Most of the best courses are links. Moulded to the coastline, places like Turnberry, Troon, Muirfield, Prestwick and, of course, St. Andrews, offer you a glimpse into the past. Links golf is the game in its most traditional form.
On true links like most of those above you won’t see a lot of rough. There’s no need for it. Protection against low scoring is provided by the pace of the greens, the wind, the bunkers and the pin positions. As such, you’ll likely find yourself playing the ball close to the ground, taking advantage of the humps and hollows. It is golf at its most interesting and varied.
Especially when the wind blows. When that happens, forget your yardage book. You will find yourself hitting, say, downwind 7-irons over 200 yards. And 120-yard 4-irons into a headwind. It’s a great experience and, of course, a lot of fun.
The good news doesn’t stop there either. Getting to the heart of Scottish golf isn’t going to involve you in anything more than half a day’s drive from anywhere. Only Dornoch, in the Highlands north of Inverness, and Machrihanish, at the end of the Kintyre peninsula, are anything like out of the way.
In fact, one of the most pleasing aspects of golf in Scotland – aside from its relative cheapness compared with the rest of the world – is its accessability. From, say, four bases you can play almost all of Scotland’s top courses and still be home for dinner in the same hotel each evening.
There are four main golfing areas in Scotland; On the West Coast, Ayrshire is home to the likes of Turnberry, Troon, Prestwick and Western Gailes.
In the South East corner, East Lothian can boast the likes of Muirfield, Gullane (three courses in one), North Berwick and Dunbar.
Further north from East Lothian there is the triumvirate of Fife, Angus and Perthshire. From a comfortable suite in the Gleneagles Hotel, any number of top-class courses – including St. Andrews and Carnoustie – are within an hour’s drive through some of Scotland’s most scenic countryside.
Heading north again, the links at Dornoch are isolated only from civilization, not more great golf. In easy reach from the historic old town are courses as good as Nairn, Lossiemouth, Elgin and Tain.
So, a ten day trip to any one of those four locations affords the discerning a veritable smorgasbord of golfing delights.
The choice is yours.