The best courses in Scotland include some of the finest links courses in the world and should be on the bucket list of every serious golfer.
1. St Andrews (Old)
No other course has hosted more Open Championship and its special design, however eccentric it may appear, is beyond reproach.
2. Muirfield
Muirfield is the home of The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and the world’s oldest golf club, formed in 1744.
3. Royal Dornoch (Championship)
It requires a special diversion north through the Scottish Highlands to play the most strategic collection of greens anywhere.
4. Turnberry (Alisa)
An amazing course redesigned by MacKenzie Ross after WWII, the stretch of holes between No 4 and 10 is the best in Scotland.
5. Carnoustie (Championship)
It is a big, natural seaside golf links, and is considered to be one of the most difficult in the British Isles, especially the four closing holes.
6. Kingsbarn
Opened in 2000, a modern links whipped into a wild sea of undulation that is memorable for its views of the North Sea from every hole.
7. Royal Troon (Old)
An Open mainstay on the Ayrshire coast, known for its fearsome finish and its 7th hole with its Postage Stamp green.
8. Loch Lomond
It might be overrated for its architecture, but its setting among the mountains and waters of Loch Lomand is hard to beat.
9. North Berwick (West)
Home to the original Redan, Plateau, Perfection and Pit, no golf course has been copied more than North Berwick.
10. Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie)
Royal Aberdeen is a tradition out and back links on the North Sea that is often regarded for having the best front nine in Britain.
11. Cruden Bay
From the stretch of shoreline that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, he course has a few of the most unbelievable holes to be found anywhere
12. Castle Stuart
Opened in 2009 to great fanfare, and now home to the Barclays Scottish Open, Castle Stuart raises the bar for golf in the Highlands.
13. Nairn (Championship)
One of the most spectacular seaside courses in Scotland, boasting views of the sea from every home and perfect greens.
14. Gleneagles (Kings)
By far, the best inland course in Scotland and a perfect setting for the golf, the Kings is James Braid’s finest hour as a designer.
15. Western Gailes
Hemmed in between the beach and railway line, it is a pure and demanding links that does not always get the attention it deserves.
16. Machrihanish (Championship)
A true look at golf in the 19th century, its secluded location on the southern tip of the Argyle Peninsula only bolsters its reputation.
17. Prestwick
Prestwick has a mix of archaic, confounding holes near the clubhouse and more traditional golf at the far end of the course.
18. St Andrews (Castle)
In 2008, the much anticipate new Castle course just outside of town, became the seventh member of the Links Trust family.
19. Gullane (No. 1)
Close the village, the course plays up and over Gullane Hill, with panoramic views of East Lothian, west to Edinburgh and north to Fife.
20. Blairgowrie (Rosemount)
The preeminent example of heathland golf in Scotland, with its best hole the openerand its second best the closer.
21. Dundonald
Owned by Loch Lomond and opened in 2005, it is a natural links that will prove to be a course of some repute once it has matured.
22. St. Andrews (New)
Dating back to 1894, it situated adjacent to the Old Course and is often referred to as the local favorite with its more defined feeling.
23. The Machrie
On the western island of Islay, famous for its rich and peaty single malt whiskies, it is a wonderfully nostalgic and natural links.
24. Machrihanish Dunes
A new dramatic and natural golfing layout has emerged from the sand hills that lie just north of the venerable old links.
25. Gleneagles (Queen’s)
The perfect shorter companion to the King’s course, with bold contours and generous greens in an amazing moorland setting.