Boat of Garten

If you are willing to travel to the Highlands, you will find some absolute gems. Boat of Garten is certainly one of those. 

 

The Boat of Garten Golf & Tennis Club, to give the venue its full name, is one of the shortest layouts you will find on the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list. 

 

At less than 5,850 yards, you might think you can overpower this James Braid design. However, this Par 70 layout winds its way through tree-lined fairways, a course where accuracy reigns supreme over distance.  

 

 

Visit the Boat of Garten website here.

Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.

 

The Boat of Garten dates back to before the beginning of the 20th Century. 1898 saw the original layout of the golf course, which was just six holes at the time. 

 

A couple more holes were added in 1910, but it wasn’t until the early 1930s that an 18-hole course at the venue was opened. 

 

That 18-hole layout was designed by James Braid – a five-time winner of the Open Championship. There have been minimal changes since, with just a pair of new greens (at the 4th and 13th) added to the layout to extend the course. 
 

Who says length is the most important factor when dreaming up a difficult golf course? The 18-hole layout at the Boat of Garten measures less than 5,850 yards, but it provides just as much of a challenge as most courses on the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list. Only one hole is more than 500 yards, and there are only two par 5s on the Par 70 layout at the Boat – as it is affectionately known. The course winds its way over links-like turf and between heather and silver birches to provide as exacting a test as it is picturesque. 

 

The opening hole, named John’s View after John Grant, the club professional in the 1950s and 60s and, after a couple of blasts from the adjacent steam train, you are on your way. Boat of Garten begins with a lengthy par 3, and by the 2nd, you should already be beginning to appreciate that driver may not be the best option. The 3rd is the second par 3 on the course, before you come to the only hole of more than 500 yards at the Boat.  

 

The 4th is the opening par 5 on the layout and only those that are able to get their drives over the top of the hill will be able to reach the green in two. The 6th, for many, will be the pick of the front nine, if not the whole course. A mature birch blocks the path of the real big boys so a mid-iron approach will be required to find a sloping putting surface. From here it is up, and up again, courtesy of the 'thrombosis slope', to the furthest corner of the course with the second played blind over the crest of the hill. It is well worth waiting for a considerate member of your party to give you a line in. Welcome relief, in terms of seeing where your tee-shot or second finishes, comes at the 8th though under club here and the steep bank guarding the green will ensure that your approach is only too visible. 

 

The 10th, the shortest of the par 4s at 271 yards, does finally present a chance of blazing one on to the dance floor though, as the course guide suggests, beware 'yet another Boat bounce' which could see your tee-shot fire left or right into trouble. This, in part, is the beauty of the course. Rarely will you find so many crumpled fairways and awkward lies and the 379-yard 11th exemplifies this as well as anywhere. Find the narrow fairway and you will no doubt be faced with having to manufacture an approach with the Stroke Index of 3 telling its own story.  

 

The 12th is genuinely stunning and one of those cocoons of silence that you occasionally, beautifully, stumble across on a golf course. Recent changes to the 13th have added a second par 5 and, typically, you make your way uphill to a narrow target. Only your very best will offer up the chance of tearing one, right to left, on to the hidden dance floor. With all but the scratch golfer receiving a shot, it is wiser to accept coming in with a wedge for your third.  

 

Three options greet you at the 15th due to a gully which sits around the 200-yard mark slap bang in the middle of the fairway. Tempting as it is, the soundest strategy is to play short to give yourself a view of the green and, again, you will be teased on the penultimate tee where an arrow-straight driver will leave very little in. It may not be the smartest option but it might prove too inviting with all the terrain tumbling down to the green.

 

As brilliant as the first 17 holes are, the best is almost saved until last. It is the longest of the par 4s and, if you are considering getting up in two, then the driver is the only choice. Out of bounds skirts the right-hand side, rough the left. Medal cards will be ruined and matches will swing – everything you want from a finishing hole. 
 

Where is Boat of Garten located?  
The Boat of Garten Golf & Tennis Club is found in the very heart of the Scottish Highlands. The River Spey runs alongside the golf course, which sits just a mile from the A95 and at the northern tip of the Cairngorms National Park. Aviemore is five miles to the south, while the city of Inverness around 30 miles north of the Boat of Garten. 

 

Inverness Airport, the fourth-busiest airport in Scotland, is a 45-minute drive from the Boat, while Aberdeen and Edinburgh Airports are both around a two-hour drive. There are train stations in both Aviemore and Carrbridge, both within five miles of the Boat of Garten Golf Club.

 

Are there any other NCG Top 100s: Scotland venues nearby?  
Boat of Garten sits in between Grantown-on-Spey and Spey Valley, both within ten miles of the venue, and both on the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list. Nairn Dunbar, Nairn and Cabot Highlands - with its Castle Stuart and Old Petty courses - are all within 35 miles of Boat of Garten to the north.

What golf facilities does Boat of Garten offer?  
Due to the lack of space around the Boat of Garten Golf & Tennis Club, there is not the space for a driving range unfortunately. There is a small short game area, though, with a chipping and putting area.

What are the green fees at Boat of Garten?  
The price of a green fee at Boat of Garten changes throughout the year, depending on the season. It is also different depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend. 

 

For more information on current green fees at Boat of Garten visit their website here. 

 

  

Visit the Boat of Garten website here.

Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.