The History of the Old Gowrie
One Wednesday afternoon in September of 1894 the tobacconists of the Perth/Dundee
area in eastern Scotland closed their shops early and gathered together for the annual
Tayside Tobacconists Association golfing tournament and dinner.
Sadly, the tournament was not all they had hoped it would be.  Arrangements with a local
public golf course near the town of Dundee had been made months in advance, but the
management of that course mistakenly scheduled the League of Dundee Ironmongers
tournament on the same day and at the same time.  On top of that confusion, a fierce
North Sea storm had blown through the area two weeks before and had made the 7th
through the 10th holes virtually unplayable.
Needless to say, even the most experienced players did not have a good round.  Old
Tammas Lowry, considered the best player of the Tayside Tobacconists, could only
manage to win with a par for the day.  None of the others got below +2, and a fight nearly
broke out on the 14th tee after insinuations were made by the Ironmongers that the
tobacconists were intentionally playing slow.
At the dinner that evening, the day's tribulations were discussed, and it soon became
apparent that there was considerable support among the Association's members for a
golf course which they could call their own.
A committee was made up on the spot to look into the prospect, and, at the
November meeting, this committee was pleased to report overwhelming support by the
members.  They were also pleased to report that the finances of the group were sufficient
to pay for the building of a course, should a suitable site be found.
It was not too long thereafter that Mrs. Andrew Sinclair Rattray passed away, leaving a
rather large tract of the family estate to her favorite nephew, Charley, who also happened
to be the senior member of the Tayside Tobacconists from the town of Perth.  Charley
Rattray immediately put this land at the disposal of the group for the construction of the
golf course. A designer was hired, plans for the 18-hole course were drawn up, and work
was begun.  The course was open for general play by late May of 1895, and officially
christened during that year's annual tournament in the autumn.  In recognition of Charley
Rattray's land donation, the course was called the "Old Gowrie", after his most recently
developed tobacco blend.
The course is built on a tract of land just south of the town of Rattray, the site of the
Rattray family ancestral home.  This part of the Strathmore Valley has been used in the
past for the raising of cattle and sheep, and as you roam the course you may see some
remnants of the fencing necessary for those endeavors.  It is quite hilly, although
certainly not  mountainous.  What looks like cart paths are the remains of the various
farm roads that once criss-crossed the area.  Streams running through the area had been
dammed for farming purposes and account for the water hazards on the course.
Something else you may find as you play are the outcroppings of rock which
occasionally poke through the Scottish soil.  The course has been routed, however, in
such a way that you will not find them a frequent hazard. Off in the distance you may
see the ruins of Calverley castle among the hills or a train steaming by on its way to
Aberdeen.
The initial course was rather crude, but several holes were re-worked in the early 1930's.
King Edward VIII played there once during a stay at Balmoral while he was still the
Prince of Wales.  Legend has it that his round made him late for a rendezvous with
Wallis Simpson, the woman he later gave up his throne to marry.
Hard times throughout the area after the Second World War stretched the limits of the
Association's finances, and the course was sold to a private concern, with the stipulation
in the contract that any Tayside tobacconist would have perpetual free access and
membership rights.  The entire course was re-designed to reflect the advance of
technology on the game.  Earth was moved, ladies' and pro tees added, and walls were
built to better contain the water hazards.  The course was re-opened to the public in the
early 1950's.  In a gallant salute to it's history, however, the new owners retained the
name of "Old Gowrie".
Derivation of the Names for the Holes:
1. Three Nuns - a tobacco blend well known the world over. An interesting combination of
matured Virginias and Louisiana Perique.
2. Ogden's Bulwark - another tobacco blend and perhaps a tribute to my maternal
grandmother, who was an Ogden.  The name was probably suggested by the bulwark
that can effect your drive on this hole.
3. Hal o' the Wynd - not "Howl of the Wind".  The name is from one of the Rattray tobacco
blends whhcih in turn was taken from a character in Sir Walter Scott's "A Fair Maid of
Perth".
4. The Greenlady - in Scottish folk tales, a Greenlady is the spectre of death.  Perhaps
one of the early golfers on this course saw the island on this hole as death coming to
claim him.
5. Richt or Wrang - refers to the choice of fairways. Scottish dialect for right or wrong.
6. Twa Corbies - a corbie is a raven.  The twin greens sit and wait like two ravens waiting
to pick your bones.
7. Prig Penny - a tightwad.  This narrow fairway is about as tight as you can get!
8. Dickson's Delight - Dickson (I forget his first name) was a caddie to King Charles II.
This hole is a caddie's delight, with several ways to play it.
9. Bertie's Bairns - it was on this hole that Bertie Whammond got the news that his wife
had given birth to twins (a bairn is a baby).  The news so unnerved him that his approach
shot went completely awry.  In sympathy, a second green was later added just where his
ball landed so that the story would not repeat itself.
10. Sair Hert - dialect for a troubled state of mind. Misreading this hole can put you in a
troubled state of mind!
11. Baby's Bottom - another blend of tobacco, advertised as being "as smooth as" a
baby's bottom, and referring to the smoothness of the hole. 12. Rum and Schooner - a 
schooner is a small beer, just right for chasing down a jigger
of rum as you stroke your way to these twin greens.
13. Granny's Sooker - a peppermint candy.  If you play this hole right, it can be just as
sweet!
14. A Ruined View - this hole offers the best view of the ruins of Calverley Castle.
Pardon the intentional pun!
15. 3 Noggins - a tobacco blend of the Charles Rattray Company brought to mind by the
three pot bunkers defending the green.
16. Rattray's Law - a "law" is a hill.  It was on this hill that the Rattray family home was
located and where the tee area is now situated for this hole.
17. The Bogle - "bogle" and "Bogeyman" have similar origins. The uncanny magnetism
of the right fairway bunker must have made early golfers think that a bogle must reside
in the sand.
18. Reekie Corner - "reekie" means smoke.  Early golfers at the Old Gowrie would often
pause at this hole to light up their pipes before finishing a round.
Designer's Notes:
This is the first course I've designed that I like well enough to upload.  It was begun
using JNUG, but JNSE came out about a week later, so I kept the idea but started over
with the actual construction. All the objects are either included with JNSE or done by
myself with the exception of the background.  I borrowed that from another course, and I
am sorry to say that I don't remember to whom I should give credit.  Thank you, whoever
you might be.  I did add a few niceties to it such as the train and the castle ruins in the
distance.

The history of the course is complete fiction, althought there was a Charles Rattray who
was a tobacconist in Perth.  His company still exists and makes extremely fine blends 
of
tobacco (albeit expensive!).  I say it is a fictional course, but if you should look at a
detailed map of that area of Scotland, you will see that there is a course there. I know
nothing about any real courses in the district, but I like to think that the Old Gowrie 
might
fit in with them.
I might have gone overboard with the water hazards, but not all of them really come 
into
play.  It's just that I like the way the designer program works with water and I think they
add something to the scenery.
This course can be a challenge but I wouldn't say that it is particularly hard, even though
I have only broken par once (yesterday).  It rewards good shots and, if you make a 
mistake, you aren't
doomed forever.  You can get back on track with just a little more concentration and
planning on your next shot.  The greens are gentle, but not absolutely flat.  You might
miss that 40-footer, but you will probably be able to tap-in after it. I've noticed some
crazy greens on some of the other courses around, and I don't believe them to be very
realistic.  Golf course owners spend more money on greenkeeping than on any other
part of the course.  No one likes to hit a perfect drive and a beautiful chip shot only to be
demoralized by 3 or 4-putting on an ill-tempered green!
Feel free to distibute this course to other folks. I would be grateful if someone closer to
California could upload it to the Accolade BBS.  All I ask is that you leave it in its orginal
form if you keep the Old Gowrie name and give me some credit for the design. You can
use it as a template for your own ideas, but please change the name.  A lot of midnight
oil went into the creation of this course and ripping it off would be an insult and just plain
not nice!
If I make a decent scan, I'll zip in a GIF of what a round on the course in its early days
might have been like.  I have several golfing cartoons from the English humor magazine
PUNCH, circa 1895.
I hope you enjoy playing at the Old Gowrie. Let me know if you have any comments or
suggestions. PRODIGY: DHRB35A, CSERVE: 71621,1223, GEnie: J.Lively3, or AMERICA
ON-LINE: JeffreyL28.  It's back to the drawing board to begin GOSHDARN CANYON
COUNTRY CLUB, coming soon to a PC near you!
Jeff Lively
Richmond, VA
May 27, 1992