PerryGolf -- The Advisor Travel Newsletter


MARCH/APRIL 2003		VOLUME 03 NUMBER 01

CLASSIC COURSES - SOUTHERNESS GOLF CLUB
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The club has hosted many amateur championships of note including the 1985 and 1995 Scottish Amateur, 1988 Scottish Ladies Championship, 1989 British Ladies Championship, and the 1990 British Boys Championship. Andrew Coltart, now on the European Tour, hails from Southerness.

The course was the brainchild of Major Richard Oswald, whose family had been in the area since 1705. The village of Southerness was built by Oswald of Auchencruive near Ayr in the 1700’s. Major Oswald, keen to build a championship links on the excellent sandy soil, went with Mackenzie Ross to inspect one of his courses in Estoril, Portugal. Upon their return, he commissioned Ross, and Southerness was built for the princely sum of £2,000 ($3,500).

Although no longer in existence today, there was also a unique par 3 course built at the same time. A precursor to today’s ‘replica’ courses, each hole was a miniature version of a famous par 3 including the 11th at St Andrews, Old, the Postage Stamp at Troon, and the 13th at Muirfield.

Southerness is not only important today as an outstanding test of championship links golf, but also for its contribution in assisting to preserve the character of true links golf throughout Scotland, as the following passages attest.

J. H. Arthur, who for years supervised course preparation for the R & A, was the Consultant Agronomist for Southerness. His insights into the character and development of the course, which would not have reached its potential without his influence, are classic and many courses today would and have benefited from heeding his honest advice and wisdom.

“Southerness has survived as a natural links where other courses have suffered almost a complete loss of links character due to chopping and changing of management policies. There have been many reasons for this...The first was the continuity of direction rigidly imposed by Major Oswald. The second was a management policy based on traditional links methods, which with one or two lapses from grace has continued to this day. The third was lack of money – which was a great limiting influence on the making of mistakes.

“...Two greenkeeping adages are proven by the excellence of Southerness when all around were succumbing to the ‘green is great’ school of greenkeeping. Firstly, that the poorest clubs have the best courses and second that in greenkeeping one should ask a farmer what to do and then go and do exactly the opposite.”

His philosophy that, “..the only fertilizer which links get, comes from a passing seagull or sheep,” came from his mentor, acclaimed botanist Richard Libbey, who also worked on the project.

The influence of the practices at Southerness and J.H. Arthur were instrumental in saving some of Scotland’s more well known championship links in their traditional form for today’s golfers. The most notable example being the Ailsa course at Turnberry. Arthur writes, “...Southerness provided doubly valuable precedents by the development of Mackenzie Ross’ architectural concepts with sound construction and first-class traditional management. Its excellence on a shoe string made big impressions on some other Scottish courses who noted the philosophy and changed their management back to traditional lines. What a pity that Turnberry, being restored by Ross at the same time – on sound lines – was nearly ruined by the gross overfeeding and overwatering made possible by the deep purse of British Rail, leaving me with a Herculean task in restoring links character to an annual meadow grass course in the run up to their first Open Championship. In the three years prior to that 1977 Open, by dint of literally monthly visits and a massive budget ..., we succeeded in restoring some semblance of links character by emulating what was routine management at Southerness!” With the classic battle that ensued that Open between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, the golf world was indeed richer for the expertise employed.

Golfers owe themselves a pilgrimage to Southerness to experience first hand and pay homage to one of the ‘newest’ links that helped preserve the true timeless, historic ‘links golf experience’ for generations to come.

As Arthur relates, and those who play here will attest, “...by a combination of dedicated hard work by a devoted green staff, working on a sensible traditional pattern of greenkeeping and natural advantages of the site so ably developed by Mackenzie Ross, was Southerness created – living proof of the effectiveness of following, not fighting, nature and providing only what the links grasses require, not what some fertilizer salesman thinks they should have....Certainly Southerness ranks high on my list of favourite courses. Many of them being links but all examples of how superb golfing conditions can be created by dedicated and skilled work, by devoted and hard working greenkeepers, without which golf would be a shadow of its traditional face and far less of a challenge...Here’s to those stalwarts from first to last, whose energy and enthusiasm pointed in the right direction have been so much responsible for the establishment of a truly wonderful links which developed from such inauspicious beginnings, essentially the consuming hobby of a landowner. “

Although remote, Southerness as a destination is worth the journey and a couple of days stay. A perfect place to base yourself is the charming Cavens House Hotel, only a mile from the course. Expertly run by Angus and Jane Fordyce, this comfortable Country House Hotel is like visiting old friends, even on the first stay.

Cavens was originally built by Sir Richard Oswald in 1752 and remained in the family until the 1960’s. Today’s house features eight individually decorated bedrooms, all with a view over the tranquil and serene grounds of the estate.

Angus, an accomplished chef, ensures no one goes hungry at Cavens and after a full day of golf, shooting or sightseeing his delicious dinners are the perfect climax to the day’s activities. After dinner relax with a nightcap in front of a roaring fire before retiring.

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