JEPREF

My wife persuaded me to a play a round at one of my “bucket list” courses whilst on holiday in Scotland.
I booked my round the night before playing, I wanted to be sure the weather forecast was ok, it was as it was definitely needed.
The Gleneagles Hotel and courses have a premium feel, I have been lucky enough to play at a number of the top UK courses, Gleneagles ranks highly and could have been my best but…
I decided upon a 3pm tee time, which I booked accordingly, this should have allowed enough time to finish before sunset, however, when I checked in, initially my booking wasn’t showing, I have heard about these issues previously, but my booking was eventually located timed however at 3-20!
You get to a bucket of balls to use at the range/practice area it’s a good setup and should prepare you nicely for your round.
As I was a single player I expected to be paired with other players, I was fortunate to play with a husband & wife who knew the course layout well which was helpful. There are quite a number of blind tee shots on the Kings, if this is not your thing it can be quite daunting so be mindful of this, also it has very undulating fairways and a number of elevated greens which adds to the test.
The greens were in very good nick, quite tricky in places but where you hit the ball it went, no excuses!
An observation on the bunkers as I did visit one or two, they look really good, however, with such premium bunkers they use concrete type lining, with steep bunker faces, the ball should roll to the centre of the bunker, that wasn’t always the case. The sand depth was quite variable, too sallow in places, the thought of hitting the bunker lining wasn’t great let alone being able to play the ideal shot. Now onto the pace of play, it was almost horrendous, by the time I made the turn for home I was waiting on each tee box, no course marshall present today to keep the pace correct. I guess golfers want to enjoy the occasion if you are not a member, also if your ball ventures too far off the fairway you need to keep your eyes on it, there is some nasty stuff out there which will slow play down but having to wait over 20 minutes to tee off on a potentially drivable par 4 14th didn’t help especially as the light was fading quite quickly, hence why I was originally concerned when my tee time was pushed back. I have made the assumption that my tee time was changed as “members” don’t want to play with guests, there were several 2 balls prior to my original tee time, the couple I played with were technically guests as they were staying in the course lodges.
I did manage to play all 18 holes, the last two I really needed a miners helmet for light, which very much detracted from the experience.
If you play this time of year and if you are not a member then tee off as early as you can, pay the premium price, my round cost £160 so not cheap, the 20 minutes I got pushed back and the poor pace of play really took the shine off.
Most premium golf courses with history, can fill all their tee slots easily, therefore those lucky enough to be members, playing a part round of golf might work for them, for me Scotland is hundreds of miles away from home so, will I play at Gleneagles again? only time and bank balance will tell

I usually don’t do reviews but thought it would be useful on this occasion.
Played the course circa 3 years ago, I had fond memories, and therefore suggested to the Son in Law we play here as he hadn’t played previously.
The course is ok many holes nicely framed with some challenging holes to be conquered. However, a number of the greens really went up to expected standard, quite a few had diseased areas or has been badly scalped due to the undulations! Also, a number of the cups had been domed I guess the hole cutting plate not used correctly. Tees of the day weren’t the best, too many with limited grass also not particularly flat which is a shame especially as many of the tee boxes are huge so plenty of area to utilise. The course bunkers were ok my recollection from previous visits they were in better nick.
I guess we both left a bit underwhelmed, the price paid for a Saturday afternoon via Golf Now was Ok certainly better value than if booked directly, that really would have made the experience more emotional.
In summary I won’t be rushing back, probably still worth a visit if you haven’t played previously, maybe the greens and tee boxes will be as they could be.