Day 3 (9/17): Shiskine
playing at Shiskine was the most controversial decision by the organizers of the trip.
those of us (like me) who have never been on a Scotland trip really had no opinion, but those that had were split between staying close to Prestwick and playing one of the other great links courses in the area (Royal Troon, Dundonald, etc); or driving 30 minutes north to Ardrossan, taking a 90 minute ferry ride to the Isle of Arran, and driving another 20 minutes across Arran to Shiskine to play a relatively unknown 12 hole course that nobody we know has experienced before.
lucky for all of us the decision was made to make the trek to Shiskine just outside the town of Blackwaterfoot, Scotland.
History
the Shiskine Golf and Tennis Club was founded in Blackwaterfoot in 1896. originally designed by Willie Fernie of Troon, the original course was a 9 hole layout (only the 5th and 9th holes remain). in 1912 the course was extended to 18 holes, resulting in a rework of most of the property. during WWI six of the holes (which were somewhat forced on to the property) were played so infrequently they reverted to their natural state and the current 12 holes of Shiskine are the result. Willie Park reworked the remaining 12 holes in the 1920's and what currently exists is the result.
Trip
on the ferry with Arran in site
the folks at Shiskine were some of the nicest and most accommodating we met on the trip. before we made the journey we learned they did not have a license to sell beer, but they were more than happy to find refrigerator space in their restaurant to store the beer we brought and serve it to us while we had lunch between the two 12 hole rounds we played and after the second round. fantastic folks.
The Course
12 Holes, 2770 yards
seven 3 pars (ranging from 121-211 yards)
four 4 pars (ranging from 221-369 yards
one 5 par at 479 yards
the Pro Shop
the Clubhouse
The round starts with the longest par 4, a simple 369 yards with a pedestrian path and OB/beach on the left and severely sloped hill on the right. Just poke that drive out there around 250 to a 15 yard wide landing area and then flip a wedge to the green hidden behind a large mound on the right….welcome to the course. The only benefit is random walkers on the path were more than eager to help you find your ball if you happened to snap hook your drive.
Hole 2 is the second of the four par 4s. 350 uphill, into the wind, with a blind landing area and a bern short of the tiny green. Take note of that big rock on the right, it’s the star of the next two holes
Hole 3 ‘Crow’s Nest’ is where the fun starts. The big rock in the distance is called Drumadoon, and Hole 3 is called Crow’s Nest. The scorecard says it’s a 125 yard hole but obviously the elevation changes that. There’s a black and white striped aiming stick that gives you the line, anything left of the yellow flag is dead.
After you hit your shot you get to climb the hill to the green, in suspense all the way if you think you hit a good shot, but are also rewarded with views like this
My 9i within 10 feet and inside the previous group’s KP marker (we were paying 1 pound per person to every guy that had a KP on each par 3 during this round)
Hole 4 ‘The Shelf’: After climbing up to the Crow’s Nest, we’re treated to this view from the tee box from The Shelf, a 140 yard hole that’s even more downhill than the Crow’s Nest was uphill. The 20mph wind off the ocean doesn’t exactly help the club selection.
I went with the same 9i I hit on the Crow’s Nest and ended up inside the KP mark again.
Beauty shot of Drumadoon and the 4th green
Hole 5 ‘The Point’: the longest Par 3 at 211, hard wind from the right. After two rounds we had 16 shots to hit this green and only one of us did.
Hole 6 ‘Shore Hole’: a 266 yard Par 4. Kinda hard to tell from the pic, but there’s a fence running along the entire right side resulting in a narrow landing area. The hole takes a severe turn right to a sunken green that you can’t see from the fairway.
Hole 7 ‘Himalays’: just your run-of-the-mill 165 yard par 3 blind shot towards an aiming stick on a hill to a small green.
Looking back towards Drumadoon from the 7th green.
Hole 8 ‘Hades’: how hard can a 211 yard Par 4 be when playing into a 25mph wind?
Hole 9 ‘Drumadoon’: the one and only par 5 on the course. I’m disappointed I don’t have more pics of this hole. Wide landing area off the tee, very narrow severely sloped layup area for the second to avoid a bern, and a tough approach to an elevated green.
Hole 10 ‘Paradise’: downhill 150 yard par 3 with a bern short of the green and pot bunkers surrounding it.
Hole 11 ‘The Hollows’: another long blind par 3 tee shot, this time 200 yards
Hole 12 ‘Kilmory’: a seemingly benign 120 yard finishing hole, unless you end up in a greenside pot bunker like I did.
In summary, Shiskine was absolutely amazing. The strongest comparison I can make to playing it was playing the Sheep Ranch at Bandon several years ago. There’s just something magical that happens when you don’t play 18 holes of par 72 golf that erases all of your preconceived notions of what golf should be. Par doesn’t matter because it’s just a random number. being able to see where you’re hitting your next shot really doesn’t matter when everyone else you’re playing with has to hit the same shot.
Group consensus after playing for two weeks is Shiskine was the most enjoyable, stress free round for everyone…highly recommend.