Course: North Berwick Golf Club - North Berwick

Scotland is home to some of the most natural links courses in the world and the west course at the North Berwick Golf Club in the Royal burgh of North Berwick is a prime example. Located on the Firth of Forth, North Berwick is the 13th oldest golf club in the world. It is second only after St. Andrews to have the game played continuously on its original fairways.

Founded in 1832 and designed by an architect whose name is lost in the annals of time, North Berwick is a quirky little layout that is neither too long nor very demanding. It started out life as a 6-hole course and was extended to 18-holes in 1877. Measuring just 6,420 yards and playing for a par of 71, North Berwick is short but engaging and requires every shot making skill a golfer has. The course has a world class collection of oft-replicated holes with its 7th, 9th and 15th finding a place in The 500 Worlds Greatest Golf Holes. Its signature hole, the 15th, called Redan has inspired similar construction at both Pebble Beach and Shinnecock Hills.

With the entire course carved out of land raised 300 ft. above the sea level, North Berwick offers a panoramic view of the sea across to Craigleith Island and Bass Rock. Largely untouched by human interference, the layout has evolved naturally over the years and makes a round at North Berwick a stimulating experience. The receding sea that once covered the land has left behind its indelible impressions in the form of mounds, ridges and depressions, adding to the beauty of the layout.

Whether it is due to the short, lenient rough or its deep bunkers, its many burns, hollows and humps, North Berwick offers a very pleasurable round of golf. Incoming winds from the sea ask for a battle, but the spectacular view of their origin make it worth the while.

One of the lesser known gems of Scottish golf, the Nairn Golf Club is located on prime linksland on the Moray Firth coastline in the Highlands. With contributions from several architects like Old Tom Morris, James Braid and Ben Sayers, the original design created by Archie Simpson opened to play in 1887 and represents Scottish links golf at its best. The claim is verified by the fact that the Nairn golf club has been host to several amateur and professional championships ever since its inception. Probably most remembered for hosting the Walker Cup in 1999, the Nairn golf club is one for the purists.

Measuring a total of 6,705 yards and playing for a par of 72, Nairn GC has been hailed as one of the most visually pleasing golf courses in Scotland. With pretty comes tough at Nairn mainly due to its heavy bunkering over 100 of them placed right where you dont want them its subtle greens and narrow fairways lined with gorse. Every hole in this setting would and does demand extreme accuracy in shots and the wayward stroke is heavily penalized.

Natural hazards arise from the tracks proximity to the coast and are coupled with fast, tricky greens, an abundance of heather, whins and burns. Lost balls are a regular feature on this fiercely undulating layout featuring a superb collection of holes. One of the most noteworthy holes at Nairn GC is the 390-yard par four 5th better known as Nets located on the beach.

The front nine is also famous for its 2nd and 7th holes and as you navigate the layout further, the level of difficulty increases. The back nine is an equally tough test of a golfers skills with the most remarkable holes being the 12th, 13th, 14th and the 16th. The Nairn Golf Club is a fine example of Highlands Golf and suits a skilled golfer better.

Course: Muirfield - Gullane

A golf holiday to Scotland is perhaps one of the busiest and the most pleasurable for any avid golfer. Playing golf in the birthplace of the game is an unparalleled experience and one course that features on every tour is the Muirfield Golf Club in Gullane. One of the greatest tracks in the world, Muirfield is the course of The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and the worlds oldest golf club, formed in 1744. However, the course at Muirfield opened for play only in 1891 and before that the game was played over the links at Leith. Interestingly, the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith are credited with having drafted the original 13 rules of the game of golf.

Apart from the historical importance attached to it, Muirfield is a must play for its unusual layout, originally designed by Tom Morris. Most links courses of this period were laid out in the simple nine out, nine back format but Muirfield is quite a surprise. Two loops of nine holes, with the second resting within the first make the layout extraordinary and a difficult one to navigate. No two holes lie in the same direction and the wind makes matters worse on every hole ensuring the player stays on his toes.

Host to 15 Open Championships, Muirfield is an enigmatic course not to be missed. The layout spread over 7,034 yards playing for a par of 71 offers some great holes like the par five 9th and the uphill 13th, considered one of the toughest on the Open circuit. Muirfield is a tough course perhaps best known for its bunkering looming in unsuspected on the putter. With no water hazards or trees coming into play, Muirfields wares are open to anyone who wishes a duel with the best of the courses in the world.

Course: Machrihanish Golf Club “ Machrihanish

For most golfers the western coast of Scotland translates into great courses like Prestwick, royal Troon and Turnberry. The dogged golfer however, takes off the beaten track and gets to the Machrihanish Golf Club on the Kintyre Peninsula for a course carved out of land described by Old Tom Morris as being œspecially designed The Almighty for playing golf.

Located in its namesake village of Machrihanish, the original architect of this course is widely believed to be Mother Nature. However, Old Tom Morris in 1879 and subsequently J.H. Taylor and Sir Guy Campbell made considerable contributions to the layout giving it its present form. Set amid majestic sand dunes, Machrihanish is a links course and a delight for the purists. Although it takes a bit of work getting to Machrihanish; it is 140 miles from Glasgow; this classic layout is quite popular.

At 6,225 - par 70, Machrihanish is not a long course yet is renowned for its naturally undulating fairways and well contoured greens. The initial hole, œBattery, is considered one of the best opening holes in golf and offers a stunning view of the sea from its elevated tee. A nine out nine back layout; Machrihanishs outward set is hemmed to the beach and winds its way through sand hills and hollows demanding accuracy in shots. The greens are exceptionally vivid, firm and undulating.

The back nine set against the Kintyre Hills as a backdrop is just as imaginative. There is a lot of variety in holes and you would need to use as many clubs as you can carry. The tough part on the course starts from the 15th till the end with the Machrihanish Burn posing a hazard on the final two holes.

When the course began life it took a steamboat and a carriage ride to get you there. It isnt any easier than a 3-hour road trip today, but Machrihanish still pulls golfers like a magnet.

Course: Loch Lomond Golf Course, Luss

Just a stones throw from Glasgow lies the Loch Lomond and hemmed to its western banks lies the most exclusive golf club in Scotland The Loch Lomond. Tom Weiskopf almost lost his life in the bogs that appear on the land while creating what he calls his lasting memorial to golf. You need take one look at the potent combination of a fantastic Weiskopf and Jay Morrish layout and the surrounding scenery and you know what he means.

Loch Lomond opened in 1993 amid fanfare and has rapidly scaled the ladder of the worlds best courses. The variables contributing to its classic status range from the ingenuity of its design to its accompanying environment. Built on 600 acres of what was Colquhoun Clans ancestral land, Loch Lomond is set between the mountains and the historic lake. The course itself is home to two Sites of Special Scientific Interest and has been awarded the full Audubon status.

As a regular host to the Scottish Open, Loch Lomond is a skilled players heaven because it demands accuracy, strategy and dedication. A round needs more of patience and stamina to traverse the 7,100 yards than plain brute force. Although there are no tricks like hidden hazards, Loch Lomond will need every club a player has to complete a round with some degree of satisfaction.

Loch Lomond is a collection of some superb holes and most would test even a skilled player, if he manages to get an invitation from a member to play. Notable are the 625 yards sixth the longest in Scottish golf, the 10th and the 14th. Playing for a par of 71, Loch Lomond offers a wide variety of holes and a thoroughly memorable round of golf, so if you ever get an invitation to play here, be miserly in refusing it.