AMERICAN DESIGNER OF

KINGSBARNS CREATING

ANOTHER CLASSIC LINKS

AT CASTLE STUART

By ROBIN WILSON

A new £70 million golf development at Castle Stuart on the outskirts of Inverness is destined, when it opens in 2009, to rival the North’s leading links courses at Dornoch, Nairn, Brora and Tain.
Castle Stuart is the second venture in Scotland for American golf course architect Mark Parsinen (pictured right), the creator of the renowned Kingsbarns course in Fife, a man with great vision for changing the most unlikely of sites into great golf golfing destinations.
Parsinen’s vision of a links golf course is a simple one. The fairways should be wide and receptive and the holes all individuals. He expects the low handicap golfer to plan a strategy from tee to green for the best reward.
On the other hand the club member and visiting player should be able to enjoy the experience of his course, its scenic surroundings, and complete the round with the same ball as taken out of the bag on the first tee.
These are the qualities to be found at Kingsbarns, and they will also become evident at Castle Stuart.

FIRST OF TWO 18-HOLE COURSES
After months of design and planning, work has begun on the first of two 18-hole courses, and a further nine holes are planned. On the championship course all 18 tees and greens will be of sight from the previous hole played and in three directions the golfer can take in panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
Northwards the Black Isle and Munlochy Bay….To the east the lighthouse on Chanonry Point and Fort George ... and to the west, Ben Wyvis, Kessock Bridge and Alturie Point come into view.
After selling his interest in Kingbarns, Parsinen went seeking another golf venture. What took him to the Highlands was the result of a survey of US golfers of whom 70% voted the Highlands their favourite golfing destination in Scotland.
He looked at several sites in the surrounding area: Cawdor, Loch Ness and the neighbouring Alturie Point, but eventually chose Castle Stuart, not only for its topography of sea and differing land levels but also its close proximity to Inverness Airport.
His passion with links golf ruled out Loch Ness and Cawdor and after a couple of walks over the land of Balnaglaich Farm, a leasing deal was arranged with Moray Estates and Cornerstone Golf of which Mr. Parsinen is a managing partner along with course co-designer Gill Hanse. Work on the first of two 18-hole courses and a future nine holes got underway about 14 months ago.
Beginning with the beach area, he removed all the existing gorse bushes. Parsinen believes gorse is an encroachment onto links courses that did not exist 100 years ago, and the holes that run by the sea will only have the water lapping the fairways.

NATURAL BUNKERING RETAINED
The natural bunkering from wind and animal erosion has, where possible, been retained and in other areas will be replicated with banked turf. Revetted bunker faces have been kept to a minimum.
The design team have gathered an experience squad around them. David Sutherland and Tullochs are also part of the developing company, supplying the earth-moving machines although the operators are men who have worked with Parsinen before at Kingsbarns and in America.
From Kingsbarns has also been recruited the head greenkeeper Stuart McCombe who worked through the Kingsbarns experience after beginning his green keeping life as an apprentice on the Inverness Golf Course and then Invergordon
In progress is an awesome transformation of the land. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sand and soil have been moved and shaped to form fairways and greens. The designer’s desire to hide all unwanted views are exampled at the short fourth where the course turns east again after three opening holes heading west.
Before the digging started, the Norboard factory provided an unwelcome skyline but, by lowering the ground level, the line to the green is taken on the crown spire of the castle, now chosen as the club insignia.
Recruited in March was Fraser Cromarty, the former manager of Golf Highland who came from the recently completed Dave Thomas venture at Spey Valley in Aviemore. Cromarty’s role also covers the sales and marketing of the project that will also include a 57-bedroom hotel, associated spa and 148 lodges and apartments.
Parsinen presently resides in one of the completed show lodges from where he personally monitors daily progress. It is hoped to have the first ball struck around September 2008 and officially open for play in June 2009.

CLOSE TO 7,000yd OFF BACK TEES
A standard design - four par-3s, four par-5s and 10 par-4s, giving a par of 72 - at its full length from a variation of tees the course will measure close to 7,000 yards, with the longest hole 595 yards.
When Kingsbarns opened for play in 2000 it was immediately voted the best newcomer by Golf World magazine and in 2002 it went straight to No 13 in their course-rating poll. Kingsbarns has already become part of the fabric of one of the greatest golf destinations in the world, St. Andrews, and early indications are that Castle Stewart will make the same impact in the Highlands

ANY COMMENTS? E-mail them to colin@scottishgolfview.com