The Fourth at Castle Stuart
The recent home to the Scottish Open, Castle Stuart Golf Links near Inverness is the course where Phil Mickleson won an exciting sudden death play-off against South Africa's Branden Grace to win last year's title. This top-drawer layout with links characteristics that overlooks the Moray Firth is a delight to play, offering beautiful views and endless photo opportunities. You will be reaching for the camera rather than a club at the 191-yard fourth, played towards the beautiful Castle Stuart and the inspiration for the course name. It's a really super short hole whose glorious location just gets better as you approach the green.
The Sixth at Royal Dornoch
At 161 yards Whinny Brae isn't the longest, but it's probably the most difficult of the par-3s on the Royal Dornoch Championship Course. While the others are all raised plateau greens, the left hand side of the sixth has a steep hillside going up from the putting surface that is covered in whin bushes. With this being the narrowest green on the course, finding the target requires great control over distance and line as missing on either side exacts a severe penalty. Many who bail out to the right are faced with a steep uphill pitch of over 15 feet; getting up and down from there is no mean feat. The preferred option for many - admittedly older - members is to take a club less than required, and back yourself to pitch and putt from the front to save par.
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