Regarded as one of the best places in the world to play golf, Scotland is home to many fantastic courses. Offering golfers the chance to improve their handicap whilst taking in the wonderful scenery, you're spoiled for choice when choosing where to play. Taking out some of the hard work, here we bring five fantastic golf courses to try out this summer.
Balmore Golf Club, set in the secluded rolling countryside of East Dunbartonshire between Milngavie and Bishopbriggs, is probably the finest inland Scottish golf course you have yet to play. Central Scotland is blessed with many great courses, but they don't come any better than Balmore. A bold claim, but the club are confident that once you play the perfectly manicured 18 holes designed by six-time British Open Champion Harry Vardon, you will agree - and be happy to tell others the same.
Founded in 1907, Balmore Golf Club has a proud history, but it has an even brighter future. Significant investments in facilities for the whole family such as a 6-hole Par 3 course with complimentary child membership and an extensive practice facility for keen golfers eager to perfect their game has uniquely positioned the club. It's a safe, family-friendly environment successfully attracting a new generation of members such as former Celtic and Scotland football star Kris Commons who joined during April's new member intake:
"I’ve played a lot of great golf courses in Scotland over the years," said Kris. "But I decided to join Balmore Golf Club for two main reasons: the quality of the course itself, plus the stand-out practice facilities which are set up to cater to families. The real clincher was the massive practice area which has two full size greens with bunkers, a six-hole par 3 course, putting green and driving range. My two boys are really keen on golf, so having such an impressive practice facility that they can use to learn and enjoy the game is important. If you haven’t played Balmore yet, then I strongly recommend you give it a try – you won’t be disappointed.”
Visit soon to judge for yourself!
Tel 01360 620 284
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buchanan Castle Golf Club
Nestled within the heart of the Loch Lomond National Park, Buchanan Castle Golf Club offers its members and visitors a unique combination of a challenging test of golf, outstanding scenery and Scottish history. The club are proud to be one of the best rated golf courses in the West of Scotland.
The course was set out by the celebrated James Braid for the Duke of Montrose in 1936 on the parkland of the Duke’s estate, so its holes and fairways are framed by majestic trees and magnificent views of the Trossachs. The backdrop promotes tranquillity and a sense of wellbeing even within the most trying of rounds and yet it is only 35 minutes from Glasgow city centre and only a mile from the picturesque village of Drymen. The historic ruins of Buchanan Castle overlook the course and there are many references to the Graham family within the well-appointed clubhouse.
Rob Roy McGregor walked the estate in the past so visitors and members are truly walking in the footsteps of legends.
In more recent times when the irascible Eric Brown was the professional at Buchanan Castle, the Ryder Cup sat proudly on his desk in the pro shop. In 2014 at the Gleneagles Ryder Cup the organising committees from Europe and the USA played a match at Buchanan Castle which speaks to the quality of the course.
The club is now in its second year of member control having taken over from the Montrose Estates in 2017, with plans to develop the golfing offer for members and visitors alike.
The club has successfully attracted 150 new members in the past year and is offering full membership at £500. They now wish to welcome more new club members and have a variety of membership categories to suit individual circumstances. For further information visit the website or watch the video tour on Buchanan Castle here.
The club welcomes visiting parties large and small and tee times can be booked direct here.
If you are planning a corporate golf event, arrangements can be made to suit you and your clients or if you fancy a fourball with your friends, phone Keith Baxter the Professional on 01360660330.
You will enjoy some Buchanan Time!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Machrihanish Golf Club
Voted best opening hole in the world of golf, the 18-hole Championship Course is set in the wonderful Machrihanish Dunes by the small village of Machrihanish.
It's a joy to play and most of the time very quiet, allowing the visitor to relish the ups and downs of the fairways and the tussle with undulating greens. The arresting views across to the islands of Islay, Jura and Gigha provide a delightful backdrop on an idyllic summer's day with the firm Machrihanish turf underfoot, the majesty of the dunes and wheeling seabirds providing the musical sound track.
To provide a varied test for the competent golfer, the layout is not just a predictable nine out and nine back. The classic links holes, apart from the 1st, are the 5th, another par four with its fairway like an elephant's graveyard, the 10th, a clever dogleg par five and the 15th, a "one shotter" with real difficulty if the elusive green is missed from the tee. Members can also enjoy complimentary use of the practise and putting areas.
The course ranks highly on a global scale. Golf Digest rated Machrihanish among the top 100 courses in the world in 2018, climbing 30 places to now rank 61st in the world. The club is also rated fourth best value for money within the UK.
To find out more about the club, visit www.machgolf.com/golfclubvideo.php
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture
South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture offer excellent golf outing packages for groups of eight or more. They have four 18 hole courses to choose from, which all provide a quality outing experience at extremely affordable prices.
Biggar Golf Course is a very popular venue for groups and societies and although comparatively shorter in distance, it offers an enjoyable variety of holes and beautiful scenic views of the surrounding hills and countryside.
Hollandbush Golf Course is located near Lesmahagow not far from the M74 motorway. The course is an interesting mix of moorland, woodland and parkland with a diverse range of holes to challenge golfers of all abilities. Langlands and Torrance House golf courses are both in East Kilbride. Langlands is a very popular course for outings, with medium length distance and not too many undulations. When the wind blows however, the course bites back.
Torrance House Golf Course lies within Calderglen Country Park and for many years has been acknowledged as one of the leading municipal courses in the country with a challenging layout of championship holes.
The golf clubs onsite provide a great service with quality food and drinks. We offer our minimum package of breakfast and 18 holes of golf from as little as £22 up to £45 for two rounds, breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are other packagaes to suit, please view these on our outings web page. The prices are applicable to all four courses.
For enquiries and bookings, please call the golf section on 01355 233451 or complete the enquiry form on the website.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bishopbriggs Golf Club
The best of both worlds is on offer at Bishopbriggs Golf Club. A peaceful course beautifully landscaped with views to the Campsie Fells it boasts a country feel yet is conveniently located only a stone’s throw from the heart of Bishopbriggs. This easy walking parkland course is largely flat with no tricks and few blind spots, encouraging golfers to play their best.
A custom-built practice area includes all-weather covered bays and mats, grass bays and short game areas, making it ideal no matter what the time of year. Whether you relish the challenge of competitive golf or you prefer a social round with friends, as a member you’re free to play when you like, as often as you like, and how you like. As a member you’ll enjoy unlimited access to the course and two practice areas, so you can play the kind of golf you love, whenever the mood takes you.
As a Scottish Golf affiliated club, members benefit from a discount of up to 50 per cent on green fees at some of the country’s best courses including Muirfield, Gleneagles and Castle Stuart. The club is also affiliated with 20 local courses, meaning members can explore other clubs at members’ guest rates.
There are many benefits to joining The Bishopbriggs Golf Club. With use of the clubhouse, members can make the most of the bar, lounge and restaurant, which offer excellent value for money on food and drink, served up by a friendly team of staff. Choose from a great selection of hot and cold drinks, as well as local ales. A free function room is also available to hire for birthdays, anniversaries and family celebrations.
The price of a membership comes with flexible payment options to help spread out the cost throughout the year. A full membership costs less than £15 a week over the course of a year, with discounted rates available for a five-day membership; under 26s, families, children and social members.
To find out more about joining the club visit www.thebishopbriggsgolfclub.com or call 0141 772 8938.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel