TEEING UP A SCOTTISH FLING

Golf News editor Nick Bayly extols the virtues of a golf break to Scotland, where stamina-sapping Open Championship links venues rub shoulders with 9-hole parkland courses and everything inbetween

With a population of just five million and a total of 587 golf clubs, it’s fair to say that the citizens of Scotland are spoilt for choice when it comes to where to play the game they claim to have invented. From the five Open Championship venues with three-figure green fees, to the nine-hole courses with honesty boxes, there are few countries in the world that can match Scotland for the diversity of its golf offering.

Despite the embarrassment of riches on their doorstep, the Scots are a generous lot – forget the lazy stereotype – and generously welcome all and sundry to share the wealth of links course, parkland tracks, and cliff-top beauties that are to be enjoyed in its wonderfully unpopulated countryside.

I’ve had the good fortune to play quite a few them in my two score years of golfing, including all the major championship layouts, a Ryder Cup course, a Solheim Cup venue or two, and many an amateur championship host, but perhaps the ones I cherish the most boast far less exalted histories.

For instance, I’ll never forget the rounds I used to enjoy with my late mother at Kemnay Golf Club back in the early 1980s. Then, aged 13, and living just outside Aberdeen, we would drop a few pounds in the honesty box and play nine holes in glorious isolation. Mum, bless her, never liked to be rushed on the golf course, and never enjoyed having a group of stuffy old men watching her tee off, so midweek rounds on deserted courses like Kemnay suited her down to the ground.

While Kenmay might not qualify as a hidden gem, it’s certainly part of the overall fabric of what makes golf in Scotland such a unique experience. And although the championship layouts are all worth ticking off your bucket list, you can have an equally enjoyable, and, dare I say it, cheaper time, by straying off the well-beaten tracks, and searching out some of the courses and clubs that don’t have their own Twitter feeds or Facebook pages, but will leave just as many lasting golfing memories.

With over 150 nine-hole courses to choose from alone in Scotland, you can rack up three or four clubs in a day if you plan your itinerary properly, especially during those glorious summer months when 18 hours of daylight allows the serious golfer time to tick off 72 holes in a day, and still leave time for a pie and a pint.

So whether you have £20 or £200 to spend on a green fee, whether you’re a scratch golfer or struggle to break 100, and whether you’re looking for five-star luxury, and or a simple B&B for the night, there is something for everyone in Scotland – and you won’t have to look too far to find it.

With the dust having just about settled at St Andrews following its hosting of The 150th Open last year, there has never been a better time to start planning a visit to the Home of Golf.

Although Old Tom Morris would probably spin in his grave at the thought of St Andrews being called a ‘golf resort’, the ancient town on Fife’s east coast is one in all but name, with golf tourism being its main source of income almost since the game was first played here 400 years ago.

The fabled Old Course is clearly the sun around which all the other courses in the town draw their heat, and getting a tee time on the ‘Auld Lady’ seems to be as hard as ever, with no let up in demand for a chance to walk in the footsteps of the great champions that have graced this course at 30 Open Championships since 1873, the most recent of which saw a mullet-wearing Australian by the name of Cameron Smith walk off with the Claret Jug.

The Old Course remains the ultimate bucket list course, and is a must-play for

■ MACRAHANISH DUNES IS GOLF AS GOD INTENDED, WITH MINIMAL DISTURBANCE OF THE NATURAL LAND

WHETHER YOU’RE A SCRATCH GOLFER OR STRUGGLE TO BREAK 100, THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE IN SCOTLAND – AND YOU WON’T HAVE TO LOOK TOO FAR TO FIND IT any golfer with a pulse. Half of all of the starting times are selected through a daily ballot, so there’s a fair chance of getting on if you haven’t pre-booked, but there are any number of tour operators that will be able to offer guaranteed tee times, taking out all of the luck of the draw, and allowing you to plan your trip with absolute certainty. And what a treat you will have in store. Offering the most nerve-wracking opening tee shot in golf, despite possessing one of the widest fairways in the world, the Old Course sets up iconic shot after shot. From your approach over the burn to the first green, to the drive over the corner of the Old Course Hotel on the 17th tee, and that putt up the Valley of Sin at the closing hole, it’s a beguiling journey through golfing history that will have you wanting to do it all over again as soon as you walk off the 18th.

St Andrews is long on quality and quantity, with the Links Trust offering no fewer than seven other superb layouts on which to test your mettle, with the New Course being the pick on those in the immediate vicinity. Less quirky than the Old, it shares many of its qualities, including several double greens, but the holes are more defined. If you’re looking for more thrills and spills, then I’d recommend a game at the Castle Course, a 6,759-yard cliff-top layout which enjoys stunning views over St Andrews from around the bay.

Talking of bays, Fairmont St Andrews Golf Resort & Spa, located in St Andrews Bay, is also popular luxury stopover, with its two championship courses, Torrance and Kittocks, providing 36 holes of cliff-top golf with a linksy feel, while the five-

■ FAIRMONT ST ANDREWS OFFERS TWO CHAMPIONSHIP COURSES AND MAGICAL VIEWS TOWARDS THE HOME OF GOLF star hotel offers 209 guest rooms, a spa, and new fewer than six dining options. For golfers looking to stay more centrally in St Andrews, the MacDonald Rusacks Hotel, which sits half way up the right-hand side of 18th fairway, is perhaps the more authentically Scottish venue, although the Old Course Hotel, which is situated on the dogleg of the Road Hole 17th, with the fabled Jigger Inn within its grounds, is the popular and obvious choice, with its course-facing suites providing a suitably luxurious vantage point from which to soak up the golfing atmosphere.

Moving away from St Andrews, no five-star visit to Scotland should miss out on the chance to visit Gleneagles, the self-styled highland playground of the rich and famous down the years. Golfers have been queuing up to play the resort’s PGA Centenary Course ever since it hosted the Ryder Cup in 2014 and the Solheim Cup in 2019. Although not a classic Scottish course by any stretch of the imagination, you’d be mad not to want to follow in the footsteps of the European and American teams, although make sure you also play the resort’s other two more mature layouts, the century-old King’s and the Queen’s, both of which have benefited from significant renovations, returning them to challenge that James Braid first intended.

Whichever courses you play, you can be guaranteed a good night’s sleep in the AA Five Red Star Gleneagles Hotel, which is luxury at its most Scottish. Guests can choose to stay in either a range of rooms and suites in the hotel – including the ten ultra-luxury suites that occupy the top floor of the hotel – or rent one of the two, three and four-bed private lodges that are located on the estate.

If Braid courses float your boast, then the journey up to Brora Golf Club on Scotland’s north west coast is a must, with the traditional links widely regarded as one of his finest designs. Regularly ranked inside GB&I’s top 100, five-time Open champion Peter Thomson described Brora as ‘the most natural links course in the world’, and who are we to argue.

For those visitors flying in or out of Edinburgh, a stop off for a round at the Renaissance Club has much to recommend it. Located between Gullane and North Berwick, and only a 30-minute drive from the airport, Renaissance opened as a private members’ club in 2008 on the Archerfield Estate, a pitching wedge away from

Muirfield, but with far better views over the Firth of Forth. Tom Doak, the creative genius behind Pacific Dunes in Oregon and Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand, has created a series of compelling holes several carved out of the coastal pine forest, and others stretching along the coastline high on the cliff tops above the Firth. After a round, guests can relax in the comfortable surroundings of the palatial clubhouse, while the quality of the accommodation, which comes in the form of 23 suites within a lodge, is well above par.

After tackling the Open Championship courses at Carnoustie and Muirfield, golfers looking to test themselves on something altogether newer, but no less challenging, should head over to Trump Turnberry, where a renovation of the iconic Ailsa Course has been drawing rave reviews since it re-opened in 2019. The most controversial change is to the par-4 ninth, which has been converted to a long par three that relocates the entire hole closer to the lighthouse, while several other seaside holes have been pushed closer to the water, to add further to the drama.

Elsewhere, a new Trumpified clubhouse offers diners the chance to chow down on lobster mac ‘n’ cheese or one of numerous cuts of Scottish-reared steaks cooked on an open grill in the Duel in the Sun restaurant, while the hotel itself has received a similarly spectacular renovation, although thankfully Trump’s interior designers has gone easy on the gold leaf.

Golfers looking to play the only course in the country to be built on a Site of Special Scientific Interest should make the pilgrimage to Machrihanish Dunes, which transports visitors back over 120 years to a time when golf was at one with nature. Amazingly, only seven of the 260-odd acres of the site have been disturbed to make way for the rumpled fairways and punchbowl greens of the David McLay Kidd-designed 7,082-yard course, which makes for a truly unique links experience, and one that requires pinpoint accuracy to score well, especially when the wind gets up, as it often does on this remote outcrop on Scotland’s most westerly coast.

It’s fair to say that it would take a good chunk of your lifetime to play all the great golf courses that Scotland has to offer, and while it may seem overwhelming at first, taking that first important step will take you on a golfing journey of discovery the likes of which you would struggle to find anywhere else on earth.

GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY GOLF CLUB is situated in the Cairngorms National Park. The Club was established in1890 as a nine-hole course and by 1921, it had grown to 18 holes with the help of Willie Park and James Braid. The course is a traditional Scottish resortcourse designed to appeal to all levels of golfers. The Club has all the facilities you would expect from a Club in the top 100 in Scotland.

Tel: 01479 872079 | Web: grantownonspeygc.co.uk

MONIFIETH is home to two fantastic 18 hole links courses, The Medal and The Ashludie. These courses have been enjoyed by every level of golfer – from seasoned professional to happy amateur – and even Tom Watson who a member! 18 hole and 36 hole packages are available with bookings/information available via the website along with green fees and other information.

Tel: 01382 532767 | Web: monifiethgolf.co.uk

TAIN GOLF CLUB in Ross-Shire, is a classic 18-Hole Scottish Highland links course designed by Old Tom Morris. If you would like to play golf while in Scotland you are guaranteed a warm welcome at Tain where you can experience a great course which is suitable for all standards of golfer. Tain Golf Club is a Scottish Golf Championship venue and will be hosting the Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship this August.

Tel: 01862 892314 | Web: tain-golfclub.co.uk

TORWOODLEE GOLF CLUB features an 18hole course that is a stunning picturesque rolling parkland paradise just outside Galashiels in the beautiful Scottish Borders countryside. The course is set in a valley amongst mature trees, flanked by the River Gala and divided by the Borders Railway line. Green Fees start from just £40 a round, with golf and food packages available and EZ-GO electric buggies.

Tel: 01896 752260 Web: torwoodleegolfclub.co.uk

TRUMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF LINKS embraces mile after mile of spectacular Aberdeenshire coastline. Against a dramatic North Sea backdrop, our awardwinning championship course offers breath-taking scenery and an unparalleled test of golf. Experience the unrivalled beauty, atmosphere and Scottish hospitality of Trump Internationalthe ultimate golfing destination.

Tel: 01358 743300 | Web: trumpgolfscotland.com

WEST KILBRIDE GOLF CLUB lies on a beautiful strip of links land and raised beach adjacent to the coastal village of Seamill, and is the most northerly of Ayrshire’s true links courses. With magnificent views of Arran, Bute and Cowal it makes a wonderful venue for the game and a fine test of golf. The course follows an anti-clockwise route with a loop at the far end around the turn.

Tel: 01294 823911 | Web: westkilbridegolfclub.com

My first holiday was… around Scotland with my mum, dad and brother. We were very much an outdoors family and loved camping, caravanning and hill walking. I remember some great times and great places all over the West Coast of Scotland and, yes, I remember a lot of sunshine, as well as rain too!

My most recent holiday was to… New Zealand to reaquaint our daughter with the rellies Down Under.