This is a course that despite holding a Walker Cup not long ago and placing favourably in the UK rankings still seems to go a bit unnoticed. I haven't heard much about the course on GCA except for ambivalent comments. I will go on record now and say I think the course is very good. There isn't an absolute knockout hole on the course except for perhaps the 14th. This was certainly the best short hole I played this week - even better than Dornoch's 6th. One aspect of the design which impressed me were the several greens which fell from front to back - very subtly. It seems to be a rare feature and when one does come across this sort of thing it tends to be in bunches. Also, there are several short par 4s to help things along when times are tough. These aren't just pushover holes either - they all have something cool about them. Here a few pix to whet your appetite.
The approach to #1. I slashed a 5 iron out of the rough and onto the green from 145 yards into a 20mph wind. Once I saw the ball roll something like 50 yards after landing I new I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Just walking across the first green was all I needed to see to realize that Nairn's greens were in absolutely perfect condition. Very firm and rolling about 10, an approach just lightly bruised the carpet. It has been more than a few years since I have seen such pristine greens.
Things became more interesting on the 3rd, a dogleg left to a raised green with a front to back slope.
The 13th takes us up to the high ground and #13 is a great par 3 down the hill, but back into the wind. The main feature is the all-world green. The contours are so bold they are easily made out from the tee.
There is a wild false front and almost in an effort to counter-balance this drop off is the massive hump in back. Between the pin and the hump is obviously a large swale. You can just make out my ball on the hump, how a 3 wood from 200 yards holds this tiny section of the green is beyond me. Here is a side shot of the green.
The very short par 4 15th has a wonderfully humpty bumpty fairway. The approach to 17 must traverse a burn and the 18th is a par 5 not without merit.
As I stated earlier, I don't know what about Nairn could be unpleasing. I think it is a solid course with a few excellent holes. I don't normally deduct or add points for conditioning, but in the case of Nairn it would be criminal not to reward the course for the state of their greens and how they maintain the rough at a manageable length. Nearly all balls well off line are findable, but recovery is gonna cost you. Nairn probably isn't the sort of course one plans a trip around, but the proximity of the airport and quality of the greens makes it a good way to start or end a trip.
Ciao