Woll - Borders - Scotland

Woll is off the beaten track but you can not fail to be impressed by the lovely clubhouse facility. The course basks in rural tranquility with fine views of the surrounding hills. The best holes on the front nine are the 1st, a dogleg with a burn in play, the scenic par five 4th, the nice par three 5th and the 6th. However, the three best holes at Woll come together late on the back nine. 15 is a pretty par 3, 16 an excellent downhill par 4 and the highlight of the layout is the par 3 17th with water everywhere. Woll is not as good a course as Torwoodlee with with it shares many characteristics but it is not without appeal. One gripe I need to get off my chest regards its pricing policy. Current (summer 2020) visitor green fees are £40 per round, With the best will in the world few would pay that for a round at Woll. The website then states that it accepts 2for1 vouchers which will be charged on the day rate of £48. In other words a round for a visitor here will, in effect, cost £24, Why not just say so? By the way, a round here is worth £24 (but definitely not £40.)

Visiting the so called lesser lights of the Scottish golfing scene has been our modus operandi recently, the latest trip being a visit to Woll in the Scottish Borders. Now it is perhaps true to say that Woll might not have been on our golfing radar, but if this change of focus has taught me anything it is that there is a lot of quality courses to be played at this level, and it is perhaps it is something that we should have tapped into years ago.Initial impressions were good, welcome was friendly and off course facilities pleasant. The course also didn’t disappoint with the best of the front nine being with the opening hole, a charming short par 4, and the sixth, a tough two shotter with out of bounds lurking behind a stone wall to the left of the fairway, eventually playing to a semi pulpit green.The back nine was a step up in standard with the closing five holes in particular providing excellent golf. Stand out feature of the back 9 for me is undoubtedly the trio of par 3’s at 11,15 and 17, all different in design but all terrific, the 15th in particular being as good as any par 3’s played this year and the 17th with its water and bunkering another stiff test.Woll may not feature high in anyone’s play list but I would advise that it is a venue well worth the visit with a terrific back 9 in beautiful surroundings and the sort of venue which would be an ideal accompaniment to a visit to The Roxburghe or Goswick. MPPJ

The first is a fine short par four opening hole, dog legging left to make good use of a burn that runs in front of the green. I liked the 2-tier green on holes 4 and 7 though, on the latter, I can’t for the life of me understand why anybody would want a forward pin placement on a putting surface that runs sharply away from front to back.

The pace really picks up on the back nine, even though most of the holes are set out on flatter terrain. I award holes a score of up to 3 points when playing a course for the first time and the total for the last seven holes was exactly double what I’d marked for the preceding eleven holes.

The green on the par five 13th is nicely contoured, the right doglegged 14th is a terrific short par four and the slightly uphill short par three 15th is possibly the signature hole on the card.

I’m not sure the new pond in front of the 17th green was necessary and it still looks a little rough around the edges but that will surely improve over time.

The course is obviously still evolving after a couple of decades in operation and it’ll be in better shape when all the greens have been converted to USGA specifications. It’s obvious the club is trying to improve both the on course playing experience and the off course clubhouse facilities so top marks to Woll for investing in the future when others are maybe struggling to do so.

Jim McCann.