Troon Lochgreen
The words ‘municipal’ and ‘council owned’ would simply deter some people from even considering a round at this course whilst others may head there with some trepidation.
And whilst the course may well indeed find itself down the pecking order of a golfing itinerary in Ayrshire that’s only because the quality of other nearby venues is so high and so deep.
However, the Lochgreen is a good golf course in its own right and I was impressed with the links on my visit here in September 2015. The style of course is quite varied. It starts in the same manner as the two other courses in that they are played in a wide-open parcel of land where you can open your shoulders and blast away.
The Lochgreen course is a bit of a monster in that the maximum yardage of the course is 6,785. The amount of big hitting required is apparent after just three holes; a par-four of 473 yards followed by two par fives. Almost one and a half kilometres have been covered in this opening trio and whilst the excellent fourth offers some relief the stroke index one hole, a 429-yard par four, follows immediately after. In truth the par is 74 (SSS 73) and after the opening five holes the course doesn’t play as long as it may initially appear.
At times there is very a linksy feel to the course, at others there is more of an heathland characteristic and for four holes (11, 12, 13 & 14) the ground is positively meadowland, albeit the appearance and bunkering is that of a links course . Ultimately it all adds up to a very enjoyable round of golf.
My personal favourite holes were the aforementioned fourth, a classic looking sub-300 yard par four with a skyline green set up on a ridge and defended by bunkers 50 yards short, and the delightful short six that occupies a lovely setting and has two deep sand pits to the left of the putting surface that must be avoided at all costs. I also liked the 15th-16th combo; the first is a monstrous 234-yard par three whilst the latter is a beautiful 490-yard par five. I suspect golfers taking a pair of fours on these two holes is not uncommon.
There are lots of other good holes too and this is a course that shouldn’t be discounted when planning a trip to this golf-abundant part of Scotland. Play the big names for sure but if you are looking to fill a gap or just want to see how strong an area this is for golf you won’t be disappointed with what you get for a modest green-fee.
On the same day I also played the Darley course (Fullarton is the third) and, despite the slightly cheaper green-fee, I actually thought the Darley was the superior course but not by much and I wouldn’t hesitate in playing either again. A green-fee on the Darley was £28 whilst the Lochgreen was £32 but if you play them on the same day it will set you back just £39 in total.
Read the review of Troon (Fullarton) here.
Read the review of Troon (Darley) here.
