Hole 7 | Witch Tree
Set into the Muiry woodland, holes 7 and 8 bring a distinct ‘Pine Valley’ feel to your game. A challenging par 3 for some players, hole 7 is not overly long but there are trees, lots of them, all the way up both sides close to the fairway.
Line is probably more important that distance as there is some room off the back of the green. Avoiding the challenging bunkers short left and right of a large green is to be commended. The green slopes down from left bunker to the right centre where it flattens out.
|
Tee |
Yards |
Par |
Index |
|
White |
202 |
3 |
10 |
|
Yellow |
174 |
3 |
10 |
|
Red |
170 |
3 |
16 |
“A drum, a drum!
Macbeth doth come.”
What is it with Forres and witches?
Local folklore has it that this hole was named after a pine tree that grew in the shape of a witches hat. although it is the Rowan that we most associate with witches. Like many places across northern Europe, Forres has its share of legends steeped in witchcraft and folklore. On Cluny Hill alone you’ll find the Witches’ Hole — a mysterious hollow whispered about for generations — and the Witches’ Stones, said to mark the resting place of the infamous spiked barrel that once carried accused witches down the hill until it stopped… sealing their fate.
But Forres holds a truly unique claim in the realm of the supernatural: its starring role in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. As Banquo and Macbeth stumble upon the Three Witches, Banquo asks, “How far is’t called to Forres?” — firmly planting the town in the heart of literary legend.
Described by the Woodland Trust as the “bane of witches, diviner of the future and producer of jam,” the rowan tree is woven deeply into Celtic and Norse folklore. According to Trees for Life, it was once seen as a powerful protector, even credited in myth with saving Thor — the god, not the Marvel hero — from peril.
You’ll find a rowan just behind the 7th green but as you step up to take your shot, peering toward what seems a straightforward par 3, beware the subtle trickery that has undone many a confident golfer. The winds may shift, your club may deceive and it quickly becomes a case of Which Tree!
Image of a Rowan above the Quiraing, Skye