The Nine Holer Guide E-Book

Derek McAdam

• Herausgeber: Luath Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 231

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

The beautiful, quiet and often little known nine-hole golf courses offer even the lowest handicap golfer a challenge and with a level of difficulty rarely found on 18 hole courses it's hardly surprising that there are even nine hole courses no one has ever played below par. BACK COVER: What makes nine-hole golf so extraordinary? What can a shorter course offer an experienced player? How can these courses compare to the Scottish championship-level courses? The beautiful, quiet and often little known nine-hole golf courses offer even the lowest handicap golfer a challenge and with a level of difficulty rarely found on 18 hole courses it's hardly surprising that there are even nine hole courses no one has ever played below par. Walk in the footsteps of golfing legends and find some surprising gems, from the prestigious nine-hole courses which hosted some of the earliest Open Championships to the more unusual, such as Harris where a renovated shipping containter acts as a clubhouse. You can even take on the giants of Gleneagles and St. Andrews and play the nine-hole layouts at these celebrated golf meccas. Helpfully divided into geographical areas, The Nine-Holer Guide includes statistics and contact details for each course. Learn about the history and the rare wildlife that can be seen while playing - and enjoy the unique experience of visiting Scotland's wealth of beautiful nine-hole golf courses. Whether you're the Open Champion or an occasional golfer, The Nine-Holer Guide tells you everything you need to know before you tee off. REVIEWS: '[A] much needed guide book to the beautiful nine-hole courses of Scotland.' - PAUL LAWRIE, MBE. Open Champion 1999'If the great championship golf courses are Scotland's greatest outdoor sporting assets then its wealth of beautiful nine-hole courses is one of the world's best kept secrets.'- DEREK McADAM

Leseprobe

DEREK McADAM was a financial journalist in London for 20 years, writing for theStock Exchange Gazette,The SunandSunday Express, before moving to Scotland in 1976 where he purchased the Western Isles Hotel, Tobermory, a holiday resort with its own nine-hole golf course.

The Nine-Holer Guidebrings together McAdam’s passion for the sport and his wealth of writing experience in a unique guide to Scotland’s nine-hole golf courses. There is no other source of information detailing all 162 courses with this level of expertise and attention to detail.

McAdam has previously written a guide to theWest Highland Line, co-written a guide book to the Isle of Mull and co-authored the bestseller,Who Killed Diana? Now retired, he continues to write for both local and national newspapers. Remaining resident in Tobermory, he still enjoys a leisurely round on the beautiful Tobermory Golf Course and frequently tours Scotland playing other nine-hole courses.

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The Nine-Holer Guide

Scotland’s Nine-Hole Golf Courses

DEREK McADAM

LuathPress Limited

EDINBURGH

www.luath.co.uk

First published 2009

Reprinted 2010

Revised and updated edition 2013

eBook 2013

ISBN (print): 978-1-908373-60-1

ISBN (eBook): 978-1-909912-74-8

The author’s right to be identified as author of this book under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 has been asserted.

Map by Jim Lewis

© Derek McAdam 2009, 2013

Contents

Map

Map Key

Acknowledgements

Foreword by Paul Lawrie

A stroll around the course

Signature holes and Captains’ favourites

Famous players on little known golf courses

How much does it cost? And a cheaper way to play

A few explanations

CENTRAL

SOUTH WEST

HIGHLAND

HEARTLANDS

NORTH EAST

SOUTH EAST

ISLANDS

MAP KEY

Central

1 Leadhills

2 Douglas Water

3 Broadlees

4 Mearns Castle

5 Strathaven Playsport Golf, Heritage Links

6 Dalziel

7 Strathclyde Park

8 Calderbraes

9 Cambuslang

10 Larkhall

11 Alexandra Park

12 Greenock

13 Ruchill

14 Bearsden

15 Knightswood

16 Strathendrick

17 Ross Priory

18 Wee Demon

19 Bridge of Allan

20 Airthrey

21 Brucefields

22 Alva

23 Tillicoultry

24 Bonnybridge

25 Polmont

South West

26 Langholm

27 Hoddom Castle

28 Craigieknowes

29 Dalbeattie

30 Crichton

31 New Galloway

32 Castle Douglas

33 Tongland

34 Gatehouse of Fleet

35 Wigtown and Bladnoch

36 St Medan

37 Portpatrick Dinvin

38 Sanqjuhar Euchan

39 New Cumnock

40 Muirkirk

41 Doon Valley – Patna

42 Maybole

43 Arran Course, Turnberry

44 Roodlea Family Golf Centre

45 Caprington

46 North Gailes

47 Auchenharvie

48 The Pans, Machrihanish

49 Carradale

50 Tarbert

51 Kyles of Bute

52 Innellan

53 Blairmore and Strone

54 Lochgilphead

55 Inverary

56 Lochgoilhead

57 Dalmally

58 Taynault

59 The Links at Eriska

Highland

60 Dragon’s Tooth (formerly Ballachulish House)

61 Traigh

62 Lochcarron

63 Gairloch

64 Ullapool

65 Durness

66 Lybster

67 Helmsdale

68 Bonar Bridge Ardgay

69 Tarbat

70 Cawdor Castle

71 Aigas

72 Loch Ness Wee Monster

73 Carrbridge

74 Craggan

75 Abernethy

76 Fort Augustus

77 Spean Bridge

Heartlands

78 Saline

79 Lochore Meadows

80 Auchterderran

81 Cluny

82 Leslie

83 Bishopshire

84 Milnathort

85 Falkland

86 Lundin Ladies

87 Elie Sports

88 Anstruther

89 St Andrews Balgove

90 Kingarrock Hickory

91 Cupar

92 Gleneagles PGA National Academy

93 Dunning

94 Muthill

95 Crieff, Dornock

96 Comrie

97 St Fillans

98 Foulford Inn

99 Strathtay

100 Mains of Taymouth

101 Killin

102 Blair Atholl

103 Blairglowrie Wee

104 Piperdam Wee Piper

105 Strathmore Leitfie Links

106 Dalmunzie

107 Lairds Course, Guthrie Castle (now private)

108 Forbes of Kingennie

109 Edzell, West Water

North East

110 Tarland

111 Aboyne Lodge Tiger

112 Aboyne Lodge Pussycat

113 Lumphanan

114 Torphins

115 Paul Lawrie (formerly Aspire)

116 Inchmarlow Queens (new name)

117 Auchenblae

118 Deeside, Blairs

119 Hazelhead

120 Murcar Links (new name)

121 Cruden Bay St. Olafs

122 Peterhead, New (new name)

123 Fyvie

124 Fraserburgh, Rosehill

125 Rosehearty

126 Rothes

127 Covesea Links (new name)

128 Ballindalloch Castle

129 Kinloss Course 1

130 Kinloss Course 2

South East

131 Ravelston

132 Braid Hills

133 The Hermitage Family

134 Swanston New Templar

135 Portobello

136 Dundas Park

137 Gogarburn

138 Kingsfield

139 Bridgend and District

140 Oatridge

141 Polkemmet

142 Musselburgh – Old Links

143 Gifford

144 Melville

145 Whitehill House

146 Vogrie

147 Innerleithen

148 Lauder

149 Galashiels

150 Melrose

151 St Boswells

152 Lilliardsedge

153 Selkirk

154 Lilliesleaf

155 Newcastleton

Islands

156 Port Bannatyne

157 Bute G.C. Kingarth

158 Corrie

159 Shiskine

160 Machrie Bay

161 Lochranza

162 Gigha

163 Isle of Seil

164 Craignure

165 Tobermory

166 Vaul

167 Isle of Skye – Sconser

168 Skeabost

169 Barra

170 Askernish

171 Benbecula

172 Sollas

173 Scarista

174 South Ronaldsay

175 Westray

176 Sanday

177 North Ronaldsay

178 Asta

St Medan Golf Club

Acknowledgements

There are many people I have to thank for their help in producing this little guide. First and foremost are the club secretaries who have spent time and effort filling in my intrusive questionnaires. These over-worked and often unpaid club servants are the backbone of grass roots golf, without whom many clubs simply would not function at all. I thank them all for their devotion to the administrative side of their sport.

Then, of course, a word for Kathy, my wife, equally over-worked and underpaid, who has shown outstanding patience with my obsession for nine-hole golf courses. As a fine golfer (far better than myself) she has, at least, had the enjoyment of playing many of the fine courses featured in this book. Kathy has also taken many of the pictures featured throughout.

Thanks to Roderick Thorne of Sanday for the glorious pictures of the Arctic Skua, and to the late David Jones of Tobermory who has guided me through the intricacies of data saving and retrieval and general computer work.

A special thanks to David Howitt of Glenforsa, Isle of Mull, who can claim some 40 years experience of nine-hole golf courses, and has worn the mantle of course designer, captain and secretary – in other words a lifetime of devotion. He has willingly given me help and support in producing this guide. Hours spent reading copy, improving text and recounting golfing memories which have, in my opinion, enriched the book.

A big thankyou to Luath Press, especially Gavin MacDougall for showing faith in this project and to Leila Cruickshank, my production editor, and to Chani and Alice.

Finally acknowledgement for the many golfing web sites which have proved invaluable in the research. These includewww.scottishgolfcourses.comandwww.scotlands-golf-courses.com

Derek McAdam,

May 2009

Greenkeeper ‘Wee’ Strickland Muirkirk Golf Club

Foreword by Paul Lawrie MBE

Open Champion – 1999

It gives me great pleasure to welcome readers to this much needed guide book to the Beautiful Nine-Hole Golf Courses of Scotland. These are the courses which are so often overlooked. When planning a golfing visit I was surprised to learn that there are 153 nine-holers (the book now includes 178 courses) scattered the length and breadth of Scotland, and it is my great regret that I have played just a few of them.

It is true to say, however, that I have thoroughly enjoyed the ones I have played, especially as my very first golfing memories are all of nine-hole courses. As a boy of eight or nine years old our family would go to the nine-hole course at Kemnay, some 30 minutes from our home in Aberdeen, and it was here that I first began to play with serious intent.

My very first hole-in-one was at Kemnay at the fourth, a lovely 123 yard PAR 3. I remember that tingle of excitement as if it was yesterday.

Another nine-holer, where I became a junior member, was at Hopeman, near Elgin. This course, which we still play occasionally, boasts my favourite PAR 3 hole anywhere in the world. It’s the lovely downhill 160 yard fourth, with views of the sea, where the ball appears tohang in the air for what seems like minutes, before hopefully landing in the heart of the green. Both Kemnay and Hopeman have since been ‘improved’ to 18 hole courses which explains why they are not featured in this guide.

To this day we have a family membership at the Aspire Golf Centre, Deeside, where my sons, Craig 12 and Michael 8, regularly play the nine-hole course. Already they have started playing medals and show a lot of promise.

As part of my regular training I will often fire off a bucket of balls and then complete the session by playing nine holes. For me this is a perfect regime for keeping my swing in trim and practising the lessons of the driving range without the need for four hours around a full size course.

I really hope that you enjoy this guide book. Whether you are on a golfing trip with a few friends or a family holiday, the nine-hole golf courses will introduce you to many outstanding golf experiences in lovely countryside along with the opportunity to meet some of the locals who play these courses regularly.

I am happy to say that it has always been my experience that these regular players are great enthusiasts for their own courses and are usually delighted to share the secrets of their fairways and greens with visitors.

So it is with pleasure that I encourage you to explore the byways of golf and enjoy Scotland’s great heritage of nine-hole courses.

Best wishes

Paul Lawrie

Paul Lawrie

Comrie Golf Course

St Olaf’s Golf Course. Cruden Bay

A Stroll Around the Course

If the great championship golf courses are Scotland’s greatest outdoor sporting assets then its wealth of beautiful nine-hole courses is one of the world’s best-kept secrets.

Visitors arrive from every corner of the globe to play the golfing icons of St Andrews, Turnberry, Royal Troon, Muirfield, Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, and other world class championship courses.

But do they know that there is an altogetherdifferentworld of golf awaiting – hidden treasures in the byways, the mountains and the glens, on the islands of the west coast and in the folds of the hills and along the links of little known shores? These are the natural hiding places of our wonderful gems, the nine-hole golf courses.

They include the oldest nine-hole course in the world at Cupar Hilltarvit, the most westerly in Scotland on the Isle of Barra, the most northerly at Durness and the highest course at Leadhills (1,500ft above sea level). Sanday claims it is the smallest club in the world with less than ten regular playing members and at Scarista the unusual claim to fame is that the clubhouse is a renovated shipping container.

It is also possible to play just nine-hole courses and still boast that you have played some of the most famous in the world. St Andrews, Gleneagles and Blairgowrie, Machrihanish and Turnberry all have nine-hole layouts awaiting your pleasure.

And it is a little known fact that some of the earliest Open Championships were played on nine-holers. From 1872 up to 1892 the Open Championship was played alternately on St Andrews, Prestwick, and Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course. The competition was played over 36 holes which meant playing two rounds of 18 holes at St Andrews, three rounds of 12 holes at Prestwick and four rounds of nine holes at Musselburgh Links which remains one of the most famous and oldest nine-hole courses in the world.

Our ambition with this little guide is to introduce golfers from home and abroad to the delights of the 160-plus nine-hole courses scattered across the length and breadth of Scotland. To remind them of the way golf was played in its earliest days.

Castle Douglas Golf Course

Do not be misled by the commonly held belief that this is golf in miniature, an easy option and not to be compared with the demands of the ‘real’ game. The nine-hole courses of Scotland offer a challenge to golfers of every ability, every bit as demanding as their better known big brothers. There are many nine-hole courses where the Standard Scratch Score (SSS) is higher than the PAR, indicating a level of difficulty rarely found on 18 hole courses. These include Calderbraes, New Cumnock, Caprington, Leslie, Tarland and Musselburgh Links, The Old Course. It also helps explain why many nine-hole layouts have never been played to par – what full size course can make this claim?

They also offer a great deal more. This is golf without pressure. Very rarely will there be queues at the Starters’ Hut. In fact Starters’ Huts are a rarity. In a few cases there is not even a clubhouse. It is unlikely that you will be held up by slow play in front, or have other games pressing from behind. It is possible that you may have an entire course to yourself. We call it ‘Millionaire Golf’, but without the expense of buying your own course.

Then there is the cost. On some of these little wonders annual membership can cost less than a green fee at their famous big brothers. On one course in the far north annual membership is £10 with nothing further to pay, except maybe for competition fees. Most courses offer weekly tickets costing less that a single round on a championship links.

There is also a time advantage. Not always do all members of a party want to play golf. With a round of nine holes taking little more than an hour-and-a-half, partners will not mind wandering around enjoying the scenery, the wildlife or another local attraction. In this book we have tried to identify the flora and fauna and the outstanding scenery to brighten the interest of a non-golfing partner.

Nor have these courses been neglected by the great and good. The cream of the world’s famous golfers have been known to enjoy a leisurely round on a nine-hole course, including Peter Alliss, Nick Faldo, Paul Lawrie, Ronan Rafferty, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson. Many come back year after year and some use a favourite course to warm up for a championship competition.

Just how much of a challenge do nine-hole courses offer? For serious golfers testing themselves against par the challenge is serious, for many haveneverbeen played to par. This does not reflect a lack of good players. It is the result of an abundance of PAR 3s and few PAR 5S. In these circumstances there is little opportunity to pick up a dropped shot. It is the very shortness of the courses that actually protects par.

All this is unlikely to worry the holiday golfer. For them we have tried to raise their interest by highlighting the ‘signature’ hole on each course. The hole which best represents the very nature of the course, its terrain and demands. We have also asked for the captain’s favourite hole. This is, of course, just a snapshot in time, for the captains change but often the favourite does not. Sometimes it is the demands of the hole, but more often it is the sheer joy of playing a hole from an elevated tee, or to a narrow protected green, or the stunning view which that hole may offer.

For all of this, perhaps your interest is to enjoy a tour of Scotland with a little golf as an added extra. If this is the case then we thoroughly recommend the beautiful nine-hole golf courses of Scotland. Plan your tour around them for they will take you into every part of our glorious countryside, into wonderful scenery with mind blowing views, to meet friendly people with time to stand and chat, and to discover a world of golf that is still very much a secret.

Gairloch Golf Course. Eighth and ninth greens from ninth tee.

Signature Holes and Captains’ Favourites

In our questionnaire to the nine-hole golf clubs of Scotland we asked what they considered to be the signature hole and also which was the captain’s favourite hole. Their response really comes under the heading of ‘casual’ information, not necessary to affect the way you take on the challenge of a new course but which gives some idea of the opinions of those who play it on a regular basis – those hardy souls who can quite rightly claim to know every blade of grass on their own patch.

It is our hope that this knowledge will add a little extra to your own enjoyment of the course.

The concept of a ‘signature hole’ has only really come to the fore in recent years. This is the hole, it is claimed, which best encapsulates the whole ambience of the course; the terrain, the level of difficulty, the beauty of the surroundings and maybe the hopes and aspirations of the members for the rest of the course.

Captains’ favourite holes on the other hand, represent something altogether more sinister. Scottish captains, being the hairy legged kilt wearing hard men of highland legend, almost always choose one of the hardest holes on the course as their favourite. It is clearly the challenge that gets them excited, the blind tee shot to a narrow fairway, the pitch to an elevated green hiding behind a grassy knoll, above which there might just be a lurking hoody crow, waiting to steal a wayward ball.

Polkemmet Golf Course. Teeing off at the third.

Wildlife

Stories often appear in the press these days of wildlife appearing in the most unexpected places – on the verges between and around motorways, in city centres and so on. Against this background it is hardly surprising that wildlife also appears on every course in Scotland. What is unexpected is the sheer variety of wildlife finding a comfortable home in the land of birdies and eagles. This is true of city courses, surrounded by housing, offices, motorways and all the other distractions of urban life and, indeed, also nine-hole layouts tucked away in the folds of remote highland glens.

Two courses even claim to have llamas as an additional attraction, while others spotlight dolphins, porpoises, minke whales and basking sharks as occasional visiting distractions. Seabirds and the more common birds of prey are widely boasted of while others claim kites, eagles, pheasants, linnets and kestrels as regular visitors. And it is not only sea creatures and birds. There are plenty of four legged guests. Deer, horses, hares, foxes, stoats and wild goats are all there to be seen by the watchful on Scotland’s beautiful nine-hole golf courses.

At the Sanday Course on Orkney they even have an Artic Skua as the Club’s logo. Roderick Thorne, the Secretary, tells us that a pair of skuas nest every year on the line of the parallel first and second holes. ‘This is a pretty aggressive species when eggs have been laid or are hatched’, he tells us. ‘In May and June players usually hold a short-iron aloft in order to avoid having the scalp whacked by a skua’s feet.’

‘In the summer the ground is an array of links flowers; and a variety of other isles’ birds breeds on the course – ringed plover, oystercatcher, fulmar, common gull, black-headed gull, arctic, tern – occasionally even eider duck.’ Roderick, it sounds lovely, even if a touch hazardous.

Similar stories come from other courses. One told us of the dangers of hooded crows. ‘They soar overhead looking relaxed but slightly menacing, something like a cruise missile on holiday! It’s when one of them folds its wings and dives, low and fast, you know that it has mischief on its mind. The next thing you see is it drifting back into the trees with a golf ball firmly in its beak.’ On the Tobermory course there are local rules to cope with exactly this interruption to play – your ball can be replaced without penalty at the spot it was stolen.

Durness Golf Course

Why do we mention all this when all you have in mind is to keep your head down, concentrate on the swing and make that perfect chip to the heart of the green? For the simple reason that your partner may not find your miraculous talent and obsession with stableford points quite so gripping. No one wants an unhappy companion – so the trick is to offer a pair of binoculars and a notebook and set the challenge to spot as much wildlife as possible during the thoroughly enjoyable two-hour stroll around some of the best scenery in the world.

Throughout this guide you will find pages devoted to these features, the signature holes, the captain’s favourites and the wildlife. It’s just those snippets of information that we hope will make your experience of Scotland’s nine-hole golf courses a little more special.

Maybole Golf Course

Famous Players on Little Known Golf Courses

Not many years ago Tom Watson missed the cut at The Open and found his way from Carnoustie on the east coast to the Isle of Mull, almost as far west as you can go. At Tobermory Golf Club he quickly made friends with the members and enjoyed the course, taking several juniors around with him.

He is remembered not only for his warmth and friendship, but also for a remarkable event on the fifth. It is a short PAR 4 and the tee shot is blind with a bank rising just a few yards ahead with the fairway running along the edge of the cliff overlooking Tobermory Bay.

By any standards the tee shot was disaster – a wild slice over the bank and trees at the edge of the cliff with the ball landing on the lighthouse path, or perhaps even in Tobermory Bay.

With hardly a raised eyebrow he put another ball down and threaded a magnificent shot to the green 274 yards away. Tom studied the treacherous surface carefully from every direction and calmly putted out for his PAR 4 – an astonishing recovery executed by one of the truly great golfers of modern times! Having won five Open Championships who would argue against that.

These are the things which raise the truly great from the merely ordinary.

Tom Watson is far from being the only famous player to discover the charms and challenges of nine-hole golf.

Paul Lawrie, Open Winner at Carnoustie in 1999, has enjoyed the Inchmarlow nine-hole course as has Ronan Rafferty and many of the cast of Emmerdale. Paul has also played the course at Devenick while Ronan Rafferty has been spotted with his clubs at a number of other nine-hole courses, including Loch Ness, Scarista and Durness. The latter also claims Peter Alliss and Jimmy Tarbuck as occasional visitors. Broadcaster Terry Wogan has been seen at Rothes, the inland course some 10 miles from Elgin.

Elie Sports Clubhouse

Milnathort says they have many famous visitors, but ‘they all wear masks’ so we are going to respect their anonymity here.

Then there is the lovely story of the Nick Faldo ‘Fiver’ and the Ronan Rafferty ‘Golf Ball’ two competitions played for every year at Scarista on the Isle of Harris. Read all about it on p.152. Scarista is clearly blessed with some very astute members who are well aware of the marketing value of famous names on their wee gem of a course.

To spread the story that nine-hole golf courses are not merely for the lost and the lame, and to emphasise that they exist as a challenge to golfers of every standard, fame and notoriety, we have included snippets throughout the guide of the courses and their famous players.

How much Does it Cost? and A Cheaper Way to Play

Amongst the exhaustive details of Scotland’s beautiful nine-hole golf courses included in this guide there is one glaring omission. Happily this is not a mistake. We have left out all mention of green fees for a very good reason. The fact is that green fees often change from season to season and it would be a nightmare to try and keep up.

Furthermore, the cost is not the most significant detail about Scotland’s nine-hole courses. It is a simple fact that our nine-hole courses offer a way to play serious golf at a seriously low cost. Few courses charge green fees of more than £15. Often it can be less than £10 and even then this will usually cover two nine-hole rounds of golf and sometimes it can be for an all-day ticket.

It comes as a complete surprise to many visitors that annual membership of nine-hole courses can often be less that the cost of a single round on a championship course. How’s that for value? And this covers free golf every day of the year. As a result of the discrepancy between famous championship courses and their smaller cousins many regular visitors to Scotland pay for an annual membership at their favourite nine-holer. It takes only half-a-dozen rounds of golf to more than justify the cost of a membership, and many of these smaller courses welcome new members with open arms. There is no need for references and a reminder that the Club’s traditional waiting list of 35 years has only been reduced in exceptional circumstances to 18 years for royalty and peers of the realm.

The downside of lower green fees is that the clubs have less money to spend on course maintenance. Twenty years ago this was a serious problem. Many clubs relied on the goodwill of their members to cut the fairways and greens with ancient machinery, slaving away into the twilight hours, after a hard day’s work, for little or no pay. Even then the rough was akin to a trek into the jungle.

Polmont Golf Course. Ninth green.

Nowadays most courses are in excellent condition. The growing popularity of golf has meant an increase in income from green fees and membership, with the happy result that there is money for greenkeeping staff, either part-time or full time. This, together with the help of grants and low interest loans from within the golfing world (The Royal and Ancient has been prominent) and from quangos such as the Sports Council and Local Authorities, means that many courses now boast an assortment of sophisticated equipment to keep their grass and pathways under full control.

For all these reasons we do not believe that the cost of green fees is a significant factor. These days you can play on a well maintained course for very little of your hard-earned cash. What more can you ask? Interestingly enough there are ways to play your golf for even less money! Read on.

Golf Discount Schemes

Golf Discount Schemes can reduce the cost of play by up to 50 per cent and naturally have become very popular in recent years as a way of encouraging more people to play more courses. The usual formula is to pay a single fee in advance which allows you to play a number of courses within a prescribed time for less than the cost of green fees at the individual courses.

Amongst the schemes available are Green Fee Savers, 2-Fore-1 Vouchers, GreenFree Vouchers, Golfer’s Passport and the Golf Passes from Visit Scotland.

The two best schemes for the nine-hole courses of Scotland are Green Fee Savers sponsored by Bunkered magazine and VisitScotland’s Golf Passes.

Carrbridge Golf Course

The Bunkered scheme offers half price golf on some 260 courses in Scotland including many of the nine-hole courses. There are 44 courses listed in the Central region, 57 in the South West, 18 in the Highlands, 54 in Heartlands, 38 in the North East and 52 in the South East. The Highlands and the South West regions include some of the golf courses in our Islands list.