Even someone as illustrious a figure in the game as Tom Watson had some difficulty when he tried Monifieth as his introduction to links golf, but Ingvar Magnusson had no such problems.
Magnusson and compatriot Daniel Isak Steinarsson are the surprise leaders after the first round of the Scottish Boys Strokeplay Championship, despite the being Icelanders’ first competitive round in Scotland as well as their debut on a links course.
And Magnusson’s first hole on the traditional links was even a routine birdie three, a much more seamless introduction than Watson’s now famous debut in 1975 just before he won the Open at Carnoustie at his first attempt.
Denied a practice round on the Open course that day, Watson decamped to the Monifieth Medal instead and striped his opening tee shot down the middle, only to be unable to find his ball when he reached the fairway.
“Eventually we found it in a tiny pot bunker 50 yards off line to the left,” recalled Watson. “My first bad links bounce. Boy, was I mad!”
It took the eventual five-time Open champion some more time to love the links but the 16-year-old from Reykjavik got started early, a three-iron, wedge and a three-foot putt for his opening three.
He bookended his round with a birdie four at the long 18th to complete the only score under 70 on the day – a remarkable return on a blustery day not quite as severe as in practice.
Icelanders are accustomed to linksy conditions, however, with strong winds not exactly not unknown and most of the courses on the island exposed to the elements.
Like they do in football, witness last year’s European Championships, Iceland punch above their weight in golf too – there are more courses per capita than anywhere in the world with 65 for the 321,000 population, and almost 10 per cent of that population playing regularly.
However the weather means the golf season is truncated from mid May to late August (although there are 24 hours of daylight during those months for the golf-obsessed) and for development it’s necessary to take the top players abroad.
“We’ve just been in Spain for a training camp and if the guys are going to develop they need to be playing at the highest level for longer than our golf season allows,” explained Jussi Pitkanen, a Finn with an Irish accent (from 20 years as a pro in Dublin) who is the national coach.
“The success of the soccer team has changed a lot in Iceland and the government is putting money into all sports including golf so we’re able to travel more now.”
Magnusson is a past national Under-16 champion while colleague Stienarsson also showed his promise with the only other round of the day under par, finishing with a 70 after two bogeys on the back nine.
Scotland’s main hopes battled against the wind, favourite Jamie Stewart not managing a single birdie in his three-over 74 but still well inside the top 20.
“The wind was definitely very tricky coming in,” said the 17-year-old who played well with the Scottish international squad in South Africa earlier in the year, but will not play in the Scottish Boys Matchplay, which has switched dates from its traditional April slot this year with the Strokeplay version.
“It’s a shame because I would love to have played in the Boys’ but it’s on at the same time as senior events I want to play in now like the Europeans,” he said.
The switch has allowed Scottish Golf to play the boys and girls’ strokeplay championships at the same time with the girls up at Montrose Links proving better scoring ground for the Scots.
Strathmore Golf Centre’s Kirsty Brodie is co-leader after a one-under 72, the 17-year-old from Kirriemuir, who won the St Andrews Ladies Invitational last year, picking up four birdies in her last seven holes.
She shares the first round lead with Hamburg’s Hannah Karg, with Cardross’ Jillian Farrell sharing third place after a par round of 73.
