The Ailsa Course, Turnberry
Ayrshire & West Coast
The most junior of Open venues, the Ailsa course is nevertheless one of the best and toughest challenges in championship golf. Sited between the magnificent Turnberry Hotel and the sea, this great course weaves in and out of spectacular dunes. Turnberry lighthouse and Ailsa Craig, standing over 1,200 foot high out at sea, form great backdrops to all of the holes, and the ruins of Robert the Bruce’s castle can be seen from the signature 9th hole. Although stretched to over 7,000 yards for Open Championships, the medal course is not one that demands great power for par but rather more care and attention to detail both off the tee and with the approach shots. Perhaps best noted for the famous ‘Duel in the Sun’ between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in 1977, the Ailsa Course hosted the Open Championship for the 4th time in 2009, when Stewart Cink triumphed.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (limited, medical certificate required, caddy to drive)
- Practice Facilities: Driving range, short game area and putting green
- Dress Code: No denims or collarless shirts
Dundonald Links
Ayrshire & West Coast
Built on the site of an old, 1900s golf course and opened in 2003, this Kyle Phillips designed course is situated alongside Western Gailes and is only a few miles from Royal Troon. The 7,100-yard, 72 par course has many links features and the layout is superb, with undulating fairways and well-bunkered greens. The course presents a stiff hallenge and is a good addition to an itinerary when staying in this area. Dundonald as played host to a number of professional and amateur tournaments, including prequalifying or the European Tour and the Senior British Open Championship.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (only 4 available)
- Practice Facilities: Driving range, short game area and putting green
- Dress Code: ppropriate golf attire. No denims and no mobile phones permitted in clubhouse.
Prestwick Golf Club
Ayrshire & West Coast
Steeped in golfing history, this lovingly-tended old golf course hosted the first twelve Open Championships. Founded in 1851, the club’s first Keeper of the Green, Ball and Club Maker was none other than ‘Old’ Tom Morris, who remained at Prestwick until 1864. Despite several little changes through the years, many blind tee shots remain, which make for very demanding second shots. Every hole is interesting and many idiosyncratic. Every golfer should experience playing Prestwick at least once in their golfing career.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (3 available, medical certificate required, caddy to drive)
- Practice Facilities: No driving range. Putting green
- Dress Code: No denim, trainers or collarless shirts. Shorts must be tailored.
Royal Troon Golf Club
Ayrshire & West Coast
This prestigious club came to be in 1878, when twenty-three members from Prestwick went their own way and built this splendid links course. Today it is one of the great Open venues, favoured for its quirky greens and long holes that can make for low scoring or quite the opposite. Troon has the longest and shortest holes of all the Open venues: the 577-yard sixth hole and the 126-yard eighth hole — called ‘the Postage Stamp’ because of its tiny green. Miss a green at Troon and, quite simply, you drop a shot. Troon is surely one of the world’s great golfing shrines.
- Caddies Available: (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (limited, medical certificate required, caddy to drive, caddy fee only)
- Practice Facilities: Practice area 1/2 mile from 1st tee. Putting green
- Dress Code: No denim, collarless shirts, shorts or trainers. Dining room — Jacket and tie
Machrihanish Golf Course
Ayrshire & West Coast
Machrihanish Golf Course has been voted ‘best opening hole in golf’, as your first tee shot has to cross part of the Atlantic Ocean. Situated on the south-west coast of the Kintyre Peninsula, this magnificent, championship-standard links course has large and undulating greens, as well as many blind shots that call for accurate iron play. Although over 100 miles from Glasgow by road, this course is also accessible by air and sea and, as such, golfers should attempt to fit it in to their itineraries.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes
- Practice Facilities: Short game area and putting green
- Dress Code: Appropriate golf attire
Machrihanish Dunes
Ayrshire & West Coast
Hard on the Atlantic, Machrihanish Dunes is the only course ever created on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). David McLay Kidd ‘uncovered’ 18 magnificent holes along a natural routing through the mature dunes adjacent to Machrihanish Golf Club. No fewer than six greens and five tees lie at the ocean’s edge and there are spectacular panoramic views across to Northern Ireland and Scotland’s western islands from every fairway. Opened in 2009, Machrihanish Dunes is perhaps the most natural golf course ever built and features undulating fairways and greens, and natural bunkers and roughs.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (only one available)
- Practice Facilities: Driving Range and putting green
- Dress Code: Appropriate golf attire
Machrie Golf Links
Ayrshire & West Coast
This unforgettable links course remains mostly unchanged from the 1891 layout designed by Willie Campbell. Although hard to get to (you either have to fly from Glasgow or take a ferry), the course is well worth the trip to its remote location on the Isle of Islay. Reminiscent of its neighbor Machrihanish, the course provides stunning views and a real taste of links golf. If time permits, make a pilgrimage to Machrie.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (only one available)
- Practice Facilities: Driving Range and putting green
- Dress Code: Appropriate golf attire
The Robert The Bruce Course, Turnberry
Ayrshire & West Coast
Shorter than her sister course the Ailsa, the Robert the Bruce Course still offers a challenging test of golf, with narrow fairways and small, deep, greenside bunkers; this course takes no prisoners! The renowned symbols of Turnberry, the hotel, Ailsa Craig and the Lighthouse, are all visible from this course.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes
- Practice Facilities: Driving range, short game area and putting green
- Dress Code: No collarless shirts or denims
Western Gailes
Ayrshire & West Coast
Sited on a narrow tract of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Ayrshire coast’s railway line, the Gailes is a marvellous classic links that has shades of Troon, Turnberry and Prestwick all rolled into one. With the well-sheltered holes winding through low dunes, the Gailes is long and testing enough to have played host to some significant championships, including the Curtis Cup, and is a regular Open qualifying venue. Western Gailes is a course of great variety that is challenging for the experienced player and a test for the able beginner.
- Caddies Available: Yes (Request in advance through The Golf Travel Group)
- Pull Carts Available: Yes
- Electric Buggies Available: Yes (2 available, medical certificate required, caddy to drive)
- Practice Facilities: Short game area, putting green and driving range
- Dress Code: No denim or collarless shirts. Tailored shorts allowed only with knee length socks.
- Misc: Mobiles only allowed in car park.