Golfing in Shetland
“This is as far north as you can go in the UK! Four hundred miles further and you’re in amongst Polar Bears and Walruses.”
Shetland Golf Club has a charm all of its own.
Shetland Golf Club, otherwise known as Dale has seen some great improvements over recent years. The course looks towards a voe or fjord so the setting is simply outstanding.
A magnificent backdrop for the opening hole at Dale.
The 1st plays toward the voe, its fairways outlined by thick rough with a thin burn dissecting the approach. The greens are fairly decent which must be quite a challenge in this wet, wind-swept valley. The 2nd, a nice par 3, carries on the same progress towards the fjord while the 3rd cuts south across the valley, dividing the fairway in three by two burns.
CORBIE HILL
I’ve played Dale a couple of times in the past and on both occasions lost balls, not to the gnarly rough or snaking burns but to a crow!
This was the best shot I could manage of the winged bandit flying off with my golf ball.
They call them ‘corbies’ here in Shetland. On the 10th, as Ewan and I strolled manfully towards fairly well-struck tee shots, a large ‘corbie’ dropped from on high to pick up my ball. He mockingly flew right over us on his way to add to his ‘personal stash’. Somewhere up on ‘Corbie Hill’ is a giant pile of Pro V1s.
This is rustic golf but surprisingly rewarding.
CANADIAN COUPLE
There was no one at the club for our late afternoon round, so we popped in the next day to say hello and chat with the members. Over coffee, the secretary told us that a Canadian couple had recently flown their private jet into nearby Tingwall Airport to play at ‘Scotland’s Most Northerly Golf Course’.
Delighted, they set about the task, played their most northerly course, jumped back in their plane and flew off home to Canada to tell the tale. No one at the club had the guts to tell them they’d visited the wrong course!
ASTA GOLF COURSE
Asta Golf Course is situated 5 minutes away from Lerwick Golf Club, next to Asta Loch. It’s a simple 9-hole course, but it's well worth a round due to its lovely location. They do an interesting thing here to ‘spice’ things up… they switch the tees around mid-month to offer two quite different nine-hole tracks - just to keep the members on their toes!
The wind whistles down Asta Loch
The ‘Classic Course’ is available on the first two weeks of the month, identified by Yellow Flags. They say it offers a tighter, trickier challenge. We played the ‘New Course’ available the last two weeks and identified by Red Flags which gives big hitters the chance to ‘let fly’ with fewer water hazards in play and a bit more room to work with. It’s a great idea and seems to work.
In a place like Shetland, you have to be adaptable. Here at Asta there the clubhouse doubles as the local community centre.
An art class taking place at Asta’s clubhouse.
