98 Montrose Medal

98 Montrose Medal

Architect: Park Jr Stats: 6,544 yds, par 71, SSS 72 GF: £45-£55 Visitor information: Visitors restricted between 14.44 and 15.40 on Saturdays and after

10.02 on Sundays, otherwise any free time by making advance booking W: montroselinks.co.uk 2008 Ranking: 93 (Down 5) Improvements since 2008 Rankings: Course: New fairway bunkers and movement of existing fairway bunkers on holes 1, 10 and 18 Clubhouse: Ongoing

It's the fifth oldest golf course in the world, with some parts dating back 350 years, so there's a tangible sense of permanence at Montrose. Gorse-lined fairways dotted with cruel pot bunkers, sloping greens with infuriating run-offs and an ever-present breeze - Montrose Medal has all the requisite components to class it as one of the great Scottish links. The long par-3 16th provides a real challenge late-on - unreachable some days, it rounds things off with a roller coaster green that wouldn't sit out of place on the 1st-century Castle course at St Andrews.

Panellists' comments: "Good start, solid middle and a very strong finish"; "The greens are fast, true and excellent."

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