# Course Review - Turnberry Kintyre



## Paul_Stewart (Aug 11, 2010)

The penultimate course on my tour and the No.2 course at Turnberry.   Played it at 5.30 and had no problem getting on and could easily have played the championship Ailsa course again if I had wanted.  The cost of the Kintyre is Â£95 (Â£50 after 4pm). The Ailsa is Â£150 (Â£75 after 4).

The Kintyre is mainly to the right of the Ailsa as you look away from the clubhouse and hotel towards the sea.  It has all the same stunning views and the two courses run parallel at the end of the round.

After a gentle par-5 start, the gorse-lined fairways kick in to keep you on the straight and narrow from the 3rd to the 5th and then a lovely fir-tree lined hole at 7.  But this just prepares you for the most stunning golf hole I have ever played.

As you walk up the hill from the 7th green, you feel the wind hit you and the sun and sea hit you at the same time as you smell the sea air.  It's total sensory overload and you then have a short par 4 towards the horizon and a generous fairway.

The final 100 yards are all downhill to a green set into a cove with the sea lashing the rocks behind the green.  It's a true masterpiece of a hole and makes the Kintyre worth playing just for that experience.  Had I not been running out of time, I would have gone back to play the 7-8-9-10 loop all over again.

There are enough long par-4s to make scoring difficult but the greens are not as fierce as the Ailsa and the rough not so penal.  But there are enough pot bunkers to keep you interested and the final two holes run parallel to the championship course to bring you back home.

Turnberry is worth playing on a summer evening and the twice I have now been there, I have been fortunate enough to experience perfect weather.  The Old Course at St.Andrews may be No.1 in my listing but Turnberry is 1a and the Kintyre has the best hole of all.

SOME PICTURES OF THE COURSE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52763424@N03/sets/72157624702199228/


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## Owen_Thomas_14 (Aug 11, 2010)

Great review once again. Your one lucky guy being able to play all these great courses .


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## thecraw (Aug 11, 2010)

I have to disagree with your view of the Kintyre course. To be brutally honest I think its a terrible track, the 8th 9th and 10th and 11th are good holes but not much else to right home about.

The original Arran course was a million times better than the Kintyre.


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## bigslice (Aug 11, 2010)

my grandpa was a member at turnberry and refused to play those holes. but anytime i played i made him play them. he would always say "remember these holes used to have cows roaming on them". havent played there in a while (grandpa died after 49 years of membership) but i preferred the original Arran. 
but have to admit i do like that hole dropping into the cove.


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## HTL (Aug 11, 2010)

Paul Stewart â€“ Yet to give even the slightest poor review of a course. I really think he should play Lydd and do a write up on that. I am sure Smiffy, medway, Homer, etc will agree with this


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## Smiffy (Aug 12, 2010)

Paul Stewart â€“ Yet to give even the slightest poor review of a course. I really think he should play Lydd and do a write up on that. I am sure Smiffy, medway, Homer, etc will agree with this
		
Click to expand...

Lydd. Possibly the second worst course I have ever played. Sits just above Wellshurst and just below Avisford Park, both in Sussex.
When I played these courses I couldn't help but hum "High on a hill lived a lonely Goatherd" to myself


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