Speaking of ultra-private clubs, Scotland’s most exclusive enclave,
Loch Lomond, has had plans for a second course, by Jack Nicklaus, for
over a
decade. Thus far, however, no dirt has been moved, as approvals
remain pending.
But just a mile or so down the bonnie banks, a course
has taken shape at the De
Vere Cameron House hotel. Named the
Carrick after its Canadian designer,
Doug Carrick, it is a testing and
scenic heathland layout with plenty of twists
and turns, ups and downs.
It opened only last month but will host the Ladies
Scottish Open in
September.
Meanwhile, Nicklaus has busied himself in
Ayrshire, where
Ritz-Carlton has gutted the derelict Dalquharran Castle, about
five
miles inland from Turnberry, and is converting it into an upscale 130-room
golf resort, with Jack’s course meandering around it. It’s due to be
unveiled next year.
Also in Ayrshire but farther north in Fenwick,
just 20 minutes south
of Glasgow, another fortress facelift is ongoing at
Rowallan Castle, a
baronial estate dating back to the 13th century. Colin
Montgomerie’s
first course in his native Scotland—a rolling, tree-clad parkland
layout—will be accompanied by a 62-room country house hotel and spa.
The
developers hope to draw a mostly local membership while leaving the
course open
for daily play by visitors, beginning next summer.
Up north, just five
minutes from Inverness Airport, Kingsbarns
creator Mark Parsinen is well on his
way to producing another show
stopper. His Castle Stuart will unfurl
majestically along the east bank
of the Moray Firth. The five-year plan calls
for a boutique hotel and
spa, 148 “resort ownership lodges” and a second seaside
course. But the
Castle Stuart Golf Links will have a soft opening much sooner,
in the
fall of 2008, with full-time play beginning the following spring.
Finally, there is another course taking shape in St. Andrews.
Contiguous to
the recently remodeled Duke’s course, on a hillside
overlooking the town, Loch
Lomond designer Tom Weiskopf is building a
course for Tim Blixseth, the
billionaire developer of Yellowstone Club
World, a network of playgrounds for
the super rich from Palm Springs to
Paris, Montana to Mexico.
Blixseth’s aim is
to have 10 such properties
in place by the end of the decade, with membership in
all 10 going for
$3 million plus $75,000 in annual dues. (One wonders what Old
Tom
Morris would have said.) Ground has been broken on the St. Andrews course,
which is scheduled for a 2008 opening—but don’t expect to just waltz
onto that
one.
So there you are: No. 7 plus seven more. The
Castle and three
other castles—all set to enhance the firmament of
Scottish golf. And I haven’t
even mentioned Donald Trump. Yet.
