Cruden Bay – A Very Special Place

Posted by John

October 4, 2009

It would be hard to pick a favorite Scottish course from the trip my wife and I made to Scotland this past Spring. We played 12 different courses and they were all remarkable, beautiful and challenging in their own way.

If I had to pick a favorite it would be hard not to choose Cruden Bay. Maybe the one word that sums it up best would be ‘magical’. It certainly is beautiful and challenging, but that doesn’t begin to convey what a true test of golf it is. The staff is friendly and helpful beyond reproach. The starter appears to have been chosen by Hollywood central casting. All this puts the course on par with the other beautiful seaside courses we played in Scotland.

It’s the ‘magical’ bit that separates it from the field. It’s other-worldly. Standing on the third tee (photo above) my wife and I felt like we had been transported to some fictional golf links that exists only in the mind of a good novelist.

The course is laid out on dunes within dunes. The entire course appears ringed by large dunes that surround a smaller set of dunes in the center. You have no idea what the next hole is like until you arrive at the tee box. After putting out on a hole we were like kids, almost running to the next tee to see what wonders lay ahead. We were never disappointed. The course retains it’s magical character from the first tee to the 18th green.

Even now I have goosebumps on my arms thinking about Cruden Bay. I’ve been to Scotland three times for golf trips and have never been disappointed by any course. Do yourself a favor and go if you haven’t been and you’re an avid golfer. Do yourself an even bigger favor and get to Cruden Bay if at all possible. It’s the closest to golf nirvana that I’ve ever found and I’ve been fortunate enough to play some of the world’s best courses.

A special thanks to Rosemary Pittendrigh, Cruden Bay’s Managing Secretary. She was gracious and exceptionally cordial to me and my wife. She also was kind enough to part with one of the last remaining Centennial books, which I will forever charish. I’ll know fate has been tremendously kind to me should I find myself once again on Cruden Bay’s first tee.