Largs - Ayrshire & Arran - Scotland

Granted, very few golfers come to Ayrshire to play parkland golf but were they to do so they would likely find their way just a mile or so from the Firth of Clyde to Largs (Kelburne). Like Crieff and Carnwath the round begins with a lacklustre uphill par three. However, compensation arrives immediately when you board the 2nd tee to be met with a downhill drive to a fairway lined with mature trees. The 3rd offers something similar with the added ingredient of a burn running across the fairway. The best two holes on the course come at 9 and 10 - two excellent doglegs with what is more than a burn but not quite a river guarding the green at both. The rest of the holes lack distinction although the 17th with its elevated green is attractive. The weakest feature of Largs is a set of undistinguished par threes but the course is worth a visit.

A round at Largs begins rather inauspiciously with a short uphill par three. The next three holes then head downhill to the main part of the estate, where holes 5 to 15 are located, with the elevated tee shot at the 2nd rather memorable as Largs marina forms the backdrop to this par four – more Costa Clyde than Cote d’Azur, even when the sun shines, but it’s an impressive hole nonetheless.

For me the best hole on the front nine is the left doglegged 9th, played slightly uphill to a green that sits on the other side of a burn and it’s immediately followed by another cracking par four that heads back towards the coast, doglegging back over the same burn to a plateau green on top of a pronounced ridge.

The long par four 15th is a tough way to round off the course within the Kelburn estate before crossing the lane to take on the final three uphill holes which are normally played into the wind.

In a region that’s not short of fine links courses, Largs is a well-manicured parkland alternative that will appeal to golfers who might not always hanker for the firm and fast game beside the sea.

Jim McCann.