Golf: Renaissance gets resounding thumbs-up for layout and condition

Published on Tuesday 25 August 2009 09:42

LOTHIANS star Andrew Oldcorn reckons Tom Doak, the top American golf course designer, has come up with a winner in his layout at The Renaissance, near Gullane.

The former PGA champion was among a group of European Tour players who played the East Lothian course yesterday in a charity pro-am and liked what he saw.

"It's a very nice layout indeed," said Oldcorn, who has played most of the courses in the Lothians since his family moved to Edinburgh from Bolton when he was a kid.

"I played with Tom Doak in the Dunhill Links a few years back when he had just started working on The Renaissance and, to be honest, it's just what I expected from him – every hole is different."

As exclusively revealed in the Evening News earlier this year, the owners have put in a planning application for three new holes and Oldcorn added: "They're going to be really spectacular."

Andrew Coltart, who has been a member next door at Archerfield Links since he made Edinburgh his home, was also impressed with Doak's first design in Scotland. It's a lovely course and what I really like about it is there's a real variety of holes.

"What's more, it's not like so many of the courses these days which just have lots of cabbage lining each hole," said the former Ryder Cup player.

Coltart, who is hoping a good display in this week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles will boost his bid to hang on to his European Tour card at the end of the year, shot a four-under-par 67, bettered only by Welshman Jamie Donaldson, who bagged six birdies in his 66, a new course record. That was as good as I could have played and the conditions were probably as benign as you'll get in this part of the world," said Donaldson, who reckoned the course had a Kingsbarns feel to it.

Among the amateurs playing in yesterday's pro-am – the proceeds were being donated to Riders for the Disabled through the Tour Players' Foundation – was former England star Alan Shearer.

He's a member at The Renaissance and said: "It is a fantastic golf course. I love the layout, the condition and also the location – it's a great spot."