Day 12: Cruden Bay’s St. Olaf Course

This morning started with haggis for breakfast, and a good slice too! Each region and chef has their own recipe. This one was not as spicy as the last, but tasty with eggs and a mushroom!

Breakfast at the Kilmarok Arms can be anything you like. Today was mushroom, Haggis, tomato, eggs, and sausage. Yum!

From breakfast, we went down to the course. Today, we played the St. Olaf GC course, which is 9 holes inside the championship course, which runs mostly along the sea. The St. Olaf course is so named because the great battle between the Danes and the Scots in 1012 ended in such loss of life, that both sides decided on a truce. The Danes dedicated the land to St. Olaf and built a chapel there. That’s now where the nicest golf course in all of Eastern Scotland lies, Cruden Bay and St. Olaf.

This is the first green with some tricky undulations. Behind is the barn for all the reconstruction planned to move the Championship #18 away from the driving range.

This course has enough land for a proper driving range and a huge practice putting and chipping green and probably another golf course as well! We used all the practice areas before playing our first 9 today. St. Olaf is a challenging course with lots of elevation and gorse to keep you focused. The greens aren’t large, but they’re well-designed and tricky. I quizzed the pro about #6 which I remembered from 4 years ago, hitting the perfect second shot and never finding it over the hill. Blind shots are always a problem!

This is what gorse looks like up close. It’s stiff and very prickly. If your ball is in there, even a few feet, it’s gone. If a club can reach it, you wouldn’t dare stick your arm in!

On the 5th fairway, we met up with the fellows behind us playing down the 4th. We had talked to them briefly earlier, so John was comfortable asking a question. The answer came in about ten minutes of golf politics and how the club is spending too much on changes that they can’t afford. Apparently, overspending is a big deal up here.

The St. Olaf course had lots of hidden secrets, water among them!

After our first nine, we had lunch (more yummy golf course food!) when a fellow at the next table came over and pointed to John, “I know you!” And indeed he did! It was Roy from the bar in Kingussie, escaping the singing golfers to talk to John. Roy had a great time with John and was very glad to see him again. We recounted our adventures and took a photo. Scotland is a small country!

After our second nine, we did a bit of driving around, then ended up back at the hotel where there was plenty going on. Today, on the lawn next to Kilmarnock Arms, there were duck races down the Cruden Waters River! And jumping rooms, lots of food, and music. It was a Sunday Fair for kids, mostly— so Highland Games for kids?

We dined in the Bram Stoker room and invited an elderly couple to join us for a chat. So cozy and homey, even though Dracula’s image was all around us!

At dinner, we were ushered into The Snug, a special small party room at our hotel dedicated to Bram Stoker, with his dedication in the hotel registry. We were just ordering drinks when another couple asked if they could photograph the pictures on the walls. After a few pictures and a chat, we asked them to join us for a drink. The man, Brian, was from Ireland originally, but he and Linda now live in Kilmarnock, down by Alloway near Glasgow, Robert Burns’ country. We had a good cultural discussion with lots of laughter, then went our separate ways.

Tomorrow is the championship course. We’re ready and the weather looks hopeful. See you then! Good night.