Golf Tour Around Scotland

Golfing In Scotland

Top 7 Golf Courses up to £40 in Scotland.

We have suggested 7 fantastic courses to play during a week’s golfing holiday in Scotland, all are under £40.00 to play so won’t break the bank.

Golfing in Scotland, the home of golf, Scotland has over 587 eighteen-hole courses available for your pleasure with 96 of these in the Glasgow area, with another 67 in the Edinburgh area. almost every town in Scotland has a Golf course, Scotland has more golf courses per head of population than anywhere else in the world, so no matter where you are in Scotland you will never be far away from a Golf course.

The courses vary in price from £10. using an honesty box to the world’s best courses costing £200 +. The world’s number one course is obviously St Andrews; however, this means entering a ballot so it’s just pot luck or not if you get to play on the day, St Andrews has hosted more Open championships than any other course and hosted its 29^th Open in 2015.

HISTORY OF GOLFING IN SCOTLAND

Golf is thought to have started in Scotland around 1457 as the first documentation of golf ever being played can be traced back to 1457 because Golf was banned by the then Scottish King James, as he felt the game distracted his troops from military training and practice, so a lot of golf was played in secret.

Golf became a public pastime in the seventeen century and began to spread worldwide around that time. The first ever British Open championship was played in 1860 at Prestwick golf club in Ayrshire and was one by Willie Park who was two shots clear of Tom Morris.

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MURRAYSHALL GOLF COURSE. (PERTHSHIRE)

COST OF A ROUND- £25.00

PAR - 72 CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE

LENGTH - 6210 YARDS LONG

TYPE - PARKLAND

Murrayshall is near Perth which is an hour drive north of Edinburgh or Glasgow, at only £25. A round this is fantastic value, the hotel has been awarded the Best Golf hotel 2018 by the Golf Tourism Awards and the Golf course has been shortlisted for the Best Golf Course in the under £50. Section. The course has magnificent views to the vast mountain ranges in the north.

 

 

The clubhouse is part of the 4* hotel and offers a wide range of food and drinks, the 4 * Hotel offers, Bed, Dinner, Breakfast and golf for £159, the club has a small professional Shop and offers tuition by the local professional along with a modern driving range.

PLAYING THE COURSE

This Parkland Course has a very varied selection of holes, with some long and challenging Par fives. Accuracy from the Tee is paramount as the fairways can be narrow on some holes and the rough can be challenging, Trees are one of the main defences on this course and some holes have trees in the centre of the fairway, so a driver may not always be the best club off the Tee.

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KINGUSSIE (HIGHLANDS)

COST OF A ROUND- £28.00

PAR - 67 COURSE

LENGTH - 5501 YARDS LONG

TYPE – PARKLAND

Established 125 years ago in 1890 the Kingussie course is around 1.5 hours drive north of Perth, and is situated with easy access from the main A9 Perth to Inverness road, set in the Cairngorm Mountains this course has some of the most breath-taking views especially from the 6 hole which is high up on a hill with views across to the Cairngorm mountains and national park.

This has a small but well stocked Pro shop with very friendly and accommodating staff , The very friendly bar staff offer a good range of food and drinks with magnificent views from the clubhouse, the club also hosts the annual Scottish left hand Open championship.

PLAYING THE COURSE

A Tom Morris and Harry Vardon course and has changed very little since, This 18 hole course provides something from the novice golfer to the low handicap players, it unusually opens with a longish par 3, with a natural challenges on the rolling undulations on the uphill terrain which reaches 1000 ft above sea level at the highest place.

The fairways are mainly quite generous, and water only comes into play on a couple of fairways. This is one of these courses if you have to rip up your score card it does not matter because the views are simply stunning so you will always enjoy a round of golf here no matter how you play.

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ROSEMARKIE GOLF CLUB

COST OF A ROUND- £40.00

PAR - 71 CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE

LENGTH - 6085 YARDS LONG

TYPE – LINKS

Just 15 minutes north of Inverness near Chanonry point which is a very narrow peninsula jutting out to the Moray Firth lies the Rosemarkie Golf club which was established in 1793. and is the 15 oldest documented Golf club in the world, Other famous links courses are nearby such as Royal Dornoch and Castle Stuart, James Braid re-designed the course in 1935 and is often described as the Gem by the Sea. Rosemarkie Links has hosted eight national Championships in recent years.

PLAYING THE COURSE

One of the finest links courses in Scotland with water on 3 sides the views of the Moray Firth and out to sea are stunning. As you walk down the first 4 holes towards the lighthouse keep and eye out to the sea on your left as its quite common to sea dolphins skimming the water.

At 6085 yards long it’s not a particularly long but has strategically placed bunkers to catch you out, which is a strait of the great James braid. This course requires straight tee shots as the fairways are quite tight, the greens are deceptively fast and require care in set up. Overall this is a very good test of golf, also being a links course, it is open all year round.

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DRUMOIG GOLF

COST OF A ROUND- £18.00

PAR - 73 CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE

LENGTH - 6835 YARDS LONG

TYPE – PARKLAND/LINKS

 

 

Drumoig is Situated around 45 minutes’ drive from Edinburgh in the Kingdom of Fife and only 10 minutes away from the home of golf in St Andrews. The course is set amongst 250 acres of the Fife countryside and weaves it way through a natural bird haven and wildlife. The course was built from a greenfield site in 1996 by a local construction company. There are magnificent views across the river Tay to Carnoustie and Dundee, this must be the most underrated courses in Scotland.

PLAYING THE COURSE

This is a very playable course with mainly wide and forgiving fairways allowing you to give the driver full pelt, while its parkland it does have a links feel about it, the greens are fast and undulating but very true, the holes are all very interesting and fun to play. Especially the 9, 10 and 11 which are all played round water, the new 18th hole is challenging with having to play to a large bank and allow the ball to run back on the fairway to avoid the water on the left. A very long enjoyable but enjoyable course to play and if playing reasonably well allows you to put in a low score.

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CRAIL GOLF SOCIETY

COST OF A ROUND- £40.00

PAR - 71 COURSE

LENGTH - 6250 YARDS LONG

TYPE – LINKS

Crail is situated in Fife around 30 minutes’ drive from St Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife, the course is known as Balcomie links and is the 7 oldest golf course in the world, this is a fantastic links course designed by Tom Morris in 1895 and is still the original layout with no silly carries that you often have on modern designed courses, Tom Morris made fantastic use of the exhilarating landscape on the Fife coast with cliff top tee shots , drives across the bay and greens tucked away on top of cliff faces. The world junior open championship was played here in 2000.The newly refurbished clubhouse has spectacular 270 degree sea views. when in this area don’t miss a visit to the famous Anstruther fish bar which has won the best UK chip shop many times in the past years, Prince Charles and other members of the royal family lare known to eat from here.

 

PLAYING THE COURSE

This traditional classic layout course is set right on the coast with superb coastal views, at less than 6000 yards its still a very formidable challenge ,so the big hitter expecting to put in a low score may well be disappointed, the first hole gives an indication of what’s to come with a tee shot from the cliff to the fairway below which is followed with a pitch over a wall and a bunker to a blind green with a burn at the back, the fifth hole is a 447 yard par 4, and was described by Sam Torrance as probably the most difficult par four in Scotland, which he named  “Hells Hole”  .

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HOPEMAN GOLF COURSE

COST OF A ROUND- £35.00

PAR - 68 COURSE

LENGTH - 5624 YARDS LONG

TYPE – LINKS

Hopeman golf club is around a 3 hour drive north of Perth and lies a 10 minute drive from the road between Inverness  (30 Minutes’ drive) and Aberdeen, and lies 6 miles west of Lossiemouth right on the coast Moray Firth coast,  established in 1909 it was originally a 9 hole course and a further 9 were added in 1995, the course has stunning views across the bay to the black Isle on the other coast. Honorary President is Open Golf champion Paul Lawrie who described the par three twelfth hole as one of the best he has ever played, with membership for a week’s golf at only £89.00 this is a fantastic deal.

PLAYING THE COURSE

Hopeman is a thrilling links cliff top golf course, many of the holes are flanked either side by gorse so straight drives are a must if you are to score well on the small but demanding course, if your ball lands in the gorse it can be a painful experience retrieving your ball.

The first two holes are the original layout from 1909 , without doubt the famous par three 150 yard twelfth hole  is one of the finest par 3 holes in golf anywhere in the world, Wow ! golf at its very best, the tee shot is from a cliff edge over a ravine to the green way below where the waves are crashing against the rocks only a few yards from the green, there is only one par five which is the 517 yard dog legged fourth hole. The course gets better and better as you play with the back 9 right on the coast line. the links greens are undulating as you would expect on a Links course and run very true.

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BUCKPOOL (Moray Coast)

COST OF A ROUND- £22.00

PAR - 70 COURSE

LENGTH - 5826 YARDS LONG

TYPE – LINKS / PARKLAND

Buckpool is the name of the course which is the small fishing village of Buckie in the north East of Scotland, and in one of the best kept secrets in golf – it is a links style course just elevated above sea level with stunning views across the Moray Fiirth to the mountains of Caithness, founded in 1933 the course is built on sand and has fast undulating fairways many of them lines by gorse bushes.

 

The course lies on land that was originally part of 3 farms, the course was initiated by the local council which was part of a national scheme to relieve the massive unemployment in the area, caused by the decline in the herring fishing industry. In the early sixties the council closed the course for economic reasons, however a few local enthusiasts took over the course and leased it from the council and since then, with the members buying the course outright from the council in 1999.

Don’t miss a visit down the harbour in Buckie to the seafood shop which sells local fresh caught scallops, lobster, mussels , crab and salmon.  

 

PLAYING THE COURSE

Although the course is set right on the coast it is not a truly links course as some holes have a distinctively parkland feel. Overall the greens are fast and firm, there are only two par fives, but this is made up with some very long and challenging par fours, the 400 yard 18 is very tricky playing towards the clubhouse to a difficult two-tier green. The 445yard par four fourth is a wonderful golf hole which plays into a wonderful bath tub shaped green. The sixth and the fifteenth par threes are almost blind off the tee and are very changing if you are off line with your tee shot.