King for day
Scottish sports stars help tee-off new golfing era at Gleneagles course
Two Scottish sporting stars expressed their delight after being invited to help tee- off a new golfing era at Gleneagles.
Stephen Gallacher – who starred when the European team won the Ryder Cup at the iconic Strathearn resort in 2014 – and Scotland football manager, Gordon Strachan, officially re-launched the King’s Course on Friday.
The James Braid-designed track, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019, has seen its fairways increase from 10 hectares to 14, and most of the changes implemented in the late 1980s have been reversed.
One of the main project objectives was to follow Braid’s philosophy of using the natural lie of the landscape to inspire and inform the course design.
Work to reinstate elements of the original design have included re-aligning fairways and widening greens, bringing several bunkers back into play and reinstating heather stands.
The implementation of a new style of grass cutting on the course will also affect play.
The roughs have been thinned out while the fairways – which were previously striped with a manicured cross cut – are now being cut in the traditional block style to emulate the cut that would have been achieved with horse-drawn gang mowers.
Other improvements include the installation of the latest bunker drainage and lining technology and an extensive aeration and sanding programme – to improve its resistance to year- round weather conditions.
Project manager Scott Fenwick, Gleneagles’ Golf Courses and Estate Manager, joined the green-keeping team at the resort 35 years ago.
He said: “We’ve taken the course back to how it would have been in Braid’s day. I started here in 1980 but by the end of that decade we had begun to change the whole character of The King’s Course to meet golfers’ expectations at that time.
“We started contouring and reshaping until the fairways became really narrow. The original bunkers within the fairways ended up sitting in the rough which meant the approaches became so tight that golfers had to fly the ball onto the greens. There was a surge in demand for this type of play at the time.”
Gallacher – the only Scot in the victorious European Ryder Cup team two years ago – played his first tournament on the King’s Course at the Bell’s Scottish Open in 1993.
He said: “It’s wonderful to see The King’s restored to its former glory.
“As one of Scotland’s most historically important courses, it’s fantastic to get a much more authentic experience of how golf would have been played in Braid’s day.
“The ninth fairway has changed dramatically and is a personal highlight for me. Before the changes, most would hit straight down the middle of the fairway and all the balls would gather in the one place below the level of the green.
“Now they’ve realigned the fairway 40 yards further left, you have the option to play a short iron from the tee and have a clear view of the green with your second shot.
“I’m just a great fan of courses that go back to their roots and embrace their heritage. Courses nowadays are designed for technology but the great traditional golf courses like this were designed for how golf was meant to be played.”
Scotland boss Strachan, meanwhile, plays off a single figure handicap and is a regular golfer at Gleneagles.
He declared: “It’s an honour to come here with Stephen to celebrate the relaunch of this historic course.
“The return to the old layout means some shots are easier, but many shots are a lot harder. It’s a more traditional way of playing – if you catch the wrong side of a slope it takes the ball away, so it adds new challenges and excitement to the game.”
Gary Silcock, Gleneagles’ Director of Golf added: “This more traditional course tests different skills, including golfers’ green- reading abilities, so it offers a completely different playing experience.”