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Golf at Gleneagles A Guide to the Scottish Golf Holiday The goal of many an ardent golfer is to play on Scotland's historic courses. There are a number of companies that specialize in providing packaged arrangements for the visiting golfer. However, for a foursome, we think the arrangements could be made on-line for the most part. Certainly, this last consideration is especially valid if some of the visitors have had previous experience traveling in Scotland. A little later in this article, we list 18 Scottish golf courses that we feel any visitor could enjoy playing. In turn, we feel these are courses capable of providing a warm welcome to the visitor and offering an experience that will be remembered for a lifetime. We offer some general information that the reader should verify on a club by club basis. Please note: any costs or policies indicated are approximate. You should check directly with the clubs or companies concerned, to learn the details of their current prices and policies. It is also worth noting that policies and prices will vary from club to club or company to company. At the time when this is written, all of the clubs or resorts we present have web sites and we indicate their URL (web address) for your convenience. We also include links to other golf organizations that you might find interesting. Scotland has hundreds of excellent golf courses. Today we call your attention to a selection of 18 resort courses, private clubs and public golf courses that might be included in any expert's list of best Scottish courses. We present them simply because we believe each is capable of providing an outstanding golf experience to the visitor to Scotland. Arrangements, Protocols & Formalities The following will give you some general expectations into the term and protocols involved in creating a Scottish golf holiday. Again, please check with each club or resort you plan to play to ensure timely advance arrangements are made and understood correctly, Tee
times & Green fees Private clubs generally have a set policy regarding visitors. In some cases, reciprocal courtesies may extended to visitors who are members of recognized golf clubs. Visitor play may be limited to particular days of the week with further restrictions placed on the availability of tee times. Green fees are often seasonal, with a high season corresponding roughly to a late spring (April/May) to Autumn (September/October) period which may be followed by a low season tariff perhaps from late autumn (October/November) to spring (March/April). Deposits
and Payment of Green Fees Handicap Caddies
& Trolleys Most clubs will endeavor to provide caddies if requested but cannot guarantee that caddies will be available at tee time. Nowadays the pool of caddies is limited. Expect to pay about £30.00 - £35.00 for an experienced caddy and at least £25.00 for a bag carrier Rental clubs may be available for a nominal fee. Lockers Pace of Play Dress
Code In the clubhouse or dining room, gentlemen should wear jacket and tie. Hats should be removed when entering the clubhouse facilities. Ladies would be appropriately attired in a suit, dress or tailored slacks and blouse. 18
Great Scottish
Golf
Courses 1. Aberdeen Originally known as The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen. Royal Aberdeen is the sixth oldest golf club in the world. Membership in the society was determined by ballot. Location: North of Bridge of Don off the A92 http://www.royalaberdeengolf.com/ 2. Blairgowrie The Blairgowrie Golf Club was founded in 1889 and is situated in the heart of the magnificent Perthshire countryside. The Club features two championship courses, the Rosemount and Lansdowne, plus a very attractive 9-hole course. All are famous for their setting in heather lined avenues of pine and silver birch. Location: 15 miles north of Perth 3. Boat of Garten Designed by one of the greatest names in golf course architecture - James Braid, Boat-of-Garten's course demanding test of individual ability as well as a magnificent setting for the game. Popular with visitors, from both home and abroad, the course has become firmly established as a "must" for those enjoying a golfing tour of the Scottish Highlands.
Location: 30 miles south of Inverness 4. Carnoustie Golf has been played over the links at Carnoustie since the 16th century. But the present course, designed by Alan Robertson of St Andrews, dates to 1850. A generation later, the legendary Old Tom Morris extended the course to 18 holes. In 1926 the famous architect James Braid redesigned the Championship course extensively. Before the 1937 Open Championship, James Wright, a local, redesigned the final 3 holes and thus produced what is widely considered the toughest finishing stretch in championship golf.
Location: 11 miles north of Dundee 5. Dornoch The first three golf links in Scotland for which there is written record are: St Andrews in 1552, Leith in 1593, and Dornoch in 1616. In 1877 that the Dornoch Golf Club was founded as the successor of the Sutherland Golfing Society whose members played both Dornoch and Golspie. At the time, the course was only 9 holes long. The great Tom Morris came up from St. Andrews and laid out 9 proper golf holes. Three years later another 9 holes were added and the fame of the Dornoch course started to spread. There are many who believe that Royal Dornoch would be part of the Open Championship rota were there sufficient hotel, other hospitality and communications facilities to support an Open Championship. Location:
50 miles north of Inverness 6. Edinburgh The first record of The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh dates to the 18th century. It is unlikely that the society's founding members - merchants, writers, bankers and others - realized that they were forging such a rich and colourful part of the history of Edinburgh and the game of golf. As they played their golf on Bruntsfield Links and drank their ale in the Golf Tavern, they lived for the enjoyment of the moment and were somewhat tardy about recording their activities for posterity. Location: on Queensferry Road, Edinburgh http://www.royalburgess.co.uk/ 7.
Gleneagles Gleneagles' newest, the PGA Centenary Course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, has five different tees at each hole, building up to the ultimate 7,088 yard championship test. The famous 6,741 yard King's and the challenging 5,965 yard Queen's, were both designed by James Braid. As the first man to win five Open Championships, he knew a thing or two about the perfect course. 8. Golspie Being situated 50 miles North of Inverness, Golspie guarantees the visitor a rare chance for two outstanding rounds of golf on two wonderful courses Golspie and its neighbor to the south - Royal Dornoch. Golspie offers a challenge, together with a warm welcome, to all levels of golfer over its mixture of links, heath and parkland course terrain.
Location: 11 miles north of Dornoch 9.
Gullane With dramatic views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh and Fife, Gullane Golf Club offers championship quality links courses . The Courses do not have names but simply numbers which reflect their age. The Championship Courses Gullane No.1 has a long history of hosting international Championship events, including the Scottish Amateur Championship, Open Championship Qualifying, Seniors Open Gullane No.2 has also been used for Open Championship Qualifying and the Seniors Open Amateur. Gullane No.3, whilst being the shortest, still provides a stern challenge for golfers of all abilities. Location:
11 miles east of Edinburgh 10. Gullane Home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers Muirfield, dates to the 18th century when the Club penned the original 13 Rules of Golf for the first competition played for the Silver Club. Then, the members played on 5 holes at Leith Links. Later, they would move to Musselburgh's 9-hole Old Course and ultimately to Muirfield, in 1891. Muirfield is the only course to have hosted the Open (15 times, the most recent in 2002), the Amateur, the Mid Amateur, the Ryder Cup, the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup.
Location: 11 miles East of Edinburgh 11. Inverness Situated one mile from the city centre, Inverness Golf Club provides an excellent golf experience. The course, which has been used for The Northern Open, measures 6256 yards and although considered short by modern day standards, it has many fine features which makes it a most enjoyable test of golf. The highlight of the course has to be the dog-leg 14th hole. At 475 yards it not only demands length and accuracy off the tee, but an extremely narrow entrance into a small green normally requires the steeliest of nerves with a long iron or wood. At 461 yards the 18th hole is one of the best finishing holes in the North of Scotland, and a par to finish makes the following refreshment in the 19th, overlooking the green, all the more enjoyable.
Location: 1 mile south of Town Center 12. Lossiemouth Moray Golf Club was founded in 1889 and formally
opened on 30th March of that year. In these early years of Moray Golf Club, the membership included a number of distillers and the effects of their vision and foresight continue to be enjoyed by members to the present day. These distiller members who had been laying down whisky since the formation of the club, and in 1900 the club purchased one hogshead (54 Imperial gallons) of Glen Grant 1894 whisky at 7/6 per gallon, one of 1897 at 5/- and two of 1900 at 2/6. This practice continues to the present day and five or six hogsheads are bought annually and bottled for the club at ten years of age. Glen Grant continued to be the "club malt" until 1992 when the club changed to "Macallan," having laid down hogsheads of Macallan some years previously. Today's "club malt" is a 12 year old single malt.
Location: 6 miles north of Elgin 13. Macrihanish In Campbeltown, conversations about the longest drive are frequent but not necessarily about great tee shots. You see, it seems that no matter where you begin your visit to Macrihanish, you're in for a long drive. Macrihanish just isn't close to anywhere else. If you get the idea that Macrihanish is in a place by itself you'll get little argument from anyone who has ever played the course. Indeed, the Macrihanish experience seems to be more than ample reward for those who make the long pilgrimage to get there.
Location: 5 miles west of Campbeltown Monifieth After a three-year recovery programme ended in 1999,The Medal Course at Monifieth served as a qualifying venue for the Open Championship at neighboring Carnoustie. The Medal Course is well known for well kept narrow fairways, lush low rough, punishing heavy rough and fast manicured greens. The companion Ashludie Course, only 5000 yards long, requires an accurate short game.
Location: six miles north of Dundee 15. North Berwick The North Berwick Golf Club offers a golfing experience unlikely to be duplicated elsewhere. This is a course where blind holes, drives over walls and burns, shots over the bay and bunkers deep enough for the golfer to disappear from view are the norm and not the exception.
Location: 23 miles east of Edinburgh 16. Prestwick Standing at the tee on number 1 at Prestwick can be a bit daunting. Railway tracks over the short wall to the right; an earthen panoply of undulated terrain to the left. It's to believe that Young Tom Morris shot a three here (on what was a par 6 in those days) when he won the 1870 Open Championship. Being venue for the first dozen Open Championships secured Prestwick's place in the history of golf.
Location: 1 mile from Prestwick airport 17. Troon Royal Troon has three courses. The Old Course is one of Scotland's great links courses (on the Open Championship rota) and a challenge to golfers of all abilities. The Portland, also a links course, is more protected from the elements and is shorter than the Old Course. The nine hole par 3 course is a favorite of junior players and senior members alike.,
Location: 3 miles from Prestwick airport 18.
Turnberry c. 1903 Turnberry's golf credentials were solidified in 1977 when Tom Watson survived a challenge from Jack Nicklaus and won the most exciting Open Championship in modern times. The hotel came in to new prominence after major refurbishment in the mid-1980s and garnered five star luxury standing for the first time. Note: Turnberry hosted Open Championships in 1977, 1986 and 1994. Allowing for future Open Championship venues already selected, the earliest Turnberry could host another Open Championship would be 2009.
Location: south of Girvan on the Ayrshire coast Links /// |
