Crow Wood

Designed by James Braid and constructed by John R. Stutt, the architect’s trusted contractor from Paisley in 1925, the 18-hole layout at Crow Wood Golf Club was once part of the parkland landscape within the Garnkirk Estate, on the outskirts of Glasgow.

Garnkirk House, which was built in 1820 on the site of an older mansion, was sold in 1937 and rebuilt by its new owner but it was re-acquired by the golf club eighteen years later then converted to serve as a very grand clubhouse for the membership.

Today’s course is much as Braid laid it out, except for holes 6 to 9, which were constructed in the 1930s when more land became available to extend the overall length of the tree-lined layout by around six hundred yards.

A round at Crow Wood starts with a rather intimidating par three, where the green is surrounded by bunkers, then the next short hole is played at the 5th, measuring a meaty 193-yards from the back markers, and the advice here is to “aim for the left of a large green”.

The Garnkirk Burn comes into play at the 6th and 7th and a recent island green has been created on the 8th so exercise extra care here to avoid a dropped shot (and a lost ball) then short par fours at holes 10 and 12 offer the chance of a birdie at the start of the back nine.

The signature hole at Crow Wood is “Auld Hoose,” the 449-yard par four 13th, which doglegs left from the tee to an elevated green, with out of bounds along the left side of the hole - there’s also a tree in the middle of the fairway where it veers to the left to further complicate things!