Craig that played a hand in Hanse being asked to design Castle Stuart.
Castle Stuart designer, Gil Hanse looking out over the course in February. (Photo www.golfbytourmiss.com)
In an exclusive for www.golfbytourmiss.com Hanse gives a description how to play Castle Stuart.
1st Hole – Par 4, 434-yards.
The opening tee shot is played to a rolling fairway guarded by gorse on the left and the Moray Firth on the right. The green is protected not only by its contours, with several distinct hole locations, but also by bunkers along the beach and hollows to the rear.
2nd Hole – Par 5, 550-yards.
The shot can be played to one of two land forms, the upper shelf on the left will provide a better view of the green, while the lower valley on the right will be semi blind but closer to the green. The green is protected not only by its contours, with several distinct hole locations, but also by bunkers along the beach and hollows to the rear.
3rd Hole – Par 4, 305-yards
This is a drivable par 4 that requires a lot of thought off the tee. Going for the green will be the bold play, but the more strategic option will be to lay up off the tee for a full shot into the green.
The right side lay-up will offer the best angle into this thin peninsula green that is one of the most beautiful spots on the course.
Castle Stuart's opening holes along the Moray Firth. (Photo - www.golfbytoumiss.com)
4th hole – Par 4, 191-yards
The first par 3 has the namesake Castle Stuart as the backdrop. Balls can be fed on to the green from the left approach or the aerial route can be taken to this interesting green.
5th hole – Par 4, 447-yards
A long par 4 played from an elevated tee down into a bowl of a fairway, the contours of which will add some length to the tee shot if the right side option is taken.
The green sits up from the fairway and a deep bunker lurks to the rear of the green for the aggressive shot.
6th hole – Par 5, 560-yards.
The second par 5 plays from an elevated tee over a valley to an elevated fairway. The second shot will depend on the wind direction, but golfers laying up will need to choose to go either left or right of the central approach bunker.
Depending on the location of the flag on this elevated green, one side might be preferable to the other. The green is flanked by deep bunkers and an accurate shot will be required to hit this green.
7th hole – Par 4, 461-yards.
A tight-rope walk of a par 4 played along the sea cliff top. It’s the No. 1 index hole. There’s a deep hollow guards the aggressive line down the left side of the hole, and approach contours will feed a ball down to this large green.
Deep bunkers guard the left side and subtle hollows flank the right. The backdrop to this beautiful hole is the Banchory Point lighthouse and Fortrose and Rosemarkie course.
8th hole – Par 3, 218-yards
A long par 3, played into a punchbowl land formation. There are countless ways to play this hole as the ball will feed from many directions and angles. Beware of the small pits to the left of the hole.
9th hole – Par 4, 364-yards
This short par 4 that has two main options off the tee. The high road to the left will require a fairway wood off the tee, and will offer an elevated view into the green. The low road on the right will offer a chance to drive the green or the approach, but a more difficult angle into this elevated green will also result.
10th hole – Par 4, 405-yards.
From the cliff top down to the beach this mid length par 4 offers sweeping views up the Moray Firth. The preferred angle into this beach side green is from the left side as shots played from the right will have to negotiate a dune ridge and a green side hollow.
11th hole – Par 3, 144-yards.
The picture post card hole plays from an elevated tee down to the green by the beach. A short iron will be challenged by some wonderful hole locations, and a deep bunker short and the beach long.
The Moray Firth runs along the entire left side of the his uphill hole, so it will require two stout shots to get home.
The sea cliff is on both sides of the hole so there will be a premium on accuracy. Once on the green the views of Fort George are stunning.
13th hole – Par 4, 441 yards
After transitioning back to the upper part of the course, the 13th is a long dogleg right par 4. The tee shot is played over a sand quarry that was used during the construction of the course, and the green sits on a ridge with the Kessock Bridge as the backdrop.
14th hole – Par 4, 386-yards.
A gentle downhill hole has some wonderful rumpled, broken ground on the right to catch a mishit drive.
The angle into this narrow sliver of a green is best from the left, and the short grass and slopes around this green should offer some interesting recovery options.
15th hole – Par 4, 421-yards.
A long par four with a ridge to carry on the left to provide the best angle of attack. Shots coming into the green from the right will be semi-blind over a ridge into this natural green site.
16th hole – Par 4, 335-yards
The last of the drivable par 4 holes, this hole plays in the opposite direction of the 3rd hole so one of them should be reachable under favorable wind conditions.
Perhaps the widest fairway on the course, but the angle of attack is very important for the approach to this raised small green.
17th hole – Par 3, 224-yards.
This long par 3 starts the march back to the clubhouse. Played along the sea cliff top, golfers must be wary of the cliff and gorse to the right of the hole. A feeding contour from the left will allow golfers to hit a running shot into this bowl like green.
18th hole – Par 5, 595-yards.
The final hole should offer all kinds of drama as it is reachable with a second shot.. The sea cliff is again the main hazard off the tee along the right side. The well executed tee shot will leave a second shot over broken, rumpled, sandy ground to this elevated green.
For those golfers laying up they will need to play left to gain the proper angle of attack. With some interesting hole locations there is still some work to be done once the golfer reaches the green.
But a great chance to win the tournament with an eagle.
Gil Hanse can be proud of his work a Castle Stuart. (Photo - www.golfbytourmiss.com)
