Seafield Golf Course

Played at Seafield (OCt 2012). First impressions were this was a lovely looking estate (Belleisle), and very fitting to a 2 course golf venue, with stately home as the centre piece. (bit of a false impression, but will expand later) The course itself was OK, nothing more. After a few days of heavy rain we arrived to find the Belleisle course itself was shut, but being booked on the Seafield Course we were relieved to find the Seafield course was still open. The course itself plays as mostly a parkland course, with a pretty good variation of dog legs, raised greens, raised tees, tight fairways, tree lined, but there are also a stretch of 6/7 holes which are links like in design. The course is short, at just over 5,200 yards long, and offers no real protection if you can get your drives off well. I was particularly bad off the tee, and had a nett 70, on another course driving this badly should have been closer to a nett 80+. The course was damp, but not too bad, the fairways were in pretty good nick, the greens were OK, not brilliant, but not bad. There where a couple of negatives, members of the public popping out from all areas walking their dogs, nothing against that, but it does detract on such a nice "golf" estate. After the round we were also very dissapointed to see the clubhouse, the stately home was now a derelict building, and the new clubhouse was just like a portacabin, forget a pint, but you could enjoy a coffee !!! No thanks. It needs serious investment, but being council owned, its not going to happen. Shame.

I played Seafield the day after I played Bellisle. Being the junior to Bellisle, that means it is inferior to Bellisle. But that is only when it comes to yardage (lenght). When it comes to enjoyability, Seafield is on par with Bellisle. But it is very different in style from Bellisle. Seafield is mostly a links course with some very hilly and memorable features. It is a fairly short course (5233 yds) and has no par 5s. Full ball control and course managment is essential on the narrow fairways. Which only makes it a slightly easier course than Bellisle. High handicappers will struggle like I did (at 115 strokes. I am not joking....). The best hole ?? Hole 6. A very tricky and enjoyable par 4 hole. The conditions: The greens are very good, the fairways are good (links style grasscuttings). The rough are unforgivable. The tees are acceptable. The bunkers are very good (and best avoided) and perfectly placed. The staff is good. The general facilities is shared with Bellisle 200 yards away. Seafield has no off course facilities and I have withdrawn three points off the score for that reason alone. Which include a very good pro shop which offers quality stuff to affordable prices. I did not visit the pub. But I have heard it is very good. I do understand why some people loves this course. I will play this course again and again together with Bellisle. Seafield is a true gem and a course worthy a visit. (Please note that seasoned golfers recommend that you play Bellisle in the morning, take a long lunch at the onsite pub and play Seafield in the afternoon. It seems like a very good idea to me and a perfect day of golf. Ring the course for a package deal.)

I grew up playing this course. It has an unusual mix of settings, employing both parkland, tree-lined surroundings for the first five and the last five holes, and linksland - more exposed to the elements - for holes 6-13. Although there are only two holes over 400 yards, the greens are small and well protected by bunkers and slopes, placing an effective short game at a premium. The four par-3 holes are especially tricky. The Slaphouse Burn comes into play on holes 2, 15 and 17. The greens are usually in fine condition between June (after Ayrshire Golf Week, when both Seafield and its larger neighbour Ayr Belleisle are used for simultaneous scratch, handicap and stableford amateur competitions) and October. The course is generally less testing when winter greens are employed, usually between November and March. An overhead photo of the course, and Belleisle, appears at www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/maps/parks/golfayr.htm. Seafield's holes are towards the North-West of the section edged in red.

As a recent 'imigrant' to Ayr (08/02), I have fallen in love with this little course, particularly the links style holes located when you go through the wall. I cannot agree with some of the comments about it's condition. The greens are excellent (although one or two of the tees could be better). To score well on this course you will need to take your 'A' game chipping skills out with you. A number of the greens have very tricky undulations and as with most James Braid courses, the bunkers, most of which can be tricky to get out of, are very well placed. Off the Yellow 'Tee of the day' most of the Par 3's are fairly straight forward but off the White Medal Tees, they become tigers!!! Some of the shorter par 4's are driveable, but without exception, every one of these holes has the ability to ruin your card if the driver is a little wayward. If you are reading this report to decide which of the Ayr courses you should play, I would say have a morning round at Belleisle which is a challenging championship course but do not miss the chance of an afternoon round at this little gem!! On a final note, if you are looking to play in Ayr during the winter, this course is a better bet than it's parkland Belleisle sister.

What an absolute pleasure to play on this course in brilliant weather in mid April. - A big thanks to the starter for accomdating last minute changes in our schedule to enable us to fit an extra round in on the last day of our trip. Our group found the course and greens to be in very good condition and the variety of holes, particulary the contrast between the parkland and the links type parts of the course held the interest and set challanges for our level of golf. We found everyone we came across as warm and friendly with nothing to much trouble or as the locals say "nay bother" - we'll be back next year.

I am junior member of Belleisle golf course and I have a handicap of 28. Although this course has a few minor negatives it is on the whole a fairly relaxing but at the same time challenging golf course with some particularly pleasing holes. I know that everyone puts it down because of the condition it is in but I think those peoples expectations are a bit too high as after allit is only a council course. I would also like to say my appreciations to the starters at Seafield as they are very helpful and treat me and my friends with respect as I amm 14. Whereas some of the other older members(a very small minority) are less forgiving and are not quite as appreciateive. I hope if you are in the area you might give this course a shot as a cheaper alternative to some of the other courses throughout Ayrshire as it is well worth your money.

PLAY MUNICIPLE GOLF IN SCOTLAND Although I wouls suggest you only play seafield as a desert to Belleisle, this course is FUN. My wife and I played, (9 and 34 Handicap) and had great fun, Although the course is very short and high scoring is not on the agenda, to score really low is also very tricky. A mix of parkland and links type holes (links within the bounds of the old racecourse) this course has it all. the par threes are either tough or easy, with 4-5 reachable par fours and NO par fives. Providing you do not want to re-enact the open or rhyder cup, this course is excellent .

A short course that nevertheless has many interesting holes, with opportunities to hit the 'tiger line' to the green on a couple of short par4 doglegs.You really need local knowledge and study the 'strokesaver' in detail as well as a wee bit of luck to score well. I found the odd engineered shot helped also e.g. bouncing the ball off the old race course wall that sits a few feet off the back of two of the greens! Unfourtuneatly having played Bellisle in the morning,we found in comparison the condition of the course,especially the greens was poor.