Gowrie Farm will be an 18-hole course within a couple of years. Seven new holes are to be built on adjoining land, and cutting is already taking place. It will mean Gowrie becoming a busier destination (the current small car park is unlikely to cope), yet when there are 18 I will miss the uniqueness of this hybrid layout. Gowrie is quiet in midweek, and if the course is empty I enjoy playing it as a 12-holer in one loop, rather than walking around twice. After playing 1/10 I switch to the par-3 11th, play 12 and 3/13, then tee up at No 4, as tricky a par 3 you will find with wedge or 9-iron in hand. Miss the raised green and you’re in trouble. After 5/14 I take on the par-3 15th adjoining the lake, another challenging and interesting short hole. Then it’s 16 and 7/17, the par-3 eighth, and conclude by playing the short par-4 ninth, followed by an iron over the wetland to the 18th green. I’ve thus hit approaches to all 12 greens. The greens are firm and slick, the bounces reminding me of links golf. The course is superbly presented. Several new bunkers have been built, notably a deep one fronting the downhill par-3 eighth where previously you could safely run a shot on to the green.
