DOWNFIELD
18 Holes Scorecard Parkland
With its rich heritage of links courses, few realise that the East of Scotland offers one of the finest parkland courses in the United Kingdom. The superb wooded fairways and velvet greens of Downfield Golf Club are a sterling example of this style of golf and an excellent conjunct to the nearby coastal tracks.
The prevailing requirement at Downfield is solid, straight driving matched with well-considered positioning for the next shot! Each hole offers a slight variation on that theme testing every club in the bag along with each element of your game.
What I also enjoy here is the superb country estate the course is laced through. Arboreal specimens from around the world abound and if you catch it on a fine summer’s morning or early evening, there are few places better to spend your time.
The best hole on the course is the recently revamped Par 5, 4th. Off visitor tees, a straight, strong drive can clear the crest of a hill and roll down squeezing an extra few yards. But that will tempt you all the more to go for the green across a newly-fashioned pond with its burn, a perilous proposition especially if you’re playing off the down-slope. There are fair lay-up options but good players, if they have a reasonable lie, will inevitably take this hole on.
The 11th is another beautiful yet demanding hole, a Par 4 at 434 yards off the visitor tee with a concealed pond defending the green. Unless you strike a solid drive preferably up the right to scamper along with the slope, a lay-up is best advised. Gary Player reckoned the 12th was one of the best Par 3's he had ever encountered bordered by some marvellous specimen trees. To further emphasis this course’s pedigree, Downfield was a Final Qualifying venue for the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1999 and again in 2007.
