Genesis Scottish Open
The Renaissance Club
Hole 15/6 routing dependent
The Scottish Open is the best pre event tournament running, the perfect appetizer to next weeks British Open. Back again at the beautifully constructed Renaissance Club. A new course that has become an instant classic links course that I’m sure everyone can get behind. It’s been plopped right into the perfect environment, I mean they literally traded some land with a little course called Muirfield, which sits right next door.
Now obviously pot bunkers are tied to links golf more so than any other architectural feature, and the 15th at the Renaissance Club has plenty of those little monsters surrounding the green. 5 or so pot bunkers of various depths add tremendous drama to a sloping curtain around the green. They are not the deepest, not the most intimidating, but they just fit. You don’t need every bunker needing stairs and limiting your ability to swing, just a perfectly vertical face is enough to bring a flutter to my heart.
The overall architecture of the Renaissance Club makes it seem like a club that has been around for years even though, it’s a relative newcomer to the scene. The sparse trees meandering crumbling stone walls, and careful routing are in stark contrast to how the land looked before yet it looks even more natural somehow, that’s the mark of a good design. Not too hard when you let the course feel itself out and you just guide the greens where they want to go. Grab some haggis and settle in for a great preamble to the British Open.