Golf pass in hand, Dave Edwards headed for an action-packed weekend of fairways and fine food and drink
The Cairngorm National Park is virtually on my doorstep, but before my recent golfing trip to the area, I had no idea how much there is to see and do in this stunningly beautiful part of Scotland.
Before taking to the fairways on my action-packed long weekend, I checked into the Hilton Coylumbridge, a family-friendly hostelry, popular with those who enjoy open-air pursuits.
Apart from golf, the surrounding area has so much to offer; the mountain railway takes you to the summit of Cairngorm, while the Strathspey Steam Railway transports you on a journey through time, from Aviemore, stopping at Boat of Garten, to Broomhill, the fictional Glenbogle in Monarch of the Glen.
The first thing any golfer visiting the area must do is purchase a Cairngorms Golf Pass, entitling you to 30% discount on green fees at 12 courses, costing just £20.
My first choice was one of my all-time favourites, one of James Braid’s best, Boat of Garten.
Three days of golf on four courses got off to the best of starts, a par three at the first, while my mate Kev opened up with a double bogey. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got: by the turn, I found myself six down.
However, on the 11th, a remarkable turnaround: I was about to putt for par when I heard the call of a cuckoo in the woods, something I hadn’t heard for decades. That heralded an unforeseen comeback; I won four holes in a row and only lost on the 17th green.
It was the first time I had played “The Boat” and hadn’t encountered a deer during my round, but that plaintive cuckoo call more than made up for it.
Dinner that night was taken in the popular Winking Owl in Aviemore, now owned by the Cairngorm Brewery, renowned for producing some of the finest ale in the Highlands.
Walking the fairways had built up an appetite, which is just as well, as the fare on offer was both delicious and plentiful.
I chose pigeon breast with tattie scone, crispy bacon and apple chutney, followed by traditional beer-battered haddock, hand-cut chips and mushy peas, accompanied by one of the local brewery’s finest ales, Caillie.
After a sound sleep and hearty breakfast, we headed out for the second leg of our four-round challenge – the Spey Valley championship course, just a mile along the road.
The backdrop to the fabulous new clubhouse, the Cairngorms and the Lairig Ghru, was spectacular – no wonder Challenge Tour players from all over the world rate this as one of their favourite venues.
Spey Valley professional Murray Urquhart was the perfect host. Unfortunately, the quality of my game didn’t match the welcome or the setting, although after 18-holes I had managed to scramble an honourable half.
The secret about playing this Dave Thomas par-72 masterpiece is simple: stay out of the heather. If you can do that, you can then enjoy the scenery, and the abundant wildlife, and the experience of playing Scotland’s longest hole, the 641-yard par-five fifth – although, thankfully, it was a yard or two shorter off the yellow boxes.
That night, we dined at the Old Bridge Inn, on the banks of Europe’s fastest-flowing river, the Spey, just a half-mile stroll from our hotel. The log fire and top-class cuisine made for a wonderful end to another perfect day.
I started with crab salad and red-pepper ketchup, followed by whole Scrabster lemon sole with Catalan suquet and, for dessert, hot chocolate cake, peanut-butter brittle and blood-orange sorbet – simply delicious.
Now, I have a confession to make. Despite being born in Dufftown and brought up in nearby Rothes, I have never been a whisky drinker – until now. Later that evening, I encountered a Spey malt, from the Speyside distillery, farther up the valley, just north of Kincraig, which first opened its doors on Christmas Day 1990.
For the first time, I was able to take, and even more surprisingly, savour and enjoy, a dram – the Chairman’s Choice. Even taken neat, it passed over my untrained palate all too easily, and I will definitely be purchasing a bottle for the festive season.
We faced 27 holes on our third and final day: first Grantown then, to finish off, a real hidden gem, the nine-hole Abernethy Golf Club.
I last played Grantown’s lush heath-land course about 15 years ago, but time hadn’t dampened my enthusiasm for this majestic tree-lined track – especially as I tasted victory to take my good-natured encounter with Kev to a winner-take-all encounter six miles up the road.
It was 3.30pm when we strode on to the first tee at Abernethy Golf Club, in the charming Speyside village of Nethybridge – the perfect way to bring our idyllic three-day, 63-hole golfing break to an end.
On arrival, on spying the war memorial in the middle of the eighth fairway, I mentioned to Kev that someone could hit that. What a prophetic statement that turned out to be, but more of that later.
After a warming lentil soup and roast-beef sandwich in the cozy wee clubhouse, it was down to battle. As is the custom, I won the first, but my playing partner bounced back at the second, a quirky par-three where you have to look both ways to check for oncoming traffic before driving directly over the road.
With three holes left, the pressure was on as I was one down. We arrived at the seventh, a fantastic dog-leg par-five, known to the locals as the “Eiger”, for obvious reasons. But after a decent drive and two good approach shots, we were all square as we headed to the aforementioned par-three eighth.
Now, I could have stood there all day and never come close to hitting that manmade monolith in the middle of the fairway, but as soon as I drove I just knew what was going to happen – ping, and my ball rebounded 40 yards straight back up the fairway towards me.
However, my second flew high over the monument and came to rest on the edge of the green. Despite lipping out for a par, I headed to the final tee with a one-hole advantage, which I was able to double at the last.
Tired but triumphant, I returned to Coylumbridge for dinner in the hotel’s excellent Inverdruie restaurant.
Stornoway black pudding and pork-belly salad, topped with a soft poached egg, then feather blade of beef, with a green bean and pancetta bundle and dauphinoise potatoes, served with braising gravy and, finally, pineapple panna cotta.
The next morning, as I headed for home, I vowed to return, if only to sample the delights of nine other courses on the Cairngorms Golf Pass, not to mention unrivalled Highland hospitality.
FACTBOX
Dave Edwards stayed at the Hilton Coylumbridge Hotel in Aviemore, where prices for a standard double room, on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis, start from £103. For more information on the Cairngorms Golf Pass, visit www.visitcairngorms.com/onthetee. For any other information on the Cairngorms National Park: www.visitcairngorms.com