Gleneagles

Gleneagles 2022

The Senior Open presented by Rolex King’s Course, Gleneagles 21-24 July 2022

Words: Alistair Tait

With superb views of the Perthshire hills, the King’s Course at Gleneagles has been providing golfers with the most gloriously scenic of challenges since 1919. Designed by five-time Open Champion James Braid, the course may not be the longest but what it lacks in length it makes up for in beauty, intrigue and creativity. A frequent host of the Scottish Open, Gleneagles also lays claim to staging the prototype of the Ryder Cup in 1921, when a team from the USA, including Walter Hagen and Jock Hutchison, took on UK opponents including Braid, JH Taylor and Harry Vardon.

A glorious view of the Perthshire hills from the first hole on the King’s Course

Hole 1

Name: Dun Whinny Yardage: 362 Par: 4

This is an inviting opening hole featuring a generous fairway that sweeps up to a raised green with the Perthshire hills as a splendid backdrop. It is just 362 yards and players have the luxury of taking a long iron or fairway wood to get the ball into position, with right of centre of the fairway the best route to the green.

The raised green calls for a longer club for the approach shot than the yardage suggests. Players are advised to err long rather than short to take the huge bunker fronting the green out of play, with a pair of bunkers on the right awaiting pushed approach shots. Dun is the Gaelic word for hill, while whin is Scots for gorse.

Hole 2

Name: East Neuk Yardage: 436 Par: 4

This is the second easiest par four according to the scorecard, with a stroke index of 14 for handicap golfers. Only the 14th (stroke index 15) is easier among the two-shot holes. Tee shots should ideally favour the right side of the fairway to open up the green. Unlike the first hole, it is possible to run the ball into this green through the trio of bunkers, two right and one left, that front the putting surface. Since the green slopes from right to left, players will encounter some fast putts from right of the flag. There is a greenside bunker to the right of the green that must be avoided, especially if the pin is on the right.

Called East Neuk because this is the golf course’s furthest point east, while neuk is the Scots word for corner, as in nook.

Hole 3

Name: Silver Tassie Yardage: 368 Par: 4

Tassie comes from the French word tasse for cup and reflects the fact this green sits in a cup-like dell. Silver refers to the silver birch trees near the green.

Pin placement on this two-tiered green will dictate the choice of club for an approach shot ideally from the right of the fairway. It could be a two-club difference if the flag is at the back of the green. Any shot that lands on the higher back tier will leave a slippery putt down a steep slope if the pin is on the bottom.

Hole 4

Name: Broomy Law Yardage: 443 Par: 4

At 466 yards, the fourth is the longest of the two-shot holes on the King’s, hence why it is rated the second-hardest hole on the course, with a stroke index of two. Players need to be wary of the first right-hand fairway bunkers, but right of centre is again the preferred side of the fairway.

The land left of the green falls steeply away and competitors will favour the right side of this green on approach shots. However, a bunker just short and right of a putting surface that slopes gently from front to back awaits shots that come up short. Law is the Scots word for hill, while broom refers to the bushes to the right of this hole.

Hole 5

Name: Het Girdle Yardage: 178 Par: 3

This may be the most aptly named of all the King’s Course holes. Het Girdle means hot griddle, a reference to the fact that balls may slide off this raised green in similar fashion to the way butter slides off a hot skillet.

There is really no preferred side to miss this long, narrow green since it falls away on all sides, albeit the bunkers short may be the best miss. Although players will need to take a longer club to fly the bunkers, the green slopes uphill front to back, and any ball that lands past the flag will make birdies harder to come by. An uphill putt gives the best chance of a two.

The fifth: where a ball can slip off the green like butter off a hot griddle

Hole 6

Name: Blink Bonnie Yardage: 462 Par: 4

A good chance for the field to pick up a birdie on the shortest par five on the course. Competitors need to thread tee shots between two fairway bunkers left and right of the fairway, with the landing spot right where the fairway pinches to its narrowest and sits on a small saddle.

A good tee shot should leave a medium iron for the world’s best over-50s to a green with three slight tiers. There is only one greenside bunker and this should only come into play if the flag is on the lower right-hand corner of the putting surface.

Two deep bunkers await the faint of heart or short of power at the ninth

Hole 7

Name: Kittle Kink Yardage: 468 Par: 4

So named because the hole doglegs or “kinks” to the left, with kittle roughly meaning tickle in Scots.

The two bunkers either side of the fairway should not really come into play for Senior Open competitors, with a fairly generous expanse beyond them.

Twin bunkers in the middle of the fairway in pitching distance short of the green also will not trouble most of the field, while the greenside bunkers short of the green have to be avoided to find this long green which can be hard to read because of its subtle slopes.

Hole 8

Name: Whaup’s Nest Yardage: 178 Par: 3

At stroke index 17 for ordinary golfers, this should be a birdie opportunity for the Senior Open field.

The green slopes uphill from left to right and balls that land left of the flag will leave an uphill putt. Four bunkers, two front and two back, protect this green. Club selection will depend on pin placement, with a longer club needed if the pin is hiding at the back. So called because whaup is another name for a curlew, with the green somewhat resembling a bird’s nest sitting amid the splendid Scottish countryside.

Hole 9

Name: Heich o’Fash Yardage: 409 Par: 4

The English translation says it all: “height of trouble” spells out what lies ahead for any player that makes a mistake on this tricky par four. The best landing area for the downhill tee shot on this slight dogleg right hole is on the left side of the fairway, where there is a better chance of a level lie.

An elevated green means the approach shot will need to be played with a longer club than the yardage suggests. There could be a two or three club difference depending on whether the flag is on the front or back of the green, with two bunkers short of the putting surface waiting to catch anything under-clubbed.

Hole 10

Name: Canty Lye Yardage: 499 Par: 5

A long, straight par five calling for a tee shot that needs to avoid trouble on the left, with the land slanting downhill on that side.

This hole only features one fairway bunker, but it should not come into play since it is far enough up the fairway and not in range from the tee. However, the green is heavily bunkered and slopes left to right. It is one of the fastest greens on the course, and requires a deft touch with the putter to earn a birdie.

The hole’s title comes from canty meaning pleasant and lye, the Scots equivalent of lea. Seemingly it is not too pleasant though, at stroke index one on the card.

Hole 11

Name: Deil’s Creel Yardage: 230 Par: 3

The Devil’s fishing basket is the hardest of the King’s Course one-shot holes, at stroke index 10 for ordinary golfers. It will not be an easy task for Senior Open players to make birdie on this hole, with its heavily bunkered green that slopes back to front. The left and right bunkers short of the green can often gather shots that do not quite make the putting surface, so competitors will have to take more club to stop these coming into play. Two bunkers, right of the green and left, await wayward tee shots.

Plenty of sand to snare unwary souls at the 11th

Hole 12

Name: Tappit Hen Yardage: 475 Par: 4

The green sits on the highest point of the course, with tappit hen roughly translating as an old pewter ale mug of a type that was often capped with the figurine of a hen. The hole gets its name not from the former presence of either an alehouse or chicken coop, but from the clump of trees that grows immediately behind the green.

Competitors will not be able to see the fairway on this blind par four, with the ideal drive played left of centre. Approach shots need to avoid three bunkers that stand sentry over the green, while the putting surface slopes from front to back right. One suspects there will be some quick putts on this green over the four days.

The view from behind the sloping green on the 15th

Hole 13

Name: Braid’s Brawest Yardage: 464 Par: 4

So called because designer James Braid, a five-time Open Champion, considered this hole the best on the course.

A bunker by the name of Auld Nick needs to be avoided on the tee shot, which will ideally land in the centre or slightly right of centre to leave the best line into the green.

The angled putting surface slopes from front to back and left to right, with approach shots needing to find the right side of the green to leave uphill putts. Four bunkers, one known as Young Nick to go with its fairway elder, may well punish the foolhardy.

Hole 14

Name: Denty Den Yardage: 341 Par: 4

Australian Peter O’Malley remembers this hole fondly. He eagled it in the final round of the 1992 Scottish Open to start a run of five holes in seven-under to win the tournament.

O’Malley drove the green and holed a 20-foot putt for his two, and Senior Open hopefuls will be looking to do likewise. They will need to negotiate five fairway bunkers and five greenside ones to do so, with the back right pin placement the toughest to get close to

This is the shortest and easiest par four on the card, with a stroke index of 15, and the field will hope to overcome it with elegance and aplomb, as befits its name “dainty dell”.

Hole 15

Name: Howe o’ Hope Yardage: 459 Par: 4

The hole is entitled “hollow of hope”, perhaps because players just hope to get through this tough par four, stroke index three, with scorecards unsavaged.

Tee shots ideally need to be played left of the marker post to leave the best line into the green, with no fairway bunkers in play.

Four bunkers then protect a two-tiered green that slopes left to right, with the back tier lower than the front. This is a tough hole which arrives at an often crucial stage of the round; a moment when pars will probably be most welcome both for the leaders and the stragglers.

Hole 16

Name: Wee Bogle Yardage: 155 Par: 3

The shortest of the one-shot holes, which probably explains why it is the most heavily bunkered. Ten sand-traps circle this green like a string of pearls and all of them can bring bogey into play for anyone unlucky enough to find one.

The green slopes from back to front and can offer up lightning fast putts. Competitors should not be fooled by the yardage; there is a reason the hole is named after a small ghost or goblin. The final par three on the King’s can be a scary place.

Hole 17

Name: Warslin’ Lea Yardage: 377 Par: 4

While this relatively compact par four normally calls for a short iron or wedge approach, it is renowned for being notoriously tricky. Hence the reason for the warslin’ or “wresting” moniker: it will put up a good fight. It has the narrowest fairway on the course and competitors may take long irons or fairways clubs off the tee to get the ball on the left side for their approach. The hole doglegs gently right to left with a right-hand fairway bunker perhaps coming into play for those who take an iron off the tee.

An elevated green protected by three bunkers short of the putting surface may call for an extra club to carry the sand.

The 18th: a reachable par five, but not without its defences

Hole 18

Name: King’s Hame Yardage: 555 Par: 5

The home hole can produce plenty of fireworks, as it did when Peter O’Malley was crowned 1992 Scottish Open Champion.

The Australian’s tee shot carried the ridge and ran down the fairway that slopes towards the green, leaving him a 6-iron from approximately 200 yards. His ball ended up 25 feet from the hole, and O’Malley holed the putt to come home in 28 strokes.

Needless to say, this reachable downhill par five may end up playing an important role in deciding who is crowned the 2022 Senior Open Champion. Players will certainly need to be aware of the six bunkers that protect the largest putting surface on the course, which features a ridge that runs left to right.