The Mount Ellon course has been dramatically shaped by the last ice age and is laid out over two drumlins, namely elongated, large 'mounds' of material deposited under the ice sheet, which covered Scotland about 200,000 years ago.

This enabled the course architects to create a mixture of demanding shots and aesthetically pleasing holes. The drive from the third tee illustrates this perfectly. The shot is from the north side of one Drumlin across to the south side of another making it a daunting prospect for the average golfer. The 18th is a great finishing hole which doubles back and has a burn as an additional hazard.