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.

With the mighty Muirfield, Kilspindie, Dunbar and North Berwick vying for attention in the same space, it is a big wonder the Gullane Golf Club manages to keep its own. Put it down to the clubs colorful history or its fairly tough layout, there are few people who can stop praising this 6,466 yards par 71 links course. Crafted mostly by Mother Nature and a probably, absent architect, golf at Gullane has been played since 1650. A superb example of linksland golf, The Gullane Golf Club started in 1859 and hosts the final qualifying match for the British Open when it is held at Muirfield. This distinction is bestowed upon Gullane for its exquisite turf, a great collection of tough holes and its captivating scenic beauty. Carved out of the southern shores of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian, Gullane offers distracting views of the Lammermuir Hills and the Firth. The layout at Gullane is devoid of trees or water hazards but is still very challenging. Its hardiness comes from the gorse-filled terrain; swift, smarting winds; tight fairways, strategically placed bunkers and well protected, fast greens. The 7th hole on top of the Gullane Hill is widely regarded as its signature hole and has been described by Bernard Darwin as “one of the best views in golf”. The front nine at Gullane is an uphill task, literally, starting from the initial hole called the First. Windygate comes next, right before the Racecourse till you reach the celebrated 7th on top of the hill. The back nine requires even more precision as it runs downhill all the way to the finishing hole. The No.1 Course at Gullane is by all standards a great round of golf and must be experienced at least once.

Course: Cruden Bay Golf Club, Cruden Bay

Scotland is home to some of the best golf courses in the world and Cruden Bay Golf Club lying just 23 miles north of the city of Aberdeen is a prime example. Carved out of a land owned by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company, the track at Cruden Bay was designed by Old Tom Morris in 1899 at the behest of the owners. The layout held its first professional tournament soon after opening and saw golf masters like James Braid, Ben Sayers and the eventual winner Harry Vardon participating in it.

With such credentials and patronage, it was only a matter of time before Cruden Bay would be regarded as one of the most popular courses in all of Scotland. Today it finds a sizeable fan following and is especially sought after for its challenging holes 4th, featured by The 500 Worlds Greatest Golf Holes to the 7th. The back nine on this traditional links course measuring 6,395 yards par 70, is just as exciting as the front nine and one shouldnt expect a pleasant walk back home.

The courses rugged terrain is peppered with undulating fairways and beautifully maintained greens making surprise appearances. The layout winds its way around gigantic dunes that add a fair level of difficulty to a round of golf at Cruden Bay. Several seaside holes, starting from the elevated fourth tee offer a panoramic view of the North Sea and the pristine white beach.

As expected of a linksland course, the layout demands a sizeable fraction of blind shots and is a pleasure to play. While some changes have been inevitable, Cruden Bay has retained its natural charm and is attractive to golfers looking for a pleasurable round of golf.