Kilbirnie Place Golf Club

I grew up and played my golf at Kilbirnie Place as a junior. I returned in October 2002 for the first time in over a decade and I rated the greens as amongst the best I have played in recent years. I live in Devon and have been lucky enough to play all the top courses there - so that is a complement. I alway felt Kilbirnie was under-rated. The first four holes all have pitfalls even for the very good player. The eighth is a very tough par three and danger lurks behind 11. The drive at 12 has got harder over the years with the growth of trees while the 14th is a good green to hit. Technology has made some of the holes easier than 20 years ago - but that's the case everywhere. If you are in the area play Kilbirnie Place and you'll enjoy it.

Kilbirnie Place Golf Club is tricky as opposed to long. The first four holes can make or break your round. You have to carry Jocks Burn at the first and second holes, with the first a short par 3 and the second a par4. The second requires a straight shot through trees onto the elevated fairway with out of bounds on your right. This shot has to carry 150 yards onto the fairway or you may find Jocks Burn at the bottom of the fairway. The third is a long straight par 4 requiring two good strikes to reach the green. The fourth is where all the fun begins as there is out of bounds on both sides of a narrow fairway. Many golfers revert to an iron here to try and stay safe. The fifth hole is a short par 3 that gives you a chance to repair any damage from the previous for holes, however, there is a large tree which could be brought into play on the left. Holes six and seven are well protected with bunkers. The sixth hole has two fairway bunkers with the bunker on the right in the landing zone of your drive. Two further bunkers are well positioned at the front of a slightly elevated green. The seventh doglegs to the right and has a drainage ditch that runs diagonally across the fairway. The front nine finishes with a long 200 yards uphill par three and a short par 4 where you should be looking to save a couple of shots. The back nine starts with a short uphill par 4 but has two well-positioned fairway bunkers that can catch your drive. The eleventh is a long par 4, which is made trickier by out of bounds immediately at the back of the green. The wise golfer drops a club or two and lets the gradual slope take the ball to the green. This green is probably the flattest on the course and provided you’re on in two provides a good chance for birdie. Time for some more fun, the par 4 twelfth is just a tee box, a fairway and a green with some trees in between. The trees provide for a formidable drive where you will need to carry 150 yards over the trees onto a fairway that can't be seen and is only indicated by a marker pole. The second shot here can be just as tricky due to the steep slope down to the green. The thirteenth is a par 5 that is made longer by the gradual climb to the fairway though the green is still reachable in three. The green itself is one of the biggest on the course but is well protected by a narrow winding bunker along it's front edge. The fourteenth is a long par three and it is also well protected by bunkers on both the front left and right sides. The fifteenth and sixteenth holes, along with the previous hole, are a great chance for birdies. The fifteenth par 4 is straightforward although a series of bunkers leading up to the hole can catch the big drive or for that matter the short second shot. The sixteenth hole is a par 4 that is absolutely straight with out of bounds on the left-hand side. The seventeenth is a par 5 that doglegs slightly to the left but is reachable in three with no green side bunkers to deal with. The final hole is a short par 3 with trees to both the left and right, which if caught could send your ball into Jocks Burn. Again there is out of bounds on the right hand side of this hole but more worryingly immediately at the back of this green there is out of bounds also. Finally if I were to give any tips about this course I would say that 90% of the greens run back towards the town of Kilbirnie.