Golf Outings by TAXItravel
Picture this... playing on some of Scotland's finest courses and having someone else do all the driving, sound good?
Read about some of Scotland's finest golf courses below and easily get a quotation for each
Scotland's Golf Course's
If Scotland is the Home of Golf then Fife was the cradle and right at its centre is the 'Auld Grey Toon' of St Andrews.
To tread the turf of St Andrews, where in the 13th century shepherds played a form of golf, is a marvellous experience.
Over 600 years, one simple track hacked through the bushes and heather has developed into seven golf courses - the world-famous Old Course and its sister courses, the New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove, and just recently opened Castle – all in effect public courses run by the St Andrews Links Trust.
With hazards such as The Beardies, Hell Bunker and the Valley of Sin and the famous Road Hole you can expect a complete test of your abilities on the Old Course.
While St Andrews is immersed in the history of the game it now has an interesting mix of the old and the new with in recent years four stunning courses adding to the variety of this golfing centre – Kingbarns, the Torrance and Kittocks courses at the Fairmont St Andrews Hotel overlooking the town, and the Duke's Course, which is unusual for a St Andrews course in that it is a classic, inland parkland course.
The outstanding Kingsbarns celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2010 and although relatively young is a classic links running along 1.5 miles of scenic coastline and is a match for any of its venerable neighbours. Sir Michael Bonallack, the former Royal & Ancient secretary, said of it: &Mere words cannot convey just how extraordinary Kingsbarns is. Once seen it will never be forgotten.&
But away from St Andrews Fife has much to offer and there are a host of good courses with Lundin, a links with four holes more akin to parkland, and the quirky nine-hole Anstruther set in a picturesque fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife, Crail's Balcomie Links and Elie, where the great James Braid learned to play, all very much worth a visit.
Golf Courses in Fife
Seaside links course founded in 1890 and originally a 7-hole layout. Set in a picturesque old fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife. Kept in excellent condition. Some unusual holes and excellent par-3s. Suitable for golfers of all ages and experience. Magnificent views of Anstruther Harbour, the Isle of May, Bass rock and Edinburgh.
Designed in 1995 by American Gil Hanse and first played by the public in 1999, Craighead has wide sweeping fairways and large greens but features many of the best aspects of a classic links. It has many large bunkers and no two consecutive holes face the same direction. The Crail Golfing Society was founded in 1786 and is the seventh oldest golfing society in the world. The present Balcomie Links course was designed by Old Tom Morris in 1895 and is recognised as one of Scotland`s classics. Recently Crail added a second course, the Craighead Links, and it has proved to be a worthy neighbour of Balcomie. Both courses have stunning views across the North Sea to the distant mountains of Angus.
The Golf House Club was founded in 1875 but golf was first played here in 1750, although there are claims that its history went back almost 300 years earlier. The first official layout was around 1770. It’s a delightful holiday links course open and almost lacking in bushes and trees and without any par-5s. But plenty of variety is provided by the ever-changing wind. The local micro-climate means frost and snow-free winter golf. There are panoramic views over the Firth of Forth and it is very popular with golfers from Europe and North America making the pilgrimage to St. Andrews. The legendary James Braid, five-time Open champion, was born and brought up in Earlsferry which adjoins the course and learned to play here. Right from the start it's a unique experience as the opening hole requires a blind tee shot and the starter has to use a 30 foot periscope from HMS Excalibur to see if the coast is clear.
One of two recently revamped championship courses ( the other is the Torrance course) sitting atop a spectacular cliff formation, with breathtaking panoramic views of the River Tay estuary, the Fife countryside and the medieval skyline of St Andrews. The Kittocks course is an equally challenging course. The former Devlin course has been re-named as Kittocks and stretches over Kittock`s Den and along the sweeping coastline.
book. The course features dramatic sea views from each hole and a traditional links golf heritage dating from 1793. A challenging links experience awaits golfers as the course`s spacious fairways roll and twist over dune ridges and hollows through Scottish heather and wispy rough along 1.5 miles of scenic coastline near St. Andrews. Kingsbarns truly ‘embraces the sea’. The par-72 course extends to 7,126 yards for the championship tees. The 12th (see below) is the longest and the shortest is the 13th, a par-3 148 yards playing downhill to a small, well-bunkered green. The par-3 15th includes a forced carry over the foreshore to a peninsula green jutting out into the North Sea. Sir Michael Bonallack, former R & A secretary, said of the course: ‘Kingsbarns might well be one of the last true seaside links sites capable of development in Scotland. Mere words cannot convey just how extraordinary the place is. It must be seen to be believed. And once seen it will never be forgotten.`
Known locally as 'Lundie', this is principally links with four holes more akin to parkland which is a final qualifying course for the Open Championship. Every hole has the potential to ruin a card, even what may seem an innocuous short par 4. Several holes have narrow burns crossing fairways. The old railway line provides an out-of-bounds area which runs through the course. Much praised for the quality of the greens which provide subtle borrows to test golfers of all levels. Founded in 1868 on an Old Tom Morris course which was redesigned by James Braid in 1909.
included it in the magazine's Top 100 rankings soon after it was opened in 2008 and the course designed by David Kidd, creator of Bandon Dunes in America, is a challenge worthy of that accolade.
This is where it all started â€" the undoubted Home of Golf. Fittingly, the venue for the 150th anniversary of The Open Championship in 2010, this traditional links course is the oldest in the world. Its layout is unique and challenging and the sense of history is overwhelming. To tread the turf of St Andrews, where in the 13th century shepherds played a form of golf, is a marvellous experience.
magazine. The Duke’s won the accolade of ‘Best Golf Club in Scotland’ in the Golf Club of the Year Awards 2010. Along with the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, The Duke’s is owned and operated by Kohler Co of Kohler, Wisconsin, which also owns the famous Whistling Straits â€" host of the 2010 PGA Championship.
Provided by Scotland's Golf Courses