Day 14: Newburgh Ythan and the harbor

This morning, we still had not decided where to play golf. Isn’t it nice to have that decision to make? We could go to Aberdeen and play Kingslinks or Balenkask, but John was not keen on driving into Aberdeen at all after reading just one of the Cold Granite murder mysteries by Stuart McBride. (So many murders in Aberdeen!)

So, on our way through lovely fields full of sheep and past an old church, we saw a turn-off for Newburgh Ythan (new-burra-eye-than) a course we played 6 years ago. John did not have happy memories, but since I had an eagle on the 4th hole, I thought this a perfect place for us—especially since the sun was shining and this was far from Aberdeen and all those murders!

This is a big open field sort of course, lined with gorse in some places. But the views were beautiful!

A stop in at the pro shop and we had just enough time to warm up (no driving range) and putt a few before teeing off. The course was exactly as I remembered (lovely and hard) and as John remembered (full of gorse and awkward shots! He hit plenty of great shots, but didn’t like the number of balls he lost (4 on the front, 2 on the back.) So, we had a good time and took lots of pictures of the fabulous views.

A view of the nearby town and the punishing rough.

After golf, we went back to Cruden Bay for lunch (such a lovely menu) where I introduced myself to Elaine. I had called her to arrange our tee time, but had never met her before. We had a lovely reunion and laughed about an observation I’d made that she corroborated. All the office managers at all the best courses are named Elaine! (It’s true—“Elaine” works at Crail Golf Club, Dornoch, Kingsbarns, and Cruden Bay, of course!) We had a great laugh and then a serious discussion about all the proposed golf course changes.

hh the famous #4 where I had my eagle just a few years earlier. I hit to this wall, then second shot over, on to the green and lost. But wait, here it is in the hole! (A 2 on a par 4 is an eagle.)

Back at the hotel, we waited for the rain to stop, then took a walk down to the harbor which is across the street and along the river, with views of the golf course and the sea. It was late afternoon and the lighting was perfect for a few photos. There were summer houses along the estuary, thick grasses leading up to the golf course, and colorful boats waiting for tide to rise. Dogs, joggers, and cawing seabirds… just lovely. Good night.

The estuary in twightlight…Good night.