YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO GOLF COURSES IN SCOTLAND

Click the banners to view
great golfing deals

Scottish Golf Articles
Golf Breaks in the Highlands

It almost seems trite to suggest you visit the Highlands this summer for some holiday golf - but necessary all the same. Comprising fabulous scenery, with mountains, glens, lochs and rivers – the most dramatic countryside in Scotland – this sparsely populated part of the north is as beautiful as it gets.

There are legions of hard-nosed golfers who deem the Highlands, home to over 50 golf courses of sparkling variety, to be the perfect place to enjoy the game. Given the wondrous scenery and beautifully crafted golf courses, it is, quite simply, painfully hard not to fall in love with our country’s most northerly region.

No doubt one course that will be on the lips of many visitors northwards this year is Spey Valley, at the Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort. The new Dave Thomas design opens in late May (see page 40) and is a sumptuous test in outstanding surroundings. It also features the longest hole in Scottish golf at 641 yards.

Royal Dornoch is the Highland’s most famous venue – in terms of worldwide notoriety – and, to many, is one of Scotland’ most cherished links. The Old Tom Morris-designed layout may not be as long as some other championship links but it is still considered a masterpiece by those who know the game inside out. It is a delight to play all year round.

Another distinguished links is Nairn, host to the 1999 Walker Cup and a number of notable national and international amateur championships in recent memory. Noted for its fast greens and particularly exhausting sand traps, Nairn has all the weaponry to test the very best. The nearby Nairn Dunbar course, an inland links, is a superb test and has its fair share of memorable twists and turns.

Past Dornoch you will come to Brora, a traditional links laid out by James Braid. Brora is characterised by tricky, fast greens and fresh sea breezes, more than enough to keep you on your toes throughout.

If you want some inside knowledge of hidden classics, then head six miles north of Aviemore and book yourself a round at Boat of Garten. Considered (quite rightly) by many as the “Scottish golf course every Scottish golfer should play”, ‘The Boat’ is worryingly good in many fashions.

Another course that should make your itinerary is the recently rejuvenated Inverness, a cracking inland test that’s minutes from the city centre and well worth the green fee. Aigas is an immaculate nine-holer at the foot of Strathglass and certainly worth the effort. It is also a good base for your trip as no fewer than 25 courses sit within a 40-mile radius of the club. North of Inverness you’ll find Strathpeffer Spa, the kind of course you’d be only too happy to stumble across on a golf break. Its opening hole, incidentally, features the longest drop in Scottish golf. One of the best ways to sample golf in the Highlands is to take up the Badenoch and Strathspey Golf Pass, which is available through all local tourist offices. You can play seven top courses for a reduced fee – it is simply superb value for money.

Local golfing trivia
The new Spey Valley course at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort boasts the longest hole in Scottish golf - the par-5 fifth hole, which sits at a mammoth 641 yards.

Nairn Golf Club is where a young, fluffy haired Colin Montgomerie won his and only Scottish Amateur Championship title in 1987.

Boat of Garten, set alongside the Strathspey Steam Railway, is dubbed “the golf course every Scottish golf should play”.