U is for Ullapool

Over the next 26 days, I am going to showcase one golf club a day in GB & I. It is my ode to some great golf in the UK and Ireland. Full write up's and more images can be found on golfgurugroup.blogspot or www.golfgurugroup.com Travelling Lady Golfer tab. So there is no missing out on that extra little bit of information, if needed.

Ullapool Golf Club, North Road, Ullapool, IV26 2TH

The place time forgot?

Benches dotted around the course, taking time out to enjoy this 9 hole course seems to be the best way to embrace the ethos of Ullapool Golf Club.

Just North of the fishing village of Ullapool is this friendly golf club awaiting your presence to give it a go at only ￡20 per 9 holes (￡30 for 18 holes/day ticket). It doesn’t try to be something it isn’t, it doesn’t claim to be a long course, or even a particularly hard one either, but it does have wildlife aplenty and stunning scenery to enjoy as you play a relaxing round at Ullapool. And if you fancy a bash whilst on holiday, you can hire clubs with golf trolleys being free to use.

My friend and fellow journalist, Kevin Markham, has played Ullapool and has this to say about the course:

So many of the Highlands golf courses are wrapped in glorious views, mountains rolling across horizons and sea stretching out of sight. Ullapool is no different. This is a nine hole course (18 tees) and you get a wonderful taste for it as you start your descent into the large village, coming from the north. Ullapool sits in the heart of Lough Broom, and dates back to 1788. The golf course came 210 years later and is laid out at the eastern fringe of the village. It is a picturesque coastline course, squeezing up against the lough’s edges and promising views all day long. Visitors are always welcome (there’s an honesty box) but this is very much a local affair. You won’t find immaculate conditioning because it’s simply not needed at a club that was founded for the love of playing golf… and not perfect fairways.

 It’s an enjoyable ramble and the holes are well routed with holes 1 and 9 taking you to and from the clubhouse, from the shoreline. Thereafter, holes run parallel to the water. That ‘local’ feel is emphasised by the shapes and flow of the land which have been absorbed into the course. To say the course has a ‘natural feel’ is an understatement.

 Over the 18 holes there are four par threes and two par fives (three for ladies). The par fours are rarely long: the shortest is 230 yards, the longest is 378 (298 for ladies), and with 18 different tees you will find the course changes its length to the tune of 260 yards for men and 244 for ladies. Sometimes the second tee on a hole doesn’t make much difference… on others it does. It means playing the nine hole loop twice offers different challenges.

Holes 2/11 and 3/12 are the most memorable and tempting holes. The par three 2nd hits straight out at the water, curving around a beach onto a little peninsula jutting into the lough. Mountains rise beyond and the men’s tee boxes on the two loops are 40 yards apart… the ladies just 10. The par four 3rd runs right above the stony beach. Fairway then beach then lough. At high tide it must be incredibly intimidating. Whatever the tide, two brave shots are required. It measures between 261 and 338 yards, with tee boxes again well separated. The green sits at the foot of a steep gorse covered hill and as tough as the drive is, the approach is even more of a knee trembler. A lovely par three follows, from a high tee, with the green once again right on the water’s edge.

 That gorse is a common theme at Ullapool. There are trees here but they are widely scattered while the gorse embraces you time and again as you rise up the gentle slopes, channelling you towards small greens. Keep it on the fairways and it’s a sweet amble… if not, expect the occasional prickly end.

 Don’t expect complex golf at Ullapool. That is not its attraction. This is a fun and friendly local club that promises an enjoyable day out amidst the beauty of the Highlands.