Scott Jamieson has likened the venue for this week's Volvo World Matchplay as a mix of Kingsbarns and Castle Stuart.

He and his fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher are in the 24-strong field from 15 nations who will compete over the stunning Thracian Cliffs course overlooking the Black Sea.

The Gary Player-designed course is laid out along a 4km stretch, with holes four to 10 an average of 40m above the shore line.

There are "danger" signs warning of the drop all the way along those seven holes, while the European Tour has also warned of venomous Ursini Viper snakes, common to the rocky regions of Bulgaria, with a notice in the temporary clubhouse indicating medics have anti-venom on hand should anyone be bitten.

"The course is simply stunning and reminds me of those calendars that shows these crazy golf holes where you have this tiny rope leading up to a mountain, and you hit to this small island below," said Jamieson. "There's an island tee at the ninth where you hit across the water and beach to the fairway. But you also have to be careful walking along the edge as it's a sheer drop to the water below. Then there's the snakes . . .

"There's a bit of Castle Stuart and Kingsbarns where you have holes at water level and holes higher up looking down along the shoreline."

Jamieson makes his debut in the event – he qualified by finishing runner-up in the Volvo Champions in South Africa – and has been drawn in a group with the Dane Thorbjorn Olesen and Sweden's Carl Pettersson. Gallacher, also contesting the event for a first time, earned his place by winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and will play world No.8 Graeme McDowell, of Northern Ireland, and England's Chris Wood.

Neither Scot will play until Friday, though, with the seeded players, such as McDowell and Wood, contesting the first series of matches on Thursday. Should the Scots be successful in their groups, they would meet in Sunday morning's semi-final.

Nicolas Colsaerts will defend his title once his father has delivered his clubs after chartering a private jet. His first attempt to have his clubs and luggage transported to the resort was thwarted by a strike at Brussels Airport. Plan B involved his mother taking his reserve set on a flight from Paris to Sofia, but that flight was cancelled and, when his mother eventually arrived at midnight, the luggage had not made the journey.

It was only when he appealed on social media for help that staff at Brussels airport searched for and found the original missing clubs, allowing his father Patrick to bring them on a private plane, scheduled to arrive late last night.