{"id":1109,"date":"2014-09-15T07:12:09","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T14:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/?p=1109"},"modified":"2014-09-27T06:46:21","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T13:46:21","slug":"royal-fraserburgh-never-gets-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/travel\/1109\/royal-fraserburgh-never-gets-old","title":{"rendered":"Royal Fraserburgh never gets old"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fraserburgh<\/a>

Fraserburgh provides its share of uphill battles. Especially on Corbie Hill.<\/p><\/div>\n

The GPS, which took us inland from Aberdeen even though the coastal route seemed like the way to go, wasn\u2019t sure how to get to Royal Fraserburgh.<\/p>\n

But Liz had fun careening our little red Ford Focus down some exceedingly narrow roads while I tried to sort out the map. So it all worked out. About an hour north of our Aberdeen base, we pulled into the car park of “the seventh oldest course in the world.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The town of Fraserburgh lies just west of the golf course. Both sit next to the North Sea.<\/p><\/div>\n

While golf has been played at Fraserburgh since 1613, the current layout was set by James Braid in 1922. A five-time British Open champion. Braid (1870-1950) was a prolific golf course architect in Scotland, apparently as prolfiic and highly regarded as Donald Ross (1872-1948) was in the United States.<\/p>\n

It appears that there\u2019s a “George Washington slept here\u2019\u2019 aspect to both of their careers. Both seem to have worked on an amazing number of golf courses.<\/p>\n

\"Fraserburgh's<\/a>

Fraserburgh’s 13th hole, “the Hillocks,” is a short par four guarded by grassy mounds.<\/p><\/div>\n

For example, when we were in Detroit a few years ago, I was looking for a close-in golf course that we could sneak off to before a Blackhawks-Red Wings playoff game, and stumbled across Warren Valley, a Wayne Country facility in Dearborn Heights that said it had two Donald Ross courses.<\/p>\n

When I called, the woman who answered said tee times were available and the greens fees were under $30.<\/p>\n

“Are these really Donald Ross courses?\u2019\u2019 I said.<\/p>\n

“Oh, I don\u2019t know about that,\u2019\u2019 she said. “He doesn\u2019t work here any more.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

He did good work, though, while he was there.<\/p>\n