Golf Course Review

Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club is located in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland. The club was established on the 25th of November 1887 when the founding members felt a links closer than Troon would be more convenient. The club was then known as the Ossington Golf Club. The first course was at Holmes Farm was laid out and shared with livestock!

By 1894, a 123-acre site was obtained near the station. Six members, local pro-John Allan and a gardener met on October 2, 1894, and laid the course out in a single day! The course opened for play on October 20, 1894, with a match between Wille Auchterlonie and Willie Fernie. Initial criticism of the layout was it was too short at just 4390 yards. Drainage was added to the links in 1921.

Change was in the air by 1931 when Theodore Moone undertook changes that took from 1932 until 1935 to implement. The brief was to reconstruct the course gradually and use the inhouse greenskeeping staff. One perceived deficiency was its apparent flatness. Miniature mountains and valleys were sculpted to provide hazards but also add visual appeal. The Jubilee booklet reports entire greens were relaid and thousands of tons of earth moved to 'tighten the Barassie as a test of golf.' In 1936, irrigation was installed to combat years of successive drought.

The course remained unchanged until a further 9 holes were added in 1997. The new holes were paired with 9 from Moone to create the Barassie Links. The remaining 9 Moone holes are called the Hillhouse. Theodore Moone's original course is made up of The Hillhouse Nine plus holes 1-3 and 13-18 of the Barassie Links. The Barassie Links is a combination of holes 1-3 (Moone), holes 4-12 (New) and holes 13-18 (Moone).