Gleneagles:
Moorland Countryside
Blazes Bright For Golf
By David R. Holland, Senior Writer
"If Heaven is as good as this, I sure hope they have some tee times left." -- Lee Trevino
AUCHTERARDER, Scotland -- The only thing better than teeing it up at Gleneagles on a brisk, cool fall day, surrounded by falling leaves of russet, gold and red, would be if Sean Connery, a frequent visitor, was going to join you.
Maybe you will have better luck.
Bob Hope also loves this special golf haven in the heart of Perthshire. "Why do I have such great affection for Scotland? The people are so warm ... and you've got Gleneagles. If only Scotland had California weather, I'd move there," Hope once said.
Gleneagles is a distinguished place where one can experience bagpipes, see tartan-clad lads engaged in country skills of skeet and falconry, glare upon heather-clad hills, some plowed and brown and others green with growth. You can gaze toward the Ochil Hills, down the glen of the eagles, sight the rugged Grampian Mountains and see the majesty of Ben Vorlich and the mountains above the Trossachs.
Some have played the golf courses of Gleneagles and agreed it
is the finest moorland golf setting in the world. Cut from rolling
terrain with tawny edges and dormant-brown ferns lining the green
fairway borders, the golfer also must contend with firs, pines
and silver birch. There is a blaze of color at every turn.
Jack Nicklaus said, "I have always thought Gleneagles is one of the greatest places in the world to play golf." In 1991 he got his chance to design a golf course at Gleneagles. “The PGA Centenary location is the finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with.”
Gleneagles’ Nicklaus design was recently selected as the host venue for the 40th Ryder Cup match in 2014. Formerly known as the Monarch’s Course, it was renamed this year.
To say the staff at Gleneagles is excited about the Ryder Cup announcement is an understatement.
“If they wanted to stage the Ryder Cup here today we would be ready,” said Graeme Marchbank, Director of Golf. “It’s a great golf course for viewing, we have infrastructure with the hotel and the rail station nearby, and 2014 will be a milestone year for the resort, which will be celebrating its 90th anniversary.”
From the back tees, The PGA Centenary Course measures 7,081 yards,
the longest inland course in Scotland. However, the tees are graded
at each hole in five stages, including a challenging 6,551 yards
from the white markers down to 5,065 from the red.
The newest course at Gleneagles has the best of the USA and Scotland. You will find traditional Scottish pot bunkers and American-styled traps. You will be challenged by ponds, wetlands and streams making a clear thought process a must on target-styled holes.
Wester Greenwells, a par-5, 516-yard test at No. 2 is named for the ruined croft, seen just above the green. Keep your second shot on the right side of the fairway because a huge lake hugs the left side.
Ever wondered what Golden Bear was called by the olden-day Scots? It’s Gowden Beastie, the name of a par-3 beauty at No. 4, a 239-yarder from the back with a huge trap left, guarding an elevated green.
The No. 1 handicap hole is No. 5, Crookit Cratur. First you have
a blind tee shot through a narrow tree-lined chute. Then the approach
on this 461-yarder has all kinds of hidden difficulty. There’s
a greenside bunker that guards the left and a wetlands to the
right. Mis-hit it just a little and you will be wet.
No. 11 is a short, fun hole of only 350. Drive it too far, however, and you will find the Laich Burn, or stream that fronts the green.
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King’s, Queen’s Courses
James Braid, the five-time winner of the British Open, designed the King's and Queen's Courses, and both opened in 1919. Both are classical in design and as popular today as when they opened.
The Queen’s Course, measuring 5,495 yards, is a par 74 for the ladies. It is threaded through high ridges on the north and west sides of the Gleneagles estate and offers woodland settings with lochs and burns as water hazards. It concludes with a tee shot over a small pond to a rolling fairway and an approach shot to a bunkered green set below the windows of the clubhouse and restaurant. For the “gents”, as the Scottish say, it plays to a short, but challenging 5,965, par 68.
The King’s Course demands your shot-making skills and club
selection on each approach. Check out the pithy Scots’ names
of the holes on this 6,790 yards, par-71 layout. Names like “Het
Girdle” or “Hot Griddle”, a tough par-3 of 178
yards. The 17th named ”Warslin’ Lea” or “Wrestling
Valley” denotes the struggle you face on this 377-yard par-4,
with the narrowest fairway on the course.
Gleneagles’ Golf Notes
The PGA Centenary Course, opened at a cost of more than £5.9 million in 1993. The Scottish PGA Championship was held here this year.
The fun, par-3 Wee Course is a light alternative for both beginners and experts and recalls the original nine-hole course at Gleneagles, constructed in 1928 by the head greenkeeper, George Alexander, and staff from the hotel.
The Golf Academy, which opened in 1994, enshrines the philosophy that improving a player's performance improves their enjoyment of the game. The academy, which includes a covered 320-yard double-ended driving range with capacity for 40 golfers, provides an important focus for developing a player's short game in addition to improving play from the tee.
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Gleneagles provides several putting greens on the estate including a championship putting green at the practice grounds.
The King's Course is the venue for McDonald's WPGA Championship of Europe and the PGA Cup is played bi-annually on the PGA Centenary Course.
In 1993, Gleneagles invested £1.5 million in a 17,000-square foot extension to the Clubhouse to improve further the extensive facilities which generations of golfers have come to expect at the resort.
Gleneagles
PGA Centenary, King’s, Queen’s Course
Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, PH3 1NF
Telephone: +44 (0) 1764 662231 Fax: +44 (0) 1764 662134 Toll Free: 0800 704705 (UK only) Email: resort.sales@gleneagles.com
Green Fees, PGA Centenary Course: Peak season, May-September, resident rates, £90. Visitors £110. Twilight, shoulder season rates lower. Check out: http://www.gleneagles.com/golf/golf_html/greenfees.html for other fees. Gas-powered carts are used on the PGA Centenary course.
Awards: Gleneagles has won more than 30 major awards
in the travel, leisure and catering industries since 1982. The
hotel has been awarded the Automobile Association of Great Britain's
supreme accolade, Five Red Stars, every year since 1986 and has
been chosen Best UK Hotel in the incentive travel category by
English magazines nine times.
Some awards are: Gold Medal 1989 by Golf Magazine. Top European Resort 2000 (Readers' Choice). Condé Nast Traveler Magazine, Best for Golf 2000, Gourmet magazine. Best British Hotel 1998, The Daily Telegraph Travel Awards. Worldwide Golf Resort of the Year 1998, Hertz International Golf Travel Awards.
The Gleneagles Hotel
Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland, PH3 1NF
Telephone: +44 (0) 1764 662231 Fax: +44 (0) 1764 662134 Toll Free: 0800 704705 (UK only) Email: resort.sales@gleneagles.com
The Gleneagles Hotel, a 5-star facility set on 850 country acres, opened in 1924, and also includes the older and very popular King’s and Queen’s Courses, which were unveiled before the hotel in 1919. This is a spectacular, old-style hotel, that is a must for any golfer coming to Scotland.
The “Paradise in the Glens,” only an hours drive from Glasgow and Edinburgh, also includes a perfect lawn for croquet, the Jackie Stewart Shooting and Fishing School, horse riding and 4 x 4 off-road driving. You can even experience the thrill of flying a bird of prey at the British School of Falconry. (www.gleneagles.com)
Directions: From Edinburgh Airport to The Gleneagles Hotel
-- it takes about an hour or 50 miles. Exit the airport following
signs for All Route. Follow the signs for Glasgow A8/M8. You will
then approach a large roundabout. Follow the sign for Stirling
M9 (NOT Glasgow M8). At Stirling the M9 becomes A9. Follow signs
for Perth A9 (dual carriageway). Follow this road approximately
14 miles. Exit A9 at junction signposted A823 Crieff and Gleneagles
(this junction is just after the BP garage on your left). Turn
left at the top of the slip road and The Gleneagles Hotel is one
mile on the left. (www.gleneagles.com/introduction/map_pages_html/map_swf.html)
Where to Dine at Gleneagles
The dining experience at the Stratheran Restaurant is known world-wide and the bar was designed to capture the atmosphere of a great ocean liner. This is where golfers come to recall their rounds stroke-by-stroke and sip Scotland’s legendary single malt whisky.
The Dormy Clubhouse, overlooking the 18th greens of both the Queen's and King's Courses, offers lunchtime fare for the golfer, friends and family. Substantial pies, grills, sandwiches, all day breakfasts and broths are served along with daily specials. Beers and ales are the talk of the Clubhouse.
The Halfway House is situated at the halfway point of both the Queen's and King's Courses. Here you can purchase hearty broths, hotdogs or burgers along with a beer or soft drink.
Gleneagles, Home of The PGA Scottish Region
The PGA Scottish Regional headquarters will move to Gleneagles
in late 2001. To mark the start of a long-term relationship, and
to commemorate the PGA centenary year, Gleneagles renamed the
Monarch’s Course, The PGA Centenary Course.
The Scottish PGA will move from their current offices at Glenbervie, Larbert into larger modern premises beside the first tee of Gleneagles' King's Course and a short distance away from the first tee of The PGA Centenary Course.
Connoisseurs Scotland
Connoisseurs Scotland can assist you with information on the golf opportunities at Gleneagles, Turnberry and the Old Course Hotel, and includes other not-to-be-missed properties a first-time or veteran visitor to Scotland should experience. These are luxury properties that offer the classiest overnight stays and dining opportunities.
For contact information, prices and packages log on to www.luxuryscotland.co.uk
and check out these travel stops: One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow,
The Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh, the Westin Turnberry Resort
in Ayrshire, The Old Course Hotel at St. Andrews, the Crinan Hotel
in Argyll and Inverlochy Castle in Fort William. Also, read about
The Royal Scotsman, an award-winning luxury train and The MV Hebridean
Princess, a luxurious small cruise ship.
Connoisseurs Scotland Contact: Jeremy Hawkings, Sybrig House, Ridge Way, Donibristle Industrial Park, Hillend, Dalgety Bay, Fife, FY11 9JN. Telephone: 01383-825-800. Fax: 01383-825-700. Toll free in the USA: 1-877-9-SCOTLAND.
How To Get Here: British Airways, www.BritishAirways.com, is the best way to come to Scotland. Once you get here travel golfers ride in style to the golf resorts with Little's Chauffeur Drive, Scotland’s No. 1 chauffeur service. Read about them at www.littles.co.uk.
