This is the honor box where Nick Faldo dropped his signed £5 when he played here
The Isle of Harris Golf Club is in the Outer Hebrides in the small village of Scarista, at the far south end of the Isle of Harris. My intent on this golf trip to the Hebrides was to play all six golf courses on Harris, South Uist, and the Isle of Barra, and this one was supposed to be the most scenic, maybe the most scenic 9 holer in the world. I flew Flybe into Stornoway from Inverness, then set off in the rent car for a journey of 53 miles, why then did it take me 2 1/2 hours to drive there? Well, one-lane roads, sheep lining the highways, hairpin turns through the lunar-like landscape… after two hours of driving I was certain this was all a big mistake.
Views from every hole of the Sound of Taransay, leading onto the Atlantic Ocean
It seemed as if I must have passed the golf course on my from Stornoway since I’d been driving two hours of sheer isolation, and now only had 30 minutes to make the last ferry. The road rises up now around a crescent beach, the Atlantic is on my right, and I’m approaching the first hint of linksland, rolling dunes, and around the next corner, and below me lay the Sound of Taransay, and the Isle of Harris Golf Club, what a sight, and even though by myself, let out a whoop of joy on first glimpse!
The community tends to the golf club, and it was in excellent condition throughout
The course is only a 9 holer, and short as well, so going around twice was only 4864 yards, par 68, sss 64. It’s bordered on one side by the A859, on the west, north, and south by the Sound of Taransay, leading onto the Atlantic Ocean, with sugar white sandy beaches lining the coast, and the mountains off in the distance. The general terrain of his part of the Hebrides must be likened to the moon, with rocky outcrops, hills, valleys, lochs, and boulder sized rocks strewn throughout, like disorganized matchsticks. Having just visited the Callanish Standing Stones on my way south, it was no wonder that there’s a plethora of Stonehenge type monuments throughout the area, since they had plenty of material to work with!
The first hole starts off with a blind tee shot and a blind shot to the green, but the Atlantic is in view!
The course is routed over a hillside which runs down to Scarista Beach and the Atlantic, not really classic linksland, but a wide and ranging, hilly layout. This shot values are spectacular with the white sand beaches and the aquamarine waters heading into the Atlantic, the mountains to the north, and the Isle of South Uist to the south. The course was a treat to play, not long, but the first time around the routing was difficult to figure, so I had to play three times! Not sure they know who designed the course, from what a couple of the locals who were there building a fence, it was built by the local townspeople on the shape of the existing land. The greens were laid in natural plateaus and hollows, with the bunkering created the natural way, where the lay of the land exposed it to the constant winds, and grass unable to take hold.
The second skirts the rocky cliffs of the Atlantic, and is a short par 4 with a narrow strip of fairway
Each hole provides a very different challenge, interesting, requiring creativity, with course knowledge essential, it would be fun to have Scarista as my home course. The green fee for a day golfing at Scarista is a very reasonable £15, and it’s paid at the honesty box at the front gate of the course. There was a small clubhouse, but it had only restrooms, and a members area for changing. Nick Faldo apparently visited in the early nineties, I imagine he used a helicopter. At that time the fee was £5, and Faldo signed his £5 note, and ever since the club members have competed annually for the ‘Faldo Fiver’. I played my first two rounds alone one morning after catching the Caledonia MacBrayne Ferry back from the Isle of South Uist, and on my third round saw the first locals arrive and set out to play. It was truly as scenic as a golf course I’ve ever played, and one that’s now etched in my memory forever. The journey to play golf in the Hebrides was a huge investment in time, but well worth it. The cost was actually not all that bad, a couple of 35 £ Flybe flights, to and from, a rent car, and a couple of nights, and most of course’s greens fees 15£.
Access to Harris is possible by a variety of different routes, ferries run from Uig on the Isle of Skye to Tarbert on the Isle of Harris (about 20 minutes drive from the course) or to Stornaway (about 90 minutes drive from the course) on the Isle of Lewis from Ullapool on the North Western coast of Scotland. It is also possible to fly to Stornaway from Glasgow or Inverness, and make the 2 1/2 hour drive. Playing golf in the Outer Hebrides was a unique experience, and two of the courses, Isle of Harris and Askernish are well worth the effort it takes to get there.
