Monifieth (Medal) - Angus & Dundee - Scotland

The Monifieth Golf Links Trust manage two wonderful golf courses that are the home to a trio of golf clubs.

It’s easy to see why the more famous of the two courses on this cherished piece of golfing land, the Medal, was awarded Final Open Qualifying status in 2007 when The Open was staged at nearby Carnoustie.

The three clubs; Grange, Broughty and Monifieth all have their clubhouses standing proudly along the edge of the main course. It’s a fair, challenging and extremely rewarding links course that doesn’t even have a sniff of a weak hole.

I had high hopes ahead of my visit to Monifieth and it more than delivered on its promise of being a fantastic day of links golf.

Unusually for a links course there is no view of the sea, instead splendid pine trees adorn many of the holes here and these only add to Monifieth’s charm blending into the linksland majestically.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

The course layout resembles the shape of an axe. Holes 1 to 6 and then 16 to 18 are the handle whilst holes 7 to 15 are in more of a square area furthest from the clubhouse. The first six holes all run in a straight line away from the clubhouse and each has the railway very close to the boundary fence on the right hand side.

The first real challenge, in terms of length, comes at the 4th, a par four of 456 yards. In summer, the fairways are extremely firm and fast running so even this hole does not play to its normal length. The green is in an attractive setting, backed by a stand of fir trees. If you push your second shot right you will be faced with a difficult chip over a large mound at the edge of the green.

Be careful as you exit the 13th green because you have to walk past the 15th tee before you arrive at the 14th. Holes 14 and 15 are the only holes which run north/south with the other sixteen all in an east/west direction. The last three holes run in a line back to the clubhouse, with the 18th being a good par five finishing hole.

The Medal course provides plenty of quality golf: firm, bumpy and narrow fairways and very true greens. Most of the bunkers are situated so as to catch the approach to the green. A minor criticism would be that on a number of holes there was quite a walk to the next tee but that should not deter you from enjoying the links experience at Monifieth.

This review is an edited extract from Another Journey through the Links, which has been reproduced with David Worley’s kind permission. The author has exclusively rated for us every Scottish course that he played and featured in his book. Another Journey through the Links is available for Australian buyers via www.golfbooks.com.au and through Amazon for buyers from other countries.

Today I played the Medal course and left thinking what a fantastic course. I loved the ruggedness of it. The only average holes are 1/2/17/18 that are all played on the same land. Good holes but not quite the same feel. Undulations on every hole, large dunes throughout many holes and greens that left Carnoustie in the shade (played it yesterday and they had been sanded, obviously they too would have been great if not for that). The trees on the course did not look out of place and I have no hesitation in agreeing that this is pure links golf. I had a strong wind at my back for the opening stretch that left me with bump and runs to get on as impossible to hold a wedge, 9 iron no matter how well struck. Because the undulations run right up to the green this meant some funny bounces at times leaving you with 40 footers when you thought you would be 10 foot. The trueness of the greens though allowed you to think you were still a chance to roll in the long ones. I'm sure this will cause some consternation but I truly thought it was a more interesting course than Carnoustie Championship. The par 3s on CC let it down a bit and the stretch out the back lacked the rugged feel I love so much about links. Montifieth though has it in spades.WDE

An absolute gem of a course, everything you would expect from a links and more. Fantastic greens, great scenery and wonderful to play.A gentle opening hole lulls you into thinking it might be easy but then the real test begins. Only one Par 3 on the front but with a green right next to the East Coast railway it's no easy tee shot.Highlight of the front nine would be the 7th, a 400 yards plus par 4 with a drive over the burn before a mid to long iron to a well protected green.A fine back 9 really makes you feel privelaged to play the course. Standout holes being 10,12,13 and 18. The course was in great condition after some pretty heavy rain and better still great value for money. I can't wait to return!

We played Monifieth Medal last week for the first time and found it to be a very enjoyable experience. The greens were in magnificent condition, and in truth there was very little to choose between them and Carnoustie for pace. The gorse was plentiful and in full bloom making the course look very attractive and reminding me of Aldeburgh in places. The first six holes head out along the railway line and if played in a stiff breeze they are a stern test as three of them are over the 400 yard mark. My pick of these holes would be the good looking 4th; playing at 445 yards from the yellows the green is well protected, nestling in circle of dunes with a narrow entrance. Other favourites on the front nine were the 7th where you must drive over a burn, the short 8th dog-legging left around an attractive stand of pine trees and the undulating 9th which is one of only two par 5’s. The back nine continues to impress with not a poor hole amongst them. The 11th and 14th are both lovely par 3’s with 10, 12, 13 and 17 being my pick from the others. The staff in both the starters hut and the clubhouse were very friendly and welcoming and could not looked after us any better. You could comfortably fill a week with quality golf in the area but Monifieth should certainly not be overlooked. The course probably falls somewhere between a 4 and 5 ball rating but nearer to a 5 for me. Brian W

The day I played Monifieth was without a doubt the worst weather I have ever been outside for more than ten minutes in let alone played golf in. Despite this you could still tell that the course was well designed, very playable and on the whole a decent links course.

Four years to the day after first playing the Medal course, I returned to reacquaint myself with this fine links layout. It’s an honest, unpretentious course that offers a very fair test on a tract of land with more than its fair share of humps and hollows.

For a course that must see plenty of traffic during a season, it was in absolutely fantastic condition so late in the year and our 4-ball was very impressed with the speed and condition of the greens.

I love the opening half dozen holes that follow the railway line away from the clubhouse but holes 8 to 13 are probably the strongest on the card, playing away from the coast, where the routing uses the natural sand ridges to great effect.

The lovely par three 14th is your last chance for respite before embarking on a demanding quartet of holes to complete the round.

Last time I was in this area I was very disappointed with the sodden state of the fairways on a high ranking course nearby but that was certainly not the case today on the free draining Medal as it more than lived up to my high expectations and delivered exactly what I was looking for.

Jim McCann.

Played here last week. Despite warnings about the damage caused by excess water on the course it was only noticeable on the 5th and 6th, with the rest of the course running as a summer links should and terrific greens. Monifieth will never win a beauty contest - not that it is unattractive, but the course is quite flat and there are no coastal views - but it is a good test once there is a bit of a breeze to contend with, which I imagine would be most of the time on the east coast, and there is a enough varity in the lengths and shapes of holes to keep it interesting. The staff in the starter's hut were very helpful and we were made most welcome. Overall not quite in the same league as Montrose or Panmure, both of which I would rate as a 5, but this is a strong 4. Definitely worth another visit. CF

Great course this, but tough for the higher handicapper especially into the wind, despite the generously sized immaculate greens. To be honest if you are a high handicapper (like me) stick to the adjacent Ashludie, it's much shorter and you'll enjoy it more. For the better player, this is gem though and you really should play it.

We played the Medal course as part of the highly recommended Carnoustie Dream Ticket. The starter was very friendly as proved the members that we met. In common with lots of traditional Scottish links courses there is a choice of club houses to use for your changing and post match beer... just ask the starter. It's a lovely course with undulating fairways and hard to read greens. Also the traditional out of bounds railway down the right for the opening holes! A slight flat spot at the far end of the course but all considered a nicely designed course with plenty to think about and great condition. One bit of local gossip is that they were told by the Royal and Ancient that real links courses don't have trees... they told them to get stuffed. Bravo!