Inverallochy Golf Club Back 9 holes

10th Hole - Bankies - Par 4, 235yds

Before teeing off you have to wait for the players in front to go onto the 11th tee. This is a blind hole looking from the Tee; you may just be able to pick out the top of the flag if your sight is keen enough. From the Tee this fairway is very flat but there is an acute slope that starts in the rough down the left, and runs at an approximate 45 degree angle right across the fairway, and ends beside the 11th Tee on the R/H side. Approximately 5m into the right hand rough is out of bounds that starts behind the 9th green and runs all the way along this hole where it joins the fence at the 11th Tee which is also (OOB) The best line into the hole is just to the left of the bunker on the R/H side that is visible from the Tee. Hit your tee shot slightly left and the ball will end up in the bunker situated on the front left of the green, or roll down the embankment into the rough. Play it as a par four and hit short of the green onto the flat fairway, you still have the problem of the green sloping away from you, slightly too hard and the ball will keep on rolling off down the embankment at the back or into one of the two new bunkers that's situated directly behind the green. This hole is an excellent birdie opportunity and also produces eagles and better on occasions. 

11th Hole - Soddam - Par 3, 199yds

This is the most Easterly point of the course, nestling on the outskirts of the St Combs & Charlestown, the neighbouring village of Inverallochy. This is another of the par three's that is fraught with danger. Visual from the tee is the road leading into St Combs (or Quittie as the locals call it), hit onto or over it and you are out of bounds. The best strategy if you are unsure is to play just short of the green slightly to the right and hope for a pitch and putt. As all the dangers are on either side, over the back, and even hitting the very front/left of this green which slopes away from you, it is usually quite firm on this side and the ball will keep going over the back of the green. Most of the green resembles a shallow bowl that flattens out on the right side; it then rises up a slope onto a narrow plateau section that is very difficult to hit. A pot bunker gathers shots offline to the left, and missing the green over the back and to the right will see your ball disappearing down a steep embankment into the rough below, which will then leave a very difficult pitch back up and over it onto the green. Come off with a par and be happy, birdie it and celebrate.   

12th Hole - Kitty Loch - Par 4, 436yds

This par four is a slight dogleg to the left and is reckoned to be one of the most difficult on the course, first there is the out of bound onto the beach on the right, that also runs all the way down the 13th hole as well. Clear the first 100yds of rough, then you have to try and flight the ball over the deep hollow at the start of the fairway. Even then you are not guaranteed a good lie, as the fairway is a minefield of shallow hollows and undulations, down the right side of the fairway has the flattest surfaces. There are no fairway bunkers on this hole, the thick rough down either side can cause even the best players to drop shots. Find a nice lie and you'll still be hitting a long iron or a fairway wood. The green is quite wide, slopes from right to left and it has a nasty raised ridge that makes putting lethal if you're on the wrong side of it. A bunker guards the front/right corner and another bunker snuggles just off the left side that is not visible from the fairway. Enjoy a well-earned par at this hole.

13th Hole - Pill-Box - Par 4, 353yds

As mentioned at the last hole, out of bounds is within reach from this tee, just over the right hand rough (or Bents). Playing from an elevated tee up the hill on the left side (gravel path leads to tee) you get a panoramic view of the whole hole and the clubhouse in the distance. The left side of this fairway has a lot of hollows and undulations again, but they are not so harsh as the 12th. Play down the right hand side and the natural contours will bring the ball back to the centre of the fairway. Hitting a mid iron to wedge the ball will stop on the receptive surface of this green, land slightly short and the ball will not react the same on the hard dry surface of the fairway. This hole is a good birdie opportunity but it has some protection, it sits on a slightly raised plateau and dead centre of the fairway about 25-30yds short of the green. There sits an ominously steep faced bunker that catches your eye as your lining up your approach shot. A bunker nestles on the right hand side, and the green has a slight gradient from this side down to the left side of the green. Hit slightly off target to the left and you will find yourself in a grassy hollow that runs down and past the length of this green.  (Out Of Bound on/over the old railway line (on the left) runs down the entire length of the next two holes).

14th Hole - Railway Line - Par 3, 156yds

Nice little par three, with all the trouble visible from the tee, except for the two bunkers that lie in wait just over the grassy ridge of rough on the right side of the green. The green itself lies in a type of gully; it is very narrow at the front area but then widens out. At the front/right sits a; you could say a grass bunker, as the ball will stop dead in it giving you a very awkward pitch or putt. This green slopes from right to left, and also from the front to the back. On the left side there is an embankment leading up to a little plateau and the 15th tee. Find this area from the tee and your left with a very testy shot down the embankment, trying to stop the ball on the green. The hallmark hazard on this hole is the burn that runs right across the front, only yards from the front edge of the green. (Into a slight breeze this hole is not for the faint hearted).   

15th Hole - The Cottage - Par 4, 316yds

16th Hole - Cairn Dennity - Par 3, 188yds

On this par three it is not the railway line but the stone dyke that runs alongside it, that is the boundary. Standing on the tee the pump house just to your left slightly obscures your view, in the distance is the old tractor shide with the green nestling in front of it. Quite a straightforward hole, but remembering the (OOB) on the left makes many a player push his tee shot out to the right. From here you are left with hitting a chip over the two pot bunkers that protect this side, onto a green that is sloping away from you. On some occasions it would be better playing from the bunkers. The green is flat in the centre.

17th Hole - Allochy - Par 4, 419yds

The tee is positioned just to the right of the old tractor shide as you come off the 16th green, down the length of this hole it is bordered by the 18th to the left & the 16th on the right, once across the burn called the Allochy it then also borders with 15th to the right. So you have plenty room either side to try and rip one right down the middle. The tee and first seventy/one hundred yards is more elevated than the landing area and you have to negotiate a few dips, hollows and a single fairway bunker that borders with the 18th. Take a mental note of this one as it is in play also from the 18th tee. The rough on the left comes into play for the longer hitters, and the mound of rough that cuts into the fairway was the site of the old lifeboat shed. The burn the Allochy, starts just below the 16th tee and cuts at an angle through the fairway down past the 18th tee, the closer you get to this tee the narrower the fairway becomes. If your confidence is high, you can always go for the big one. Aim for the plateau visible from the tee just over the burn, and let it rip. Finding the centre of the fairway gives you the best options for shot into this green. In normal conditions you'll be hitting in a variation of mid irons, depending on your shot selection. I say this, as first you have to negotiate the steep ridge that extends right across the 15th fairway, approximately 10yds short of the green. Then you have to try and hold the ball on the short section of fairway on the top, which runs slightly down hill. Hit the putting surface with a high shot and you will be able to hold the ball on the green. Two bunkers protect the green, one on the left and the other sits front/right, the green is quite flat and has a slight gradient from left to right. Be happy with a par, as this is one of the more difficult holes to negotiate.    

18th Hole - Lifeboat Shide - Par 4, 393yds

This is an excellent finishing hole, back up towards the clubhouse in the distance, with even more space this time to go for the big one. The 17th on the left,(remembering the fairway bunker) and the semi rough on the right that borders the 6th fairway. From the tee you hit directly over the old lifeboat shide, over two small plateaus and onto the flat surface of the fairway. The bunker that is transfixed in your vision to the right is reachable for the longer hitter. Playing slightly left of this bunker gives you the best angle to approach the green, but due to the swales and hollows a good lie or stance is not guaranteed. Playing from the middle of the fairway, a mid iron!! May be a bit more will get you there, just ensure you have enough club as you are hitting over the ridge onto an elevated section of the fairway. Very little trouble around this green, about 10yds short on the right there is a grassy trough where nestles the first bunker cut on the course. A 3yd strip of fairway separates the lush rough, that runs right round to the back from this side. On the right a deep, pot bunker that is not visible from the fairway often catches a shot that looks good in flight. There is out of bounds on the left that separates the practice area from the main course, it starts behind the old tractor shide, runs along just in the rough behind the 17th tee, then circles the green about 8yds out round into the rough at the back. The green itself is quite big, has the form of a shallow dish but is flat at the front section. On the right hand section there is a ridge that runs from front to the back, and putting can become very tricky when the flag is positioned along it.