Brace yourself for a long and tiring day on this very hilly and challenging course, with not a single flat hole in sight, plenty of elevation changes, beautiful tree-lined fairways (some quite narrow), a lot of steep blind shots and a few tricky greens, hard to reach, with bunkers in front.
This gorgeous par 72 starts with the left dogleg par-4 1st hole, with a tee shot over a small lake landing onto an undulating tree-lined fairway and a downhill approach to the green (set at the bottom of a big wooded hill), and continues with the par-3 2nd, with a tee shot through a narrow gap between trees toward the green, with an elongated bunker on the right.
I also like the par-3 5th hole, with a slightly-uphill tee shot over a small lake near the green, set on a small plateau and surrounded by trees, the left dogleg par-5 6th, downhill all the way with a blind tee shot landing onto a very undulating and winding tree-lined fairway (and another blind and very long approach to the green), and the right dogleg par-5 7th hole, this time uphill all the way, with two blind shots over an undulating and serpentine tree-lined fairway to reach the green, hidden by trees.
As for the slightly-uphill par-3 8th hole, you will have to be careful to avoid landing into the thin bunker surrounding the green almost entirely...
If you think you will be out of the woods on the back 9, think again ! On the left dogleg par-4 10th hole, you will need to hit two uphill blind shots, both landing... downhill onto an undulating fairway, then onto an undulating green (with a small bunker in front to watch for), whereas, on the steeply-uphill right dogleg par-4 11th, quite short (around 350 yards), you will have to be very careful with your blind tee shot to avoid landing into some big gorse bushes on both sides of the undulating and slanted fairway, halfway, before aiming another short shot to the slightly-downhill green.
Two nice and challenging par-5 holes follow : the 12th is a left dogleg, with a blind and steeply-downhill tee shot landing near a small lake (on the right, with a few trees around) and a blind and steeply-uphill second shot toward the green (with a small bunker in front, on the right), and the 13th is quite long with a tee shot landing onto an undulating, narrow and slanted fairway (halfway with a small bunker on the right) and a blind (and very long) second shot to try to reach the sloped green, slightly to the left.
Then, after the par-4 14th hole, with a tee shot landing downhill near a small stream crossing the fairway midway, and a blind second shot toward the elevated and sloped green, you will face the pretty par-3 15th, with a slightly-uphill tee shot over an elongated lake, halfway, landing onto a narrow green, with a steep slope around, before heading for the left dogleg par-4 16th hole, with a steeply-downhill tee shot and an elevated green, and the par-3 17th, with a down-and-up slope in between and an undulating green.
The right dogleg par-5 18th hole will test your stamina, one last time, with a tee shot over a small elongated lake landing near a small bunker set diagonally, halfway the undulating fairway, and a blind (and very long) uphill second shot in the direction of the... downhill green, with two bunkers a little bit apart down in front, before walking toward the nice small clubhouse (next to the Dundee war memorial, on the right, often seen on Neil Munro’s courses) for a well-deserved rest !
Overall, this Carlogie Braes course is one of Neil Munro’s toughest designs and one of his most beautiful too, with plenty of colorful and thick trees, and a few water hazards to keep you on your (very tired) toes all the way until the 18th green.
But if you are patient enough and avoid landing into the trees and/or the bunkers in front of the greens, and play through those consecutive par-5 holes (6th and 7th, 12th and 13th) without much damage, you will thoroughly enjoy Neil Munro's latest masterpiece !