King’s Course at Gleneagles Preview

Nish: 0:01

Every story has an ending. Does our quest to play the top 100 courses in 10 years have a good ending? I’m Nish, I’m Chris and we’re here to guide you through this golfing journey. This is the Top 100 in 10 Golf Podcast

Nish: 0:14

Episode episode 29. The Glorious Glene agle’s Eagle’s King’s Course Preview

Nish: 0:20

. So our mate Bernard Darwin, who we encountered, we encountered yes, who’s back? He’s back again. Very, very simple quote he had about this, about glen eagles, and he said the beauty of the place is beyond all

Nish: 0:36

question

Nish: 0:37

.

Nish: 0:38

Now this guy obviously spoke about some courses in some really glowing terms yeah yeah, I think, coupled with what we heard from patrick dickinson on the last episode, visually I think we’re in for a treat. I’ll get the feeling I’ll be taking a lot of pictures, yeah, and I also get the feeling they’re just never going to do it justice.

Chris: 0:58

Yeah, it just doesn’t does it and I think it’s going to be interesting how it how that plays out on our rankings versus the rankings of the official top 100. Because I think I’m such a sucker for the view around the golf course as much as the actual golf itself.

Nish: 1:15

Yeah, well, this is ranked 38. Yeah, so it’s kind of meh in the middle.

Chris: 1:19

I’m going to say meh. Sorry, it’s meh out of 100 best courses in the British Isles, but it’s nothing that you of 100 best courses in the British Isles.

Nish: 1:24

But it’s, yeah, it’s kind of it’s not, it’s nothing that you’re going to go.

Chris: 1:28

Oh, my God, you’re playing there. But I just think, being in that kind of place and just surrounded by that natural beauty, I think just, I think it’s going to elevate at least 10 to 15 places both of those courses. I think so.

Nish: 1:41

I’m a sucker for a good view. Yeah, I think so. I’m a sucker for a good view. Yeah, the golf. For me, with views, the golf pales into insignificance. Yeah, I had a stinker at Silith on the scorecard, yeah, even though I had some really really good holes, but the scorecard was awful.

Chris: 1:53

Yeah, yeah, but yeah, I still was waving and I went oh, I got a golf course.

Nish: 1:57

I kind of love that. Yeah, it’s that. It’s when it there’s nothing different. In your view, that then becomes a bit of a thing I’ll give an example of a course like delamere. Yeah, it’s spectacular for that.

Chris: 2:08

Yeah, and it’s different views and yeah, I just love that, that, those kind of undulations and I’m a sucker for a rate, not like a really raised green where I wear a stupid and it’s just mega high up and like reddish 18th at sillith.

Nish: 2:19

And, yeah, reddish 83rd. Well, which is one of our dream? 18, exactly.

Chris: 2:23

That’s just that nice little kind of raised green, you know, just sort of 20, 30 yards raised up. I just think that just adds a bit of majesty to the I don’t know, just makes you feel like you’re in amongst it.

Nish: 2:34

What we’re in. We’ve played six courses. This is going to put us up to eight. Yeah, I feel like by the time we maybe close out this year, which will get us up to 16, 17 courses, get the golf out of this. I think we’re going to have a really good understanding of what we like in the golf course actually just from having these chats. It doesn’t come out, otherwise does it.

Chris: 2:55

No, it’s not something you talk about generally, is it? I suppose it’s Lynx Heavy the list.

Nish: 3:00

It is, I wonder what. Or is it there?

Chris: 3:11

it is I wonder, or is it? There’s a lot of courses down around that kind of london belt.

Nish: 3:13

Yeah, yeah, you’ve got a little, aren’t they? Yeah, yeah, the heathland ones chat for another time. Maybe, I don’t know. This is ranked 38 out of our list. Yeah, uh, we’ve obviously watched, so now we’re on the king’s course. Yeah, this is the, the big boy, the big one. I Still not big, because what is it now We’ve got? It’s a par 68, 6,125 yards off the yellows, which I think is what we’ll be playing off. That’s not long.

Chris: 3:33

It’s not, it must be the shortest we’ve played so far, I think still Apart from the Queens obviously so interesting.

Nish: 3:40

That isn’t it. I think maybe a lot of stuff is still in play. I wonder, with this as well, are the two courses together? Brighton DeChambeau very famously said, didn’t he? He recommends to everybody at some point in their golfing development play off the forward tees.

Chris: 3:55

Play off the kids’ tees, yeah.

Nish: 3:56

Yeah, and just try and score. Get used to shooting birdies and pars and going for eagles and things like that. Have that in your head. Yeah, I’m not saying we’re going to be doing this, by the way that’s no one’s suggesting, however uh, what? What is interesting is that is it going to keep us interested? Do you know what I mean?

Nish: 4:15

the whole during the whole round, rather than you’re not holding on for dear life, necessarily, I felt like I was doing that at woodhulls bar, yeah, yeah, whereas this one is like actually we can, we can go with this.

Chris: 4:24

Yeah, even if you drop a couple of shots, you can. You can make it back, right yeah, that’s it short par fours to have a go at.

Nish: 4:31

But this is the great thing about this podcast, chris. Normally these conversations happen in my head and then later on you go. Do you know what? I was thinking that this might be one of those, but it’s out there now, isn’t it he?

Chris: 4:42

was thinking he was going to shoot eagles and whatever might be one of those, but it’s out there now, isn’t it? He was thinking he was gonna shoot eagles and whatever, like look what he ended up scoring.

Nish: 4:49

Yeah, but I love that. Yeah, absolutely I watched another podcast there are others. This is non-golf related and and one of the main subjects they were talking about was like why are you doing it? And we said didn’t we at the start like we’re doing it because we’re documenting it for ourselves, something to look back on?

Chris: 5:06

that’s why.

Nish: 5:06

I’m putting it on YouTube. It’s always going to be there. Your kids look back on it in 30 years time and go. I hope not.

Chris: 5:13

They were shit at golf a Guinness in one hand and a rum in the other. It’s a.

Nish: 5:18

Guinness zero. Come on, chris you can’t claim that like that, having it there for that and these discussions yeah, we would never remember that in 10 years, we’re not gonna remember going? Did you remember you said that queen’s course was like a par three course?

Chris: 5:35

and you shot 120 on it.

Nish: 5:36

You know that kind of thing you said, oh, it’s really nice to play a short course, and actually you ended up like doing the worst, right? You know that kind of thing yeah that’s great. I love that. Yeah, that’s the sort of stuff that we’re going to be like. We talked about peter alice in the last episode, but we’re going to be like peter alice, aren’t we just like wispily remembering all these things from the past. So a couple of things I’ve picked up about the king’s course, more so than the queen’s course.

Chris: 6:01

There’s more videos about the king kings course than the queen yeah, I mean, I think it’s uh, it’s the more sophisticated course, isn’t it? Obviously it’s much higher up the rankings.

Nish: 6:08

I think it’s probably um but yeah, I think it’s probably more revered by people.

Chris: 6:12

So there’s a bit more, but more content out there isn’t there. I think on it that I’ve written out.

Nish: 6:16

I’ve written three words here.

Chris: 6:17

I didn’t actually mean to put these in this is the location of where of the uh, the first t on the uh on the king’s course what these three words?

Nish: 6:25

I didn’t mean to put these in capitals, like block capitals, but actually it works out really really well for for this segment of the podcast. So the three words are undulations. Okay, lush and gorgeous. Right, and I think that sums up the videos.

Chris: 6:39

When you look at them, you know you look at those holes yeah, I think it describes me pretty well as well, to be honest.

Nish: 6:45

Yeah, of course, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It’s a good job. This is an audio-only version. Yeah, I think that is a magical place to go and play your golf, doesn’t it? It does, and that scenery there.

Chris: 6:57

Yeah.

Nish: 6:57

The middle of Scotland, perthshire yeah, perthshire and kin, perth and kinross, isn’t it the area’s called and we drove through there and on our way to a wedding just a couple weeks ago and brilliant, amazing place. And actually you could I’m now getting used to my eyes, getting used to this a little bit now, which it wasn’t before. It was just turn up at a golf course and that’s it and you go. Oh, isn’t it wonderful, like you’re looking at places going. Oh, it’d be nice if there was a little par three there yeah, nice, would be nice if they could use that curvature in the land to have a long sweeping par five.

Nish: 7:27

You know that kind of thing.

Chris: 7:29

I think one word that I’ve seen quite a lot come out of reviews and stuff of Glen Eagles is the playground. I think, it almost has that kind of playfulness about it, doesn’t it? I think if you just look at some of these courses, it’s kind of yeah, it’s probably a bit more niche in terms of the way the golf course is designed, because it’s got and it’s probably not to everyone’s taste, to be honest the kind of undulations and the rolling hills and the raised tees and the raised greens and the blind shots.

Nish: 7:51

But yeah, for me that’s like right up my alley I wasn’t expecting that much undulation, I don’t know why, because it is in those kind of rolling perth hills, isn’t it? Yeah? It should have undulation and it should fit in. I think that was one of the reviews I did read said you don’t know where is manufactured and where is natural contour. Yeah, that’s how well it’s been integrated into the land. Yeah, what a compliment that is for a golf course.

Chris: 8:17

Yeah, I mean that’s for.

Nish: 8:18

He doesn’t need it. But the chap’s called james braid if anybody’s ever heard of him but very famous golf course designer. And this this course opened in 1919, so two years after the queen’s course. Okay, if he would have heard that from whoever said it, he’d be like yeah, that’s exactly what I was going for.

Chris: 8:34

I assume I don’t know the answer to this, but I assume there’s a royal connection there for the kings and the queens.

Nish: 8:40

But I don’t know, I’m guessing yeah, maybe I mean again that whole kind of playground thing, the glorious playground, whatever you know it’s it. The resort is like the shooting. There there’s all sorts of outdoor pursuits, fishing, all this kind of stuff. So it feels like it’s a very kind of regal, aristocratic kind of place.

Chris: 9:00

Yeah, it’s obviously not now because they’ve let us in absolutely yeah, we’re gonna bring it down a peg or two, yeah there’s obviously that connotation to the whole thing.

Nish: 9:08

Yeah, shooting lodges and whatever. Yeah, yeah, there must be some. I mean, it’s called the kings and the queens course. So, yeah, yeah, what’s the reason for that? Is that james braid was he a big royalist or something? Maybe, uh, but we are playing the kings course as as we are playing the queen’s course. It’s back to back, yep, playing with members, which is always a treat yeah and we’re playing with with hendy.

Nish: 9:32

We mentioned him in the last episodes. I’m going to name check him in here because the man’s a legend, um yeah, just just character, full-on self-made man, and I think we’ll really enjoy our two days chatting to him yeah, even yeah, just without the golf, just kind of without the stories, I was at this wedding and I ended up talking to him more than anybody else. My wife’s there so it was.

Nish: 9:54

he’s just, yeah, one of those good guys. Yeah, good, enjoys a good time as well. Nice, now, one of the things he did say to me which I found fascinating like properly fascinating was so we, the way we’d gone about booking Glen Eagles, was we knew we wanted it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Yeah, and we were going to, we were going to stay there, take advantage of it and actually have a proper stay. Yeah, because it’s silly. Otherwise I think just you’re going all that way up, yeah, and then you’re not doing it that way up, yeah, and then you’re not doing it now as a result. So we’ve had my previous false uh, not false, false starts I’ll call them in in in trying to schmooze my way to some kind of preferential treatment in some way shape or form.

Nish: 10:36

So uh, to the lovely lady who was on the phone who took my booking, I don’t know why I put on the finest queen’s english lord nish from manchester shire, and so I said now. I cringe about it now and I think because I’m so burning my memory about this because I went up in the bedroom to talk about I didn’t want emma to hear me and I was like, uh, so, uh, obviously we’re staying the night in the hotel, are we?

Chris: 11:09

gonna be? Is this like when we get to glen eagles? Is this character just gonna come out and this is just gonna be there like he’s smoking jacket. I’m going, oh hello there tweed blazers.

Nish: 11:18

I’m growing the beard and the tash I’ll have a little task just going up curling up flat caps the lot. Yes, so she was just like that. So now, really sorry to ask, but I feel it would be remiss of me not to ask. I never use the word remiss. The only time I’m using it is when you’re trying to be posh right, so I’ve gone.

Nish: 11:37

It would be remiss of me not to ask, but is there any chance? We are coming to play golf. We’re coming to play golf. We’re coming to play with a member. Yeah, now we know he can’t book his tea time till three weeks in advance of the actual day. I’m just wondering, because obviously we’re coming from such a long distance, it’ll be great for us to know what the tea times are already. So is there any chance that we might be able to just reserve some tea time and we can sort everything out later, whatever? And she I can’t. Even finished saying the sentence which in my head, I was like oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, what’s going to happen? She’s gonna say she’s gonna tell us to bugger off whatever, and she’s just gone.

Nish: 12:13

Of course, sir, there’s no problem with that at all do you know, your, the, your playing member’s name, and I was like uncle hendy I’m really sorry, I don’t actually know his first name, like I know his last name’s, henderson, but that’s it. Yeah, and she was like oh no, that’s absolutely fine, don’t worry what we’ll do. We said in the last one, but let’s say it again 41st best hotel in the world. Yeah, yeah, like service, we’re expecting to just be second to none. Yeah, well, second to 40 other hotels. But she like not, he didn’t even hesitate. Yeah, so well-practiced. I know what she’s doing. She was strange, of course. What will do, sir, for you? It’s absolutely fine. Look at the tea time availability yeah, we’ll book you in for a residence rate because you are staying in our wonderful hotel anyway. Yeah, and when the time is right and the time is opportune, uncle Hendy can get.

Chris: 13:02

He remembers the name everything.

Nish: 13:08

Yeah, time is opportune, uncle hendy can get, remembers the name, everything. Uncle hendy can give us a call and he can add himself onto the tea time and it’ll be sorted, no problem. And I was like, oh wonderful, that’s amazing. No problem, thank you very much. And she’s going like I’m running through. She goes oh uh, yeah, slight problem. Oh, here we go. Yeah, right, what’s this? Now we’ve got your postcode and we’ve just done a. We’ve done a google background check satellite google map.

Nish: 13:23

So we’ve done a credit check a soft credit check on you um, and she went.

Nish: 13:28

We do have an event on on the king’s course on the first day that you arrive, which is a friday, so we don’t have anything to eat off on the king’s course till really late in the day. I was like, oh no, we’re actually in the restaurant, so that’s probably not a good thing for us to do and we’re gonna lose the light anyway. Um, and she goes back in the queen’s first wonderful course. We’ll get you on the queen’s first. Probably a good preamble to the kings.

Nish: 13:50

Okay, yeah, she’s just receptionist on the hotel right, pat her down to a tea and then she goes and then I’ll have a look. Then what’s on the on the for the king’s course the next day? So, yeah, great. So she’s butters these tea times. So I think we’re seeing off at 11 and 1140 or 11 and 12, something like that, anyway, so I put all these things. I’d have messaged Hendy to say we’re in, we’ve actually got tea times. So he sort of said, oh, great, fantastic, I’ll sort everything out. He then said when I was at the wedding. He said oh, it’s interesting, you got those tea times. So he goes. Members there aren’t really afforded the same privileges, right, visitors are, yeah, which I found fascinating.

Chris: 14:33

Yeah, really fascinating I mean I guess that’s ultimately cowardice. It’s not really the etiquette for the members is it’s there it’s a resort right to attract people to come and stay and stay at the hotel and play golf and that’s kind of their I guess that’s their um bread and butter, isn’t it rather than someone that’s paying. So the most availability is made for visitors rather than members it’s the other way around.

Nish: 14:49

Yeah, because he was saying so. We’ve obviously booked our and butter, isn’t it? Rather than someone that’s paying, so the most availability is made for visitors rather than members. It’s the other way around. Yeah, because he was saying so. We’ve obviously booked our restaurants for the evenings and whatever. And he said if I, as a member, got, and he got the tea time and he got, fantastic, like I’ve never played at those times. I had guests I was bringing, schmoozing them, whatever, and I wanted to then book. After I go on to book some food, yeah, because they know I’m a member, they will almost immediately say to me I’m really sorry, we can’t get you in for any dinner till nine o’clock oh really even though I walked by at the time that I met and it’d be empty.

Nish: 15:24

Yeah, because they want to leave it available, right? So he was like that’s, it’s a strange, strange place in that respect.

Chris: 15:31

So he goes.

Nish: 15:32

You know, we basically we play and we go, we play, we have a drink and we go, yeah, so I found that fascinating, really, really fascinating. I suppose it’s resort golf you’re right yeah it’s not. It’s just not educated for that kind of but I mean, I’d love to be in that position to yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that it’s the way better than any of the golf courses.

Nish: 15:50

Now again, I mentioned this in the last episode. So for regular listeners, hard on the repeat, if you’ve only heard this one, why have you only heard this one? You should be listening to other episodes. But I went there for the rider cup and I’m really looking forward to that for that, you know just kind of that approach. We were on coaches, yeah, all that kind of stuff. So I’ll remember the, the glenn eagles estate sign and all this kind of thing. What struck me with it was is that the branding? I’m quite into this kind of thing. Yeah, the branding is quite modern, like there’s some bits of the, the website and things like that that have got that.

Nish: 16:23

You know, they’ve got like traditional fonts and things yeah, frilly fonts and whatever yeah, but actually like glenn eagles signs and things like you know, when you actually get to the estate and you’ll see this when we drive in, we’ll see glen eagles in a big like there’s a big g modern logo. It’s really modern. Yeah, and I was talking to a couple of the guys that I’ve been chatting through uh on instagram just with who know more about scottish golf. So mark has been on the podcast, yeah, paul, who we’re going to go and play up at Carnoustie with, yeah, and it feels like like golf in Scotland is less stuffy generally.

Nish: 16:56

I think it definitely is.

Chris: 16:57

Yeah, like it’s real, it’s like it’s here for people to play, but I think I think also, just like in Scotland not everyone, but there’s a huge proportion of people that play golf right from every kind of walk of life. I think it’s just a bit more. It’s definitely. It’s definitely. You don’t get as much of the snootiness. I don’t think in scotland we still get some of it, but, um, I think there’s a couple places that have come up.

Nish: 17:17

I won’t name the names there’s, that’s not fair on them really, but, um, a couple places have come up which I understand. They’re really exclusive private clubs, people paying 100 grand a year to be members. I found that really interesting and it was. It was paul actually said to me because I would talk just about, um, some of the courses down south and and things like that, and he was like, oh, none of that appeals to me now, he’s not trying to play top 100.

Nish: 17:40

He’s just trying to play all the, just all the golf course in scotland, as you do. But, um, he’s doing that for a, for, uh, kidney research. Actually it’s a wonderful story so that you know, I’ve donated money to him and, um, and again he was very kind to to donate uh, not donate, sorry, feels like it a little bit but he’s very kind to invite us up to play in carnoustie with him. Yeah, um, but he was. I don’t know how we got on. So we got onto a tire on the golf course and I was like, oh, you know shorts and whatever he’s like, he goes. I’ve played everywhere and I played some of the best courses in scotland, yeah, yeah, and I’ve worn shorts, he goes. There’s a course in scotland that doesn’t let you play with shorts.

Nish: 18:19

Nobody’s going there, yeah like because I know we don’t get the weather that often. But yeah, if the fact that that is a rule, yeah, immediately most people go. I’m not going because that’s how we are. Like we will just say we’re not’re not tolerating that. Yeah. It’s not going to go and I love that. Yeah, About Scottish golf is like it’s the golf you’re there for.

Chris: 18:35

Yeah yeah. It’s interesting Just thinking about that kind of exclusive exclusivity and Scottish golf. You struggle with those.

Nish: 18:42

I really do.

Chris: 18:50

Especially once I’ve got of picked up in a little bit of research that I’ve done. There is one very, very, very exclusive golf course Right On the Glen Eagles estate. It’s not quite on the Glen Eagles estate though. It’s just next door Right. So it’s not part of Glen Eagles, but apparently from the course, from a couple of vantage points on the course, you can see another golf course, okay. You can see another golf course, okay. So this other golf course must be the most exclusive golf course in the world. I think there’s only two people that have ever played it plus a few friends.

Chris: 19:19

British Vale yeah, it’s not British Vale, so yeah. So next to Glen Eagles there is a whole estate that this guy so he’s from the UAE, basically multi-millionaireaire, multi-billionaire, whatever uh he bought his plot of land just next to glen eagles, right um, which he then found highland spring water underneath. So that is it highland, highland water.

Nish: 19:43

Yeah highland spring. So that’s his estate and accidental find there and yeah the water. So he’s got oil in the uae which is effectively oil, isn’t it?

Chris: 19:56

uh, wonderful, um, but anyway. So he was like. He basically was like right, I’ve got this massive piece of land, I’m gonna build an estate to try and compete with glenn eagles, basically. So it’s gonna build bigger and I’m gonna build better, and it’s gonna be more plush and it’s gonna be right, um, more exclusive, but anyway. So he ran into some financial difficulties around the sort of 2008 financial crash. Right at this point he’d already built the golf course, he built the clubhouse, but he’d not built the rest of the resorts.

Chris: 20:22

We’d not built the hotel he was gonna build loads like mansions and stuff on it as well. He’d not built that right. So basically he’s got this golf course and a clubhouse which looks apparently like this massive grand mosque thing, but it’s still there. It’s still a golf course that’s maintained 100, so he’s got green keepers going around keeping up to date. Nobody’s playing on it, so no one can go and play in it apart from him and his family. Um, but yeah, so for what 12 years he’s been keeping this golf course going? This championship 7,500-yard golf course that’s crazy.

Nish: 20:52

Yeah, Because if you get on as well, then you go. Nobody’s played this course.

Chris: 20:57

I mean it’s either in terrible nick because it’s not had any play, or it’s an absolute pristine beauty of a golf course.

Nish: 21:04

So did it say on where you read about this? Did it say where you can see this from?

Chris: 21:08

Or is it just so obvious saying where you can see this from? Yes, I think it’s the 7th. I can’t remember if it was on the Kings or the Queens course, but I think it was the 7th or the Par 5. I think it might be the Queens. Actually, I think there’s the one Par 5 on the Queens isn’t there, which I think is the 7th. I think it basically takes you out to the end of the estate and that’s where you can see it.

Nish: 21:24

It’s kind of like just beyond states, you know what I’d love it if hendy and colin don’t know about this.

Chris: 21:30

Well, I think you can see it pretty with you know oh, is that right okay, pretty easily. So I think they will know about it, I’m sure why aren’t we playing there?

Nish: 21:38

yeah, that is crazy, isn’t? It wild the ghost course, or something it’s called ghost course. It has got something you can like get on maps and you can scroll in, and I mean, there’s certainly pictures of it?

Chris: 21:51

Yes, it’s called G West. Is the name of it G West? That’s a crap name, isn’t it? It’s a crap name, but I mean.

Nish: 21:56

Are they trying to go with Glen Eagles West or? Something, yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean, wow, there’s a little factoid for you. Please tell me that I didn’t know that. Oh, you didn’t. Oh, you need to do your research Come a little bit more. Yeah, so a little bit of history about it. Now, this is Queens and Kings, but all the holes are very traditional Scottish names as well which I really like.

Chris: 22:24

Yeah, they’re quite cute in their names, aren’t they?

Nish: 22:27

Yeah, I can’t remember exact names now, but uh, yeah, I, I quite, I quite like that. And then there is a very unique feature about the king’s course. I think it’s actually for the, for the queens as well, but it’s come up in my queen, in my king’s course, research. Um, so the halfway hut is on the 10th hole. What is that? Is that? That’s not, obviously not quite halfway. So what would you call that? It’s the same halfway hut, isn’t it?

Chris: 22:51

it’s the.

Nish: 22:52

It’s a shared halfway right and what you do, and I love this like this. This is like me all over this sort of stuff you call in your order.

Chris: 23:02

Yeah, the 10th tee and it’s ready for you when you finish the 10th I just, I just have visions of there’s been like one of those kind of old school big kind of telephones you know like from like the victorian times that you, just what would you?

Nish: 23:12

like hello what have you got?

Chris: 23:14

whatever you like so we’ll be able to make it for you, okay, okay can we have a club sandwich? Or maybe it’s just like totally modernized. It’s just like a mcdonald’s drive-thru there’s just like a faceless. Yeah, touch the screen yeah, I mean, I love stuff like that I mean that sounds like it’s gonna be pretty high up on the uh, the halfway house ranking system.

Nish: 23:36

I mean, is this gonna be basically like a clubhouse that we’ve seen at other places? Yeah, I mean, I think, if you’re, if you’ve got a, specific phone line to dial ahead for your order.

Chris: 23:45

I think that’s gonna be difficult to beat.

Nish: 23:47

I think that’s gonna be tough to beat. You’re right.

Chris: 23:49

Yeah, you’re right plus, we get to play it twice, so we get to try all the the fame.

Nish: 23:53

Well, that’s true that is true, I was gonna mention it on the last last episode. We didn’t. Sean Connery came up, yeah, but I mean I follow them now, so obviously the news comes up all the time. But Stoke Park, okay, yeah, you’ve heard of Stoke Park, yeah, and where they filmed the last scene, it in layer cake as well, uh, but that golf course and the whole hotel has been taken over and it’s been.

Chris: 24:17

It’s got a new ownership and they’ve reopened everything yeah, and you can get tea times now.

Nish: 24:22

No, it’s not on our list. Yeah, however, I’m. I’m flying the flag for making it 101 because that, that gold finger, yeah, 18th hole when he mugs him off, that’s burned and in my memory as like, I want to recreate that almost. You know I’d almost have like and I’m happy to whoever like. You can be sean connery, if you want. I’m not, I don’t care.

Chris: 24:49

I mean I’ve got the looks, so yeah I don’t care who I am, I’ll be on job, it’s fine.

Nish: 24:52

But just that I want to just be there on that 18th green. That, yeah, I mean, that’s an aside anyway, but yeah, this calling in, I think, is a great thing. But, um, the other thing that we’ve obviously we both found out, actually, didn’t we? But the thing we found out about the king’s course at glen eagles is it hosted the very first informal rider match between gb uh great britain and ireland oh great britain it was and the usa yeah, um, and that was in 1921 so, pre?

Chris: 25:25

so we thought mortown was the first. Yeah, that’s official, wasn’t it? That was official?

Nish: 25:28

there was samuel rider has put it. Put his name to it yeah, whatever 1921 was the okay the informal first match between great britain. Does that mean we have to do an informal match play? What is an informal match play? Is that just like nobody gives a shit, like just work it out the end, oh? It’s probably, I’ll probably three up just at the end, just go. Yeah, what did actually happen?

Chris: 25:48

feels like I was yeah I was about three up.

Nish: 25:50

Yeah, from my perspective, the only other real thing I’ve got to kind of bring to the table on this one is the the course renovations that have been done. Yeah, to take it back to mr braid’s original designs yeah, I’d actually watched a video where they talked about they’d uncovered a load of sketches that he made yeah yeah, and part of me, and that’s what helped inform the redesign. Yeah, the restoration.

Nish: 26:19

I suppose yeah back to his original, original work. So yeah, I think it’s in the 80s they’d, and good time to bring it out, I suppose. But you, you’ve played there before. I’ve played one of the courses before, I don’t remember which one I don’t know which one brilliant it was that memorable.

Chris: 26:33

It was that memorable. I was only a kid, I was very young, um, and it was like a charity, like a charity, a charity golf day with my dad’s work. So yeah, I I suspect it was probably the queen’s course that I’ve played, but I don’t know yeah, what gives you the suspicion it was the queen’s course?

Nish: 26:48

don’t know he just, he just had a feeling.

Chris: 26:50

It just feels like that would be the more natural place to host something like that, where there’s people that haven’t really played golf before. I mean, I’d literally just started playing golf at that point. Right, okay, I’d probably played golf, for I don’t know a year or less.

Nish: 27:02

It’s a fun one rather than the serious one.

Chris: 27:04

Yeah, but I’m not sure. But I it was brutally tough, was it? Yeah, but I mean again, I was probably playing. I was probably high 20s handicapper at that point alright, let’s not scoff at that.

Nish: 27:18

Yeah, well, yeah, interesting that I think. I suppose we don’t know, but it seems like in the 80s they obviously decided to go let’s make this hard. Yeah, as a golf course.

Chris: 27:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah as a golf course, yeah, yeah, and I basically brought the rough in by a lot and grew it very tall I brought it up in the woodall spa review.

Nish: 27:34

Yeah, and it was a comment I made to in the drive back. I was like is you know? Is golf supposed to be our level? Yeah, is it supposed to be that hard because it surely it’s not designed to break you. No, completely, you’re supposed to have moments. You’re supposed to feel, yeah, I can do this.

Chris: 27:52

I mean, I think I guess I didn’t get a chance to come do the woodall spa one, but there weren’t many points during that day where you thought do you know what I can make a birdie here? Maybe the par threes, yeah, where you’ve always got yeah, of course, or at least I’ve always got a chance anyway. Um, but yeah, there were. I don’t remember having many birdie puts that day and that’s pretty unusual for me. Like normally, I’ll have a few bad holes, but I’ll have some birdie opportunities.

Chris: 28:18

Get the odd chances, yeah, but I don’t feel like I really had many. If I did have them, they were long, relentlessly tough golf course.

Nish: 28:25

That was it was, but we survived it. Yeah, I think there’s, only there’s I still enjoyed it.

Chris: 28:30

I did not enjoy that, but I know what you mean. Like I said the same thing to jim, it was like it was still an enjoy.

Nish: 28:34

It was enjoyable because the weather was great. You know we were excited about being there and yeah, actually we did intermittently play some decent golf as well, but I think it was mentally that was. That was a tough. It warranted its hardest, hardest, definitely rating for sure.

Chris: 28:51

I think that was justified interestingly for you, nish, we’ve played quite a few rounds together now, haven’t we? Over the last few years, I’ve never seen your short game as bad as it was at Woodall Spa Short game was bad, wasn’t it?

Nish: 29:04

Short game, your chipping and putting was really bad. Yeah, yeah For you like it was Putting wasn’t great Like normally your putting is solid. It’s there, isn’t it? It’s there. I’m averaging 2-2 and that’s it.

Chris: 29:18

I was very rare that I was 3-4.

Nish: 29:19

My chipping wasn’t good at all.

Chris: 29:21

Yeah, no, you were, you were. Your short game was I don’t, I don’t. I think, yeah, I think you’re almost, you’re all. You’re almost just talking yourself out of it, I think, because you’re hitting back, you hurt, you weren’t hitting good shots from t to green, I think you were. Then just I think, yeah, I think you just lost you.

Nish: 29:34

You lost your shit basically, I felt like I bagged garmin out quite a lot because I feel like this hasn’t been a good investment. This watch, yeah. However, I do have the club sensors, yeah. And then the garmin golf app, I think is brilliant, right, okay, it gives you a full like rundown, and that’s what I was doing with jim. Yeah, because if it’s me and you there, we sort of can remind each other and whatever, and I was like I actually need to visualize this a little bit better. Yeah, it tells you everywhere your shots were okay and what’s around, and I think the thing that did did me at woodhulls bar was hole number one. Now, this is gonna sound, yeah, yeah, the first shot of the day, but hole number one.

Nish: 30:16

I hit a bunker shot and it went across the green into another bunker. Yeah, yeah, right, yeah. And I think that that was the moment where I think subconsciously, that freaked me out. Yeah, yeah. So from that moment I couldn’t commit to any bunker shot because for whatever reason in the back of my head I must have just had if you go long, you’re in another bunker.

Chris: 30:35

And then I was still in a bunker again. But if you watch the videos, I kept watching it all- day in the bunker’s niche. Obviously, I wasn’t here to talk about this in the last podcast, but every time you’re in a bunker you’d kind of like half swing and then you just no commitment absolutely there was no commitment, like you were just like, like a tiny little thing.

Nish: 30:51

There’s no follow-through, there’s nothing.

Chris: 30:53

I was like nish you’re never gonna get out yeah, yeah.

Nish: 30:55

And the ones where I did get out were the ones where I’ve gone, committed and I need to get out this bunker, the the couple of ones that I got out like first time.

Nish: 31:06

One was a sort of semi-fairway bunker. It was a long sand scrape basically, so I didn’t have the fear factor of like I’ve got to get it up or whatever. Yeah, it was just like just swing through it, it’s fine. And the other one was it was actually on the signature hole challenge when I was in the same bunker, done two shots already, and I was like I’m just gonna chip it out here, just like I do a normal chip, and I just went, yeah, just like.

Chris: 31:25

And it actually was the right shot, like it worked out well, delete all the uh photos off my uh my phone after that round. There’s so much footage of you in those bunkers that’s all it was that’s all it was but um, yeah, that that that did for me.

Nish: 31:39

I think I’m fragile in bunkers generally. Anyway, okay, that full-on did for me is like if I even if I do get it out and if I do my regular and it’s gone long yeah, then I’m in another one and I don’t want to do that.

Nish: 31:53

Well, whatever let’s, let’s not dwell on on wood, or spina, let’s dwell on the 89 bunkers they’ve got at the queen’s course instead um, but yeah, so we’ve obviously spoken in the last episode about the actual resort and the experience and how it all came about, and we’ll go with our wives and we do it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Yeah, I think the overall package feels like we’re gonna struggle to better anywhere, because I think a lot of other golf courses we’re gonna play. It’s the course we’re going to, yeah, not the resort. I don’t know, there’s not. I don’t feel like there’s many resort based ones in our list actually, really, maybe a dare?

Nish: 32:29

yeah, that’s the one that springs to mind yeah, it’s got that kind of special, special feel, special tip, doesn’t it? Yeah, defo, I mean we’re obviously same again, we’re obviously doing weather watch and all that kind of thing, because I want my nice new puma white shoes to wear those ones, but uh, just, I cannot wait to to get out there and it’s gonna be a good one. Pick myself again, I think, I think the undulations, I think there’s going to be very few flat lies, I think definitely looking at it and I like flat.

Chris: 32:59

You know you’re not going to be hitting to the same level.

Nish: 33:01

No, it’s going to be a lot of ups and downs, whatever club selection. Yeah, I think we probably see eye to eye on that. Yeah, I think definitely we.

Chris: 33:09

The visual impact of that hole is really important yeah, it’s not necessarily about the playability or the challenge, it’s we’re not.

Nish: 33:15

We’re not talking about that. I think we, yeah, we both. What does it look like on the tee? Yeah, exactly, am I excited to play this?

Chris: 33:22

hole. Yeah, I don’t care how I play it or which way I play it, it’s just am I am I yeah, yeah, and I’m excited by the challenge, I’m excited by the view.

Nish: 33:30

I’m like it’s probably. I think view probably comes into it more for me. Feast for the eyes. I keep saying that’s the phrase for me. Yeah, you know, we’re like dream 18, aren’t? We were so like you play 18 holes where you can step on everything you go. Oh, I’m looking forward to play, Not like. Oh, there’s history with this one.

Chris: 33:47

Yeah, yeah, no.

Nish: 33:48

Or haven’t they got wonderful rooting?

Chris: 33:50

on this one. You can’t explain it. It’s just that feeling that you get when you just stand on that tee and it just feels I don’t know, only golfers really know that feeling you just go. Oh my God, this is incredible. There there’s a T-shirt.

Nish: 34:00

I’m looking forward to playing. Yeah, yeah, there’s a T-shirt. I’m looking forward to fucking up, yeah, yeah, and hitting again, and hitting again. Yeah, I might as well just play my provisional now. Yeah, let’s do it. I’m taking two golf balls up there, yes, so, chris, is there anything else you would like to add about the Kings?

Chris: 34:18

I don’t think so.

Nish: 34:19

I’m very excited to go and be around the glen eagles estate yeah I think it’s gonna bring back some lovely memories for me for that rider cup it was.

Chris: 34:28

That was amazing one thing that I did I did hear and heard a couple of times is that obviously the service level service that you get at glen eagles is incredible, but like there’s if you stayed in the hotel there’s just basically buggies that’ll take you anywhere, but like the practice.

Chris: 34:43

The practice range is quite far away because it’s near the centenary course, so I just imagined us getting up in the morning chucking our bags in the back of a golf cart go to the practice ground please, I’m gonna have to do that with my tash now yeah, yeah, yeah just do that, obviously very much looking forward to it.

Nish: 34:56

Our side bet, uh, rolling over from the last episode is for the two rounds, because this is another back-to-back uh couple of courses.

Chris: 35:06

We’re playing one side bit over two rounds, is it?

Nish: 35:08

it’s not, it’s yeah jim’s just put side there lowest aggregate score over both rounds wow, so it’s a marathon, not sprint, this one so have we agreed if we’re handicapped adjusting these or we’re just going full-on?

Chris: 35:19

I’m happy to handicap adjust um.

Nish: 35:21

I think that’s I mean I, I I put that to Jamie. I mean, do you know what? Actually, he’s not here, so I shouldn’t take this away from him, because I know what he’d be saying.

Chris: 35:29

Yeah, yeah, it’s his. Ultimately, it’s his choice. Right, it’s his choice.

Nish: 35:32

Yeah, I’ve given him the freedom to do that. And he said, no, just lowest gross. I lowest gross over the two days on handicap or just generally. Just generally.

Chris: 35:46

Like you know well, I can have a bad day and you know I’m gonna start psyching out and you put you know I think you beat me, you like there’s a quite a few of the days that you would have handsomely beaten like sna I mean on points and sna gross you would have hammered me that day.

Nish: 35:57

But stableford, yeah, I’m giving you a pasting oh yeah, I’m not saying so yeah, yeah, because obviously now your official handicaps coming at 11.1, yes, uh, 11.8, now actually is it 11.8 now? It’s mugging you off, but, yeah, that’s made it harder for you to score, hasn’t it on? Yeah, yeah, some of these courses, but yeah, I mean I say that mine’s 16.6, so yeah, it’s still pretty tough, to tough to score that.

Nish: 36:22

But no, we’ll keep it to the complete close and when the three of us are together. I feel like I’m going to make a note. I feel like this needs to be discussed further, because I do think now we have our handicaps. It should be handicapped, because that’s the whole point of a handicap, that anybody can give anybody a game and beat them. But it’s on level terms to a degree.

Chris: 36:45

I honestly don’t think there’ll be that much between us.

Nish: 36:46

Well, what are we now? I’ve done the running count. I mean, apart from the last round and the Sillith round.

Chris: 36:51

We’ve both been pretty close on the scores on the days, haven’t we? I think, you must have beaten me. I was ten shots ahead of you at Sillith, actually, yeah, sillith actually you had a pretty disaster at Sillith Woodall Spa. You had a nightmare, but you take those two out of it. You were pretty close.

Nish: 37:07

There’s only been a couple of shots in it either way, but I think, like Jim said, I was only one shot behind going into round six on the full. Just what we shot. I don’t think there’s that much in it. Yeah, that doesn’t suit my narrative, though, chris, fine, so let’s just ignore that, ignore that completely. So our side bet is that, and we’ll keep it to that. We’ll keep it now. He has, though, sent us the signature whole challenge. Okay, yeah, now, this one’s called the last on the queens when it was called queen’s hame, this one’s called king’s hame okay now I wonder if I’m saying it wrong and it’s actually home.

Nish: 37:43

Yeah, but it is actually written. H-a-m-e on his message. So it’s the 18th hole. It’s a par 5. Jim’s signature hole challenge is to do the lowest number of shots to the green, ok, so both signature holes are the 18th.

Chris: 38:02

Both are the 18th.

Nish: 38:03

I wonder if that’s because the backdrop is like the clubhouse and stuff like that, and that’s part of it. Okay, so let’s. So both signature holes are the 18th, aren’t they? Both are the 18th. That’s fairly unusual. I wonder if that’s because the backdrop is like the clubhouse and stuff like that, and that’s part of it.

Chris: 38:10

Yeah, the first one was downhill, wasn’t it the Queen’s? The Queen’s was downhill. Is the King’s downhill to?

Nish: 38:14

the I don’t know, couldn’t tell you, couldn’t tell you hole lowest number of shots of the green. Okay, on a par five. All right, I think I could take you on that one. Yeah, sure, I think I’m gonna be pretty tipsy all weekend. I mean, I’ve got my hip flask from the wedding. I might even just take a little wee dram out with me. I don’t. I don’t really know, but you’ve, you’ve, you’ve, you had me at bloody mary station.

Chris: 38:42

Yeah, breakfast buffet 7am Bloody Mary.

Nish: 38:45

I mean that’s got me, that really has. I mean you can’t say no to that.

Chris: 38:51

I love a Bloody Mary as well, with a hangover yeah, I absolutely love a Bloody Mary.

Nish: 38:55

I mean, we’re going to be hungover, Chris. There’s no chance. On Saturday morning we’re not hungover. No, it’s unlikely.

Chris: 39:05

And we won’t have played, since we played at woodhalls. And what? What did I say after woodhalls bar? I was like this time, nish, I’m not just gonna not play until the next one, I’m gonna go away, I’m gonna practice and I’m gonna. I’m gonna play a couple of rounds turns out.

Nish: 39:13

We’re doing the same.

Chris: 39:14

I’ve not had a single golf ball since I’ve not.

Nish: 39:17

I’ve been a bit gutted about that, but, um, yeah, yeah, my hands have been itching a little bit. I have to say I’ve been really wanting to get out there, but there’s just no time.

Chris: 39:25

I’m not sure I’m going to get a chance to play before Glenn.

Nish: 39:27

No, me neither. I don’t think so. I might try and squeeze a range session, just have to make sure these are late.

Chris: 39:30

Oh, actually that’s not true. I’ve got a lesson Saturday morning. Oh well, there you go. So we’ll just to fine tune it, tweak it a little bit. Yeah, because your irons were great, weren’t they just getting that longer stuff, just getting the weight across again 100 in 10 just making sure I’m doing that and I know that’s what I Glen to do, but sometimes it might not be as important Chris though this round it will be when I have to blast it 350 yards in the last hole to get onto the green to beat you on the long drive challenge, yeah when.

Chris: 40:02

I’ve just just moved it right to the edge of the green with my drive.

Nish: 40:06

It’s gone through the back. What’s happened here? This is great. Yeah, I love stuff like that that’s great, uh, right. Thanks, chris, I think that was, uh, that was a good, good preview and flavor of what’s to come next time. On the top 110 golf podcast, we review our round at the queen’s course at the eagles.