Roadtrip; Montrose Medal

If Stonehaven was windy, Montrose was like being stuck in a wind tunnel for 4.5 hours. I can't put into words just how windy it was, particularly on the front 9. The course was in good condition, as was to be expected, the greens rolled well, and it was set up to be very difficult.
I started with a par, then frittered 2 shots away on the 2nd. The rest of the front 9 was fairly solid, there were a few dropped shots but in the conditions that was to be expected. To give indication of the strength of the wind, I drove the ball 320 yards on the 4th hole, but drove it 204 yards on the tenth, which was followed by a well struck 3 iron travelling 175 yards. That 3 iron followed a misguided decision to hit a 3 wood, which was pulled left into the gorse, instantly lost. I stood on the 12th tee at 9 over par, with some tough holes into the wind left. I then played the last 7 in one under par, 6 really good pars, and a birdie on the 235 yard par 3 16th (driver to 25 feet and a holed putt, my first 2 of the weekend arriving on the 88th of the 90 holes).
So I carded a 79, and on checking the scores in the clubhouse, was the 12th best of the day, and the only person to break 80 in the last 3 hours, covering 54 players.
I absolutely chucked 4 shots away, so it could have been even better, but I can't really complain with breaking 80 in those conditions, and it was a good practice round for the 5 day open at Montrose in a couple of weeks.
The photo is the view from the 2nd tee, with the North Sea on the right.
So that is the end of the trip, 5 rounds in 3 days, I'm now very tired and even a bit tanned, once the dust has settled I'll maybe review the 5 rounds before I move on to St Andrews next week for the Open Championship.