The Isle of Barra Golf Club – Golf in the Wilderness

The following article was printed (with some edits) in Golf Quarterly #47 – it is reproduced here for those who don’t subscribe, but I recommend you do – a fine magazine with not a single advert for the next, or any, golf club capable of launching your over-priced golf ball into orbit:

The golf course is approached by rough single-track road about a mile from the main A888 which circles the island, also single track. There is no clubhouse, just a shipping container with an honesty box attached. My playing partners opted for an exciting arrival by plane, splashing down on Traigh Mohr beach in a scheduled flight from Glasgow. I arrived by the equally exciting combination of ferry and motorcycle, so none of us had clubs. These were available for hire in Castlebay at the very reasonable price of £5 for 24 hours. A mixed bag, they proved no less successful than my own set which I had imagined my game was dependent on.

After posting the £10 green fee in the slot, the first challenge is finding the right tee and choosing the correct target. There appears to be several possibilities – a choice of square greens, they are all protected by solar-powered electric fencing, with access gained through distinctly agricultural, galvanised kissing gates. It is evident from the start that this is a quite different golf course. Golf, but not as we know it.

Closer examination of the scorecard map revealed the intended destination. An opening par 3, where coming up short, as we all did, is ill-advised, but it does give some hint of what lies in store. In short, there is nothing but semi-rough or very rough, combined with water filled gullies and turf so receptive, it can swallow balls whole. Nobody scored better than a six.

Amy Liptrop describes the Orkney farm she was raised on, in her book, The Outrun: … historical agricultural records list farmland in two parts: the ‘in-bye’ arable land close to the farm steading; and the ‘out-bye’ or ‘outrun’, uncultivated rough grazing further away, often on hillsides. The Isle of Barra Golf Club has been built on the out-bye. It is not suitable for the plough and even less so the mower, instead, the course relies on grazing cattle who lack the necessary close-cutting skills of sheep. Unlike the ovine, the bovine are untidy eaters. They also take relief across the course, forcing the golfer to do similar. At least, when we played, they kept to the high ground where they surveyed our every move from atop Cnoc an Fhithich.

The second, a par 5 running along the coastline, is tough. With nothing but semi-rough and cowpats, my best drive of the day flew straight and true but was never seen again. Another feature of the course is scattered, rocky outcrops which provide an element of randomness akin to a pin-ball machine – one of the many possibilities for my disappearing golf ball. Despite these travails, I avoided despondency by simply raising my head, if not my game – the views in all directions, from every part of the course are simply stunning. The third and fourth, both par 4s, ascend Cnoc an Fhithich where the rain of eons has carved deep gullies into both fairways – hazards abound. The fifth tee is another steep climb from the fourth green where the course finally reaches its summit, a suitable location to draw breath and take in the scenery. The skies were blue, the weather benign so we should have counted ourselves lucky – quite what the course must be like in more traditional Outer Hebridean conditions, it is hard to imagine.

A hard course to master, the locals must be made of sterner stuff than me, but under all golfing circumstances, the trick is to remain level-headed and fully focussed. I belong to that rare tribe who are passionate about both golf and motorcycles. There should be more of us as both demand exactly the same frame of mind – living in the moment, 100% concentration and no letting your mind drift. If you do, you are likely to end up in the undergrowth – hunting for golf balls or retrieving a bent motorcycle and/or rider.

The drive from the par 4, 5th is between rocky outcrops. Successfully negotiate this blind drive and you have a sharp right dogleg, downhill to a partially concealed green – my ball found the green from a bounce off the kissing gate. I think it is called good course management. Survive as far as the 5th green with a semi-decent card and, in my experience, the final four holes provide the opportunity to make amends. The elevated 6th tee delivers a glorious high-flying drive and the opportunity for a similar 2nd shot into the heart of the green. Two par 3s and a finishing par 4 make for a much less demanding finish than the opening holes and my sixteen shots over four holes turned an untidy card into something more respectable.

Would I honestly recommend going to Barra to play golf, maybe not. Instead, go to Barra for Barra, it is a wonderful destination with scenery as remarkable as anywhere else in the world … oh, and while you are there, don’t miss the opportunity to have a unique golfing experience.

David and Anne – my golfing buddies who arrived by aeroplane.

The views compensate for everything

And, in case you missed it, here is Steven Spielberg’s take on the adventure:

A different sort of golfer …

…  a different sort of biker.  Durness is the place where Golf in the Wild ends and its sequel, Golf in the Wild – Going Home, begins.  The image of the 8th green shows a ball adjacent to the pin – it will not have arrived in regulation.  The approach has the characteristics of an infinity pool – just fairway and water.  It takes confidence to go for the invisible green, anything long seemingly destined for the briny sea.

The view from the 8th/17th green takes in many highlights of the course: the dunes and the edge of Balnakeil Bay; sturdy Balnakeil House – available for rent to the well-heeled and grubby – it has six bathrooms; the graveyard where lies the Clan MacKay henchman, Donald McMurdo – was ill to his friend and worse to his foe; the 18th tee, which provides such a glorious finish across a rocky inlet and the Clubhouse which resembles a coastguard station, forever keeping watch for those in peril on the course.

The image does not sparkle, it was not one of those days – hazy sunshine turned dreich, but I was grateful for the benign conditions; when the winds blow strong across the Parph from Cape Wrath, this will be an inhospitable place for golf and much else besides.

The view from the 8th green, looking east

It was taken in August 2012 and, sad to relate, I have never played the course since, despite becoming a country member for a couple of years when the club’s finances were stretched. Their secretary, Lucy Mackay, has always been very supportive of Golf in the Wild.  That is not to say I have never returned to Balnakeil and Durness – I have been several times, most recently in 2021 by motorcycle.

The NCA Motorcycle Club at Balnakeil Bay – May 2021

My standard line is that I have yet to fathom how to carry golf clubs on my BMW GS, but as I proved on Barra, dependence on my own clubs is entirely illusory, indeed, my game seemed to benefit from using a mixed set of hire clubs.  With this in mind, I am planning more extreme wild golf by motorcycle – in 2023 the intention is to ride to the Lofoten Islands in Norway and play golf under the midnight sun on Lofoten Links.  I have travelled there by car, sea, ship and aeroplane which only leaves the motorcycle to complete the set.  On my last trip I travelled with my eldest son by train from Oslo to Bodø and then took a short flight to Svolvær.  It was the beginning of March and snow was still thick on the ground – the Lofoten Islands are well within the Arctic Circle such that Lofoten Links will only open from 5th of May until 15th of October in 2023.

The road to Lofoten Links – March 2020

Near Lofoten Links – March 2020

Why post this now? It is all part of the process of making it happen – a commitment to myself, and now, to others. It is about not losing face.

The wildest of wild golf

This year’s motorcycle adventures have included a trip to the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides.  The initial incentive was to play wild golf on its one and only golf course, but the travel by motorcycle turned the journey into something special and memorable.  Some many days later, I have finally finished the video of the trip.

The Isle of Barra Golf Club has been built on rough and rocky terrain. It is not suitable for the plough and even less so the mower, instead, the course relies on grazing cattle who lack the necessary close-cutting skills of sheep. Unlike the ovine, the bovine are untidy eaters. They also take relief across the course, forcing the golfer to do similar. At least, when we played, they kept to the high ground where they surveyed our every move from atop Cnoc an Fhithich.

Would I honestly recommend going to Barra to play golf, maybe not. Instead, go to Barra for Barra, it is a wonderful destination with scenery as remarkable as anywhere else in the world … oh, and while you are there, don’t miss the opportunity to have a unique golfing experience.

The full story will be told in the next edition of Golf Quarterly.

 

Screw Work, Play Golf …

Slider-3In 1923 the President of the largest US steel company was Charles Schwab, the President of the largest US gas company was Edward Hopson, the President of the New York Stock Exchange was Richard Whitney, the greatest wheat speculator of his day was Arthur Cooger and the Great Bear of Wall Street was Cosabee Livermore. They were considered some of the most successful people in the world.

Charles Schwab died a pauper, Edward Hopson went insane, Richard Whitney was released from prison to die at home, Arthur Cooger died abroad, penniless and Cosabee Livermore committed suicide.

The 1923 PGA Champion and winner of the US Open was Gene Sarazen.  He played golf until he was 92, passed away in 1999 at the age of 95 and was financially secure at the time of his death.

Making the Cut – Golf Quarterly, Issue 27, Spring 2018

Or maybe not – from the same issue:

Though time all other griefs may cure
All other hurts may mend,
The miseries of golf endure,
to them there is no end.