# Letham Grange Old Course by Arbroath



## madandra (May 27, 2009)

I had the pleasure of playing there yesterday with a bunch of guys from Colville Park in Motherwell.


The journey:

2 hours 10 minutes from Motherwell by coach.

The Clubhouse/Pro shop:

The first thing that hit us was the stale smell and the fact we had walked into the Marie Celeste of clubhouses. One of our guys even had to answer the phone. After much waiting we were ushered into a room overlooking the 1st tee for our brecky. A cold roll and bacon next to 3 mice traps didnt fill us with confidence. 

The Pro shop: Well, erm .... it had ........ a fridge and some dusty stale gear. We were 20 guys paying Â£60 a skull for golf, buggy and dinner with a spend of Â£1000 we didnt get so much as a free stroke saver. The starter was arrogant and aloof with our guys who were all club golfers.

The course: We were told that the first 6 holes had penal rough so a straight tee shot was a must. There are only 2 or 3 holes on the course that DONT have some kind of water hazard on them. The signature hole was the 8th which is similar to the 12th at Augusta and after playing our match balls my 3 ball had a wee shot at skimming on onto the green. 









There are houses all over the course and on a few occassions they were peppered with wayward shots (not mine though).


Back to the clubhouse for dinner and presentation. Jenna and Jordan, the two waitresses were delightful and were very helpful. Dinner was poor and the Chilli was bland and dry but the drink was very reasonablly priced and once the jars were flowing all the foibles were forgotten. The course was probably one of the loveliest I have ever played and would recommend the golf to anyone but keep clear of the clubhouse until it has been refurbed.


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## Atticus_Finch (May 27, 2009)

Bloody hell Andy, you might have given me a shout. You were about 1/2 a mile from ma hoose. I would have walked over and shouted abuse at you on the 1st.
  I agree that the club itself is a disaster, but it's been through financial turmoil over the last 10 years as the owner (some Taiwanese guy if I remember) buggered off and couldn't be bothered selling it. It's in the middle of a court ruling, so the guys that want to buy it are spending any money they've got on the maintenance of the course rather than the clubhouse/hotel in case it doesn't go their way.

The course itself (in condition) is very difficult to beat. The layout is excellent and round the turn does have a hint of Amen corner about it. My personal favourite is the double dogleg par 5 9th. The only downside to the course is it's weak finish. The layout was altered when the second course (The Glens) was built. They stole a couple of holes from the Old Course and built a couple of new ones (17th,18th).
 All in all I think you got not a bad deal as standard price is normally Â£45 for the golf and Â£15 for a buggy.


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## EchtLoon (May 27, 2009)

Aye great course Letham, but evrything else you've said is spot on too.

I imagine it will take a decent seven figure sum to fix that clubhouse/hotel into something reasonable.


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## madandra (May 27, 2009)

It was sold for Â£2m and I agree they are right to fork on for the course and not the clubhouse. I would have told you Alan but managed 33 points with 4 blobs on the card. Good enough for T3.


I would like to go back up in a month or so. Alan, do you think it would make for a forum day out?


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## Atticus_Finch (May 27, 2009)

Sounds good to me, I could roll out my bed onto the 1st tee.

The course is ideal for an outing Andy, but I'm not so sure about the facilities. I haven't played it for about 2 years. I was a member there about 6 years ago, but couldn't risk renewing my membership when it was going into financial meltdown.
 Would you recommend it?


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## Smiffy (May 27, 2009)

Played there twice (seperate golfing holidays) about 15 years ago. Absolutely loved it. My fav is the same par 5 as above, but I also liked the par 4 that's down the bottom of the hill, follows the longish par 3 off the elevated tee. I think it would be about the 13th. Really tight driving hole with water running down the right hand side if I remember correctly.
As also said above, the finishing holes are a little weak, but it doesn't detract from a good day out.


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## madandra (May 27, 2009)

I would have us all meet in the McDonalds just off the A92 for breakfast and then after our rounds we could all go to a restaurant in town for a bite to eat. The course is a gem and really playable, one of our group off 1 shot a scratch -2. As I said before I had 33 points, 4 blobs and about 4 lip outs so I love it.


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## Atticus_Finch (May 27, 2009)

Get it sorted then Andra, I'll recommend a place to eat in town and we're good to go. Or else I'll get the wife to rattle up some stovies


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