The Doak crafted noisy neighbour, who stacks up well against it's local rivals.

Constructed in 2008, The Renaissance Club found itself trying to establish a reputation of golfing brilliance in and amongst some of Scotlands best, and most famous venues. The like of Muirfield, North Berwick and Gullane all share the same coast line, famously dubbed Scotland's Golf Coast.

The Renaissance project was born in 2002, when a whimsical conversation was struck up between Jerry Sarvadi, and someone from the land owners team, The Duke of Hamilton. 1,000 acres of land just a stones throw away from Muirfield, with views over the Firth of Forth, was the subject. An acquisition of said land was the dream and in 2005, the project was underway.

Tom Doak originally routed a course over 300 acres of the plot, this was subsequently approved, and construction was underway. Since opening, the course has already had a a re jig, with holes being added nearer to the headland. The section of course if the best on the property if any one asks me.

We played the Scottish Open routing so please are that in mind if my hole descriptions seem off. The outward 9 plays inland, and only offers you a few snippets of the coastal views that the back 9 has in an abundance. It's a stretch of holes where you have ample opportunity to find your swing and ease your way into you points tally.

The best hole on the golf course is a masterpiece, and would be hung in any par 4 gallery around the world. A raising dog leg right with a bottle neck entrance to the green. Sentinel bunkers guard either side of the Mackenzie esc green site. If you manage to miss the bunkers but also the green, you may find yourself buried in the walls of a sand dune, or on the wrong side of an old rock wall, that was discovered in the courses construction. A stand out detail on some holes, that cast a truly iconic image of The Renaissance Club.

Eleven to Fourteen are truly mesmeric. If you're blessed the the calmest of August days like we were, you could quite easily spend your hole day say at the half way house, just taking it all in. 13 played around the cove, and 14 is an elevated tee box playing down to a heavily guarded green that again features the rock wall. The views from here are incredible. Tome Doak most likely couldn't believe his luck from this view point.

From what I have seen, this isn't your typical Tom Doak design, id say it stands out from the rest, by not being slightly as bold or dramatic. The land here has done the talking and Doak has just extracted the potential as opposed to manufacturing it. This course created an obsession within me to play as many of his courses as I can, and with a few booked for 2025, I cannot wait to get out there.