Welcome to UK-GolfGuide's page which contains feedback from site users who have played at Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club.

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Paul Calder (Switzerland) 26/06/08

Played this course on a bright and breezy day in June 2008, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The setting is simply beautiful with the ocean on three sides of the course, you can't help but feel happy to be on it.

Not a course that will cause any concerns with regard to length, but you need to think carefully before taking out the driver - the fairways narrow at driver distances, the nearby gorse is 'terminal' and the wind is usually a factor. Far better to play for position with a long iron and leave yourself a slightly longer approach.

The greens are the usual Scottish links affairs with all the trouble at the front, ready to catch anything off-line as it runs up to the green. (My partner and I landed two balls no further than 5 yards apart in front of one green, with one ball bounding off into a bunker a 10 yards to the left and the other settling comfortably in the middle of the green.)

Once safely on the green, the putting is generous, with little in the way of speed or break to induce panic.

The highlight holes for us were the 4th and 5th. The 4th is a long par 4 with a fairway that stops at driver distance, turns into a series of grassy mounds for 30 yards (making the second shot blind), then resumes with a number of humps and hollows. One of the few times I've gone looking for a ball that I thought I'd hit in the rough, only to find it a few minutes later in the bottom of a hollow on the other side of the fairway.

The 5th is a short hole with a lovely backdrop of the ocean and nearby cottages. It is quite short, but only the most accurate tee shots will leave you with a putt or easy chip.

After that, a series of short par fours tempts the long hitters to ignore the wind and gorse, and go for broke (with predictable consequences for inaccuracy). The par 3 18th was long enough with the wind to reach for long irons, though perhaps a little easy compared to what had come before.

Nonetheless, a fantastic day out and heartily recommended.

Value for Money	9
Challenge	7
Off Course	7

Haydn Morris (England) 13/05/08

Our group had a fantastic days golf at F&R in May 2007 during our golf odyssey to the Scottish Highlands. Located about 40 minutes north of Inverness, the course is on a spit of land sticking out into the forth and is open to all the elements, as we were to find out later that day.

In our morning round the sea was flat calm and we all scored well - the stroke index 1 hole proving very difficult even in benign conditions. After a quick lunch, we set off for round 2 to be met with a gale which was blowing at about 60 mph. Fantastic when driving down wind but not so good when playing in any other direction!! For example, in the morning I played the short par 3 6th with a 9 iron, in the afternoon I hit a good 4 iron and was about 15 yards short. Despite the conditions I thoroughly enjoyed the course which was in good nick throughout. It's not a difficult test by any means, it's more the kind of place that makes you feel glad that you've been there and played it, just by it's sheer quirkiness.

The clubhouse was nice and cosy and we were made to feel welcome. One really noticable aspect was the sheer number of juniors who were playing which I thought was great to see considering that the area is fairly sparsely populated and is well off the beaten track.

We stayed just down the road at a fantastic pub in Fortrose called the Anderson which I notice has won the CAMRA Pub of the Year for 2007 since our visit. This does not surprise me in the slightest as I have never seen a pub which had such a wide selection of drinks. In addition, the pub restaurant did great food at very reasonable prices. Landlord Jim (a displaced American) is worth a visit himself.

Value for Money	10
Challenge	6
Off Course	6

Nick March (England) 05/12/07

What a hidden gem, a fantastic introduction to links golf, a colleague and I played recently using a 2 for 1 voucher, making it exceptional value for money.

Having never played links golf before this was an ideal course to start, not overly busy. The weather was ideal to start sea was like a mill pond with no wind to speak of.

Tight fairways and fast greens, make positional play essential, on the majority of holes the further you go the tighter it becomes so long irons are the order of the day. Hole #4 stroke index 1 needs to be played conservatively, only use an iron to the edge of the ridge and take a disaster out of play. 7 of the first 8 holes are lined with water making imposing views. The weather bared its teeth on the back 9 just to keep us both honest and it became a different course.

For any body on a golfing tour of Scotland, but want to avoid the overpriced championship courses, mke a bee line here and enjoy the fantastic course and facilities

Value for Money	10
Challenge	10
Off Course	8

Ian Brown (Scotland) 04/04/07

We played at the end of March on a beautiful morning with a hint of breeze. The views from all around the course were stunning with Fort George just across the firth. The staff in the pro shop and the members were all very friendly. The course starts with 3 quite tight holes before the tough par 5 4th. You need to lay up before the bank or you can end up with a tough lie and no chance to go for the green. The 5th is super short links par 3. After that it does open up a bit and the back 9 is relatively short with a few drivable par 4s but the awkward greens can make good scoring tricky. The tees and greens were in great condition especially for the time of year. Overall this is a super course, a bargain at £16 using 241 and a course that I will look forward to playing again. The food in the clubhouse was also top notch.

Value for Money	9
Challenge	7
Off Course	8

Richard Lupton (England) 10/03/07

Not the longest of course this, playing 5800 off whites and 5600 off yellows, but it is a real challenge to score well around Fortrose.

Surrounded by the sea, it is set out on a peninsular which I would imagine means that the wind is blowing pretty much all of the time. The views are stunning, the holes beautifully set out to capture so much of what is going on around you. If you only plan the one visit, a camera must be taken on the course with you.

Some of the holes leave a tight landing area off the tee and can quickly destroy any chance of you carding a decent sccre. This is not really a "boom-boom" course. A bit of thought and positional play off the tee is an absolute must. particularly if the wind gets up - better to be short but straight than long and nowhere.

My only criticism of our visit was that the greens were a little bit "two paced". There were some very good putters in our 4 and we would play 3 or 4 holes on the bounce then get to a green which was much faster/slower than what we had played, making it very difficult to get any consistency or confidence going on the greens. They did run true, however, it was just so frustrating to find yourself 4 feet short or 6 feet long on every other hole.

That said, the course is well worth a visit as it is very well laid out and is in such a stunning setting. The locals were the friendliest we met on our trip, encouraging us to come and join them and making us extremely welcome indeed.

Value for Money	7
Challenge	7
Off Course	8

Craig Whitehead (England) 22/07/05

As an avid Braid fan, I have to agree with all the previous comments. This true links course tests the average golfer in a similar manner as an Open rota course would test a pro, and as such it is immensely pleasurable to play. Don't miss this course out. On 2F1 it is great value.

Value for Money	9
Challenge	8
Off Course	7