Golf in Scotland

Scotland remains, and will always be the Mecca of golf, which is unlikely to change as it is very much the home of golf.
Many many people make a pilgrimage to the courses where the game of golf was first played and probably invented.

The first official record of golf was as long ago as 1552, but there is some record which may place it even earlier than that, as it is believed to have been a game played by the Scottish aristocracy as early as the fourteenth century.
Many will gravitate to the fabled Old Course at St Andrews, and what a joy it is to walk the links in the footsteps of all the great golfers. It is however as well to be aware of the pressure for tee off times, and you may have to book up to a year in advance for a popular time. Be also aware that you must have an accredited handicap from your home club which has to be presented to the starter for approval before stepping on to the tee. Internet based handicaps are not allowed, you must be a Golf Club member.

That is not the last hurdle to overcome, you will be called onto the tee from a waiting area, and the Starter will clear the famous road which snakes across the wide first and eighteenth fairways, and then call ‘Play’. Even the most experienced golfer can find this inhibiting especially with the darkened windows of the Royal and Ancient golf club oppressively close behind you.

It is however a joy to come down the 18th hole, playing as it were into the town on a lovely evening. At times like that God is in his heaven and all is at peace.

If you want to play Muirfield, the oldest golf course in the world, be aware it is a member’s only course, and a male bastion. It is possible to play there, but you will need to be more than competent to pass the hawk like surveillance of the Secretary. It’s not a bad plan to stay at Greywalls a superb hotel nearby that overlooks the course, and use the help from the concierge.

Then there is Gleneagles with its famous King’s Course and the famous and expensive Gleneagles hotel to retire to after doing battle. The Turnberry Hotel also overlooks the course, once again fabled by the number of Open Golf Championships, as is Royal Troon, also a male only bastion.

A helpful suggestion for golfers anxious to play in Scotland is to venture off the beaten track. There are over 500 courses and some of the best are unheard of unheralded courses around the Highlands.

There’s many a course in beautiful condition, and a true test that you will arrive at midweek to find it so deserted that you have to place your green fee, usually so cheap as to astonish you, in a box, prior to taking a score card and proceeding around the course. Golf courses like this are unique, some with amazing histories, all immaculate.
Go and enjoy your golf in Scotland.

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