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Stunning Scottish Golf Courses in Perthshire
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GLENEAGLES KINGS COURSE
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PAR 71 |
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The King's Course, opened in 1919, is a masterpiece of design, which has tested the aristocracy of golf, both professional and amateur.
James Braid's plan for the King's Course was to test even the best players' shot-making skills over the eighteen holes.
You find out all about it with your first approach shot. If you have driven straight and long from the tee, you will have what looks like a simple pitch to the elevated green. But you must be sure to select the correct club, because the shot is always a little longer than you think, with the wind over the putting surface often stronger than you can feel it from the fairway. And if you do not make the severely sloping green, a bunker yawns twenty feet below.
Selecting the right club for each approach shot is the secret on the King's. It is certainly one of the most beautiful and exhilarating places to play golf in the world, with the springy moorland turf underfoot, the sweeping views from the tees all around, the rock-faced mountains to the north, the green hills to the south, and the peaks of the Trossachs and Ben Vorlich on the western horizon.
All the holes have evocative and pithy Scots names. For example, the fifth, "Het Girdle" (Hot Pan), is a challenging par 3 with trouble every-where except on the green, while 17th's name, "Warslin' Lea" (Wrestling Ground), reflects the difficulty so many golfers have had with this long, sweeping par 4.
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GLENEAGLES QUEENS COURSE
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PAR 68 |
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The natural beauty of the Queen's Course inspires the world's most experienced players. The Queen's Course, in its long history, has played host to some of the world's golfing greats.
The beautiful settings and the challenge of the golf have attracted such top golfers as Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, and Lee Trevino, as well as great names from the entertainment and sports worlds including Sean Connery, Burt Lancaster, Bing Crosby, Jackie Stewart, and astronaut Alan Shepard (the only man to hit a golf shot on the moon).
Threading through high ridges on the north and west sides of the estate, the Queen's offers lovely woodland settings, lochans and ditches as water hazards, as well as many moorland characteristics.
At 3,192 yards long, the challenge of the first nine can be deceptive, with even some of the best players finding it a test to make par into a fresh south westerly breeze.
Do not be lulled into a sense of false security as you stand on the first tee. The "Trystin' Tree," or lover's meeting place, after which the hole is named, is a challenging opener. The ground falls away at your feet, the fairway swings round to the left and slopes towards the trees, and there are a couple of cunningly placed bunkers testing your approach into the miniscule green.
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GLENEAGLES PGA COURSE
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PAR 74 |
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The PGA Centenary Course, created by Jack Nicklaus, is a modern classic.
Even for a champion and acclaimed golf architect like Nicklaus, The PGA Centenary Course was a challenge. It had to be a great course and, set as it is in the heart of Scotland, the country that gave the world golf, Nicklaus described the course as "The finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with".
It had to be unique in its challenge, a course in the modern design ethos that at its fullest stretch tests the greatest players, while, in the immortal phrase of Bobby Jones, "offering problems a man may attempt according to his ability... never hopeless for the lesser player nor failing to concern and interest the expert."
The tees are graded at each hole in five stages, including a challenging 6,815 yards from the white markers down to 5,322 from the red. Fittingly, the PGA Centenary Course begins by playing southeast towards the glen, sweeping up the Ochil Hills to the summit of the pass below Ben Shee which joins it to Glendevon.
A feature of the PGA Centenary Course is the feast of views of the spectacular countryside in which Gleneagles is set. Putting on the two-tier second green, you are distracted by the lush panorama of the rich Perthshire straths. As you move westwards over the next few holes, the rugged Grampians come into view on the right, then distantly purple ahead, Ben Vorlich and the mountains above the Trossachs.
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CARNOUSTIE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE
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PAR 72 |
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The Open Championship has been held at Carnoustie's Championship Course seven times and every time the course throws up a real challenge for the world's best players.
Scene of Ben Hogan's only Open triumph Carnoustie holds a magical place in the heart of golf fans. The course is one of the toughest links you will play but that toughness is carried with the innate fairness that makes this course so special.
The visitors who make pilgrimages to Carnoustie each year know they are in for a real test of golf but they also know that the test is harsh but fair and that making the right shot selections is all important.
The course itself was laid out, refined and improved by a trio of Scottish golfing giants: Allan Robertson, Old Tom Morris and James Braid. In truth, however, this is a natural amphitheatre for a game that has been played over this links for centuries. The genius of Hogan, the grit of Paul Lawrie, the charm of Jean van de Velde - you will arrive at Carnoustie with your own memories and impressions of the course but you will leave infected by the magical spirit that surrounds the proud old links.
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LADYBANK
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PAR 71 |
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A heathland course of Championship status (Par 71) set amongst heather, pine trees and silver birch.
The course definition may have changed dramatically in the intervening one hundred years but its character remains intact. If you stray off line expect to be punished for your sins.
The drive at the dogleg 3rd and 9th holes requires extreme care, as do the 15th and 16th on the back nine. The greens are compact and your approach shot requires precision to find the putting surface.
The fairways are predominantly flat leaving you invigorated from the exercise with a surfeit of energy to meet the excesses of the 19th hole.
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BLAIRGOWRIE ROSEMOUNT COURSE
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PAR 72 |
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Described by Tom Morris as, "The most beautiful inland green I have ever seen", the Rosemount course certainly lives up to its reputation. Designed by James Braid with influences from Dr. Alistair McKenzie, the renowned architect of the Augusta National course, Rosemount has played host to a number of prestigious professional and amateur tournaments.
It was the scene of Greg Norman's first European Tour victory in the 1977 Martini event.
Rosemount was voted 11th best course to play in Scotland by the readers of Scotland's premier golf magazine.
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BLAIRGOWRIE LANDSDOWNE COURSE
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PAR 71 |
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The Lansdowne course is more modern than the Rosemount course in layout, and offers a more challenging test.
It was designed by the respected partnership of Peter Allis and Dave Thomas and was officially opened in 1979. Also set in avenues of pine and silver birch, most fairways are lined with heather, and the course provides a challenging but pleasurable test for all levels of golfer
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CRIEFF
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PAR 71 |
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Voted 29th best golfing facility in the UK by the readers of Golf World magazine, Crieff Golf Club is one of Scotland's top inland courses. Built on gently sloping parkland, once the grounds of Ferntower House.
The eighteen-hole Ferntower course has hosted the Scottish Boys and Youth Strokeplay Championships and is presently the venue for the P.G.A Scottish Championship qualifier and the regional heat of the Lombard Trophy (the world's largest Pro-Am).
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AUCHTERARDER
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PAR 69 |
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Auchterarder Golf Club is a parkland course and has spectacular views towards Glendevon. The PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles also runs along side it.
An easy walking course of 5775 yards it has a variety of holes with 6 challenging par 3s.
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CRAIGIE HILL
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PAR 66 |
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Founded in 1911, Craigie Hill is a Club steeped in history. Set in beautiful Perthshire, the course is located on the western edge of the historic City of Perth.
The 18 hole golf course was designed around the natural contours of the land, and includes some of the most breathtaking scenery of any course in the area.
The vista includes the magnificent meandering of the River Tay, spectacular Kinnoull Hill, splendour of "Britain in Bloom" winner Perth City and the snow covered Grampian Mountains, as well as the Crieff Hills.
Scenic and challenging, it boasts one of the hardest holes in Britain, the Craigie Hill "Kop".
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KING JAMES VI
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PAR 70 |
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The country's only self-contained river island golf course, King James VI Golf Club offers a beautiful but challenging environment for both novices and advanced players alike.
Founded in 1858 nearby at Perth's South Inch, then relocated to Moncrieffe Island, elsewhere in Perth, in 1897, and a purpose-built golf course designed by 'Old' Tom Morris, the legendary winner of multiple British Open Golf Championships.
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SCOTSCRAIG
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PAR 71 |
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Since 1984, Scotscraig has hosted the Final Open Qualifying when The Open is played over St Andrews. When the Open returned to St Andrews in 2005, Scotscraig once again hosted Final Open Qualifying.
Ian Baker-Finch, Brian Barnes, Justin Rose, Mark Mouland, Duffy Waldorf and Sam Torrance are only a few of the famous players to have graced this renowned classic Fife course.
The most memorable hole is the Par 4, 4th, only 366 YARDS, but with the fairway well protected on the left by large revetted bunkers and a heathery terrain awaiting wayward shots to the right, only well positioned shots will be able to attack this small plateau green.
One lengthy challenge is the Par 5, 14th, 523 YARDS, and a test that calls for precise positioning in order to reach the well-guarded green. Players of all levels will find a days golf at Scotscraig an enjoyable challenge and a golfing experience they will never forget.
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GULLANE NO.1 COURSE
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PAR 71 |
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The eighteen holes of Gullane No.1 Course were established in 1884. The well maintained greens, links grasses, numerous bunkers and sea breezes make a unique challenge for the serious golfer.
The 3rd hole was recently voted one of the top 500 holes in the world by Golf Magazine (USA). The world famous view from the highest point of the Course on the 7th tee across the course and over to Edinburgh, Fife and way beyond is worth the green fee alone. With every hole having its own distinct character, the Course is both memorable and enjoyable.
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GULLANE NO.2 COURSE
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PAR 71 |
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Gullane No.2 Course was built in 1898 and the first and last holes of the course are on the east side of the A198 road. The Course runs alongside No.1 for the first seven holes and then sweeps down to the nature reserve next to Aberlady Bay, before turning back towards the Visitors' Clubhouse. One feature of the Course is its excellent short holes, particularly the 11th with its magnificent view and tricky club selection.
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