Play Golf in Scotland Where the Game Was Born

You’ll find many countries liberally spread across both hemispheres of the globe, offering some world-beating golfing experiences. Rounds waiting to be played on famous courses laid out in the most spectacular settings, many with the added benefit of guaranteed sunshine. Yet none of them is Scotland.

All that can be said about golf in Scotland is that this is the country where the modern game was born. The 18-hole version was defined here in 1764 at St. Andrews, and the club’s Old Course Links, dating to sometime before 1574, remains a place of pilgrimage for golf enthusiasts from far beyond these shores.

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A Golfing History Like Nowhere Else

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The first written record of golf originated in Scotland as an edict from James II banning the game in 1457 as an unwelcome distraction from archery. His more sensible grandson James IV revoked it in 1502 when he took up the game himself. The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled here in 1744 by the Company of Gentleman Golfers, later to become the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, and Musselburgh Links in East Lothian remains certified as the world’s oldest surviving golf course. The world’s oldest tournament, the first Open Championship, was played here at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire. St. Andrews claims the 150th in 2022.

Safe to say golf in Scotland has a history incomparable with any other country near or far, one that’s as much a part of the national identity as a good single malt. No wonder today, 550 golf courses can be found spread throughout Scotland, more per head of population than anywhere else in the world. Among their number are many of golf’s most famous courses, names that sound familiar to players and nonplayers alike. 

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So Many Famous Courses to Play

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From Carnoustie, considered by many to be the world’s toughest links course, to rugged west coast jewels such as Royal Troon and Prestwick, and those in the east that abound along the southern edge of the Firth of Forth, often referred to as Scotland’s ‘Golf Coast’. Here you’ll find Musselburgh, Muirfield, Gullane, North Berwick, Dunbar and many more besides. Twenty-one, in fact, adorning a beautiful, thirty-mile stretch of shore east of Edinburgh, an area that’s understandably become the favourite of links enthusiasts seeking a golf break in Scotland.

For those thinking of organising golf trips in Scotland, the sheer number of iconic courses and the volume of choice can be the most daunting aspect. There are many fine resorts to be found and excellent parkland courses aplenty, yet the links golf available here provides the highlights for so many on golf trips in Scotland.

Indeed, the quality offered on links laid out by legends of course design such as ‘Old’ Tom Morris and James Braid, over the terrain on which the game was first played, makes Scotland, for many links enthusiasts, their number-one, must-do destination.

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Golfers determined to get the most from a trip here delight in such a fabulous array of golf courses — allowing them to enjoy the challenges of top-quality links golf.

Areas

Fife

East Lothian

Ayrshire

Pure Golf Travel specialises in booking bespoke golf breaks encompassing some of the UK’s finest courses. We remove the stress of organising group tours, design your perfect itinerary and deliver the entertainment, challenge and relaxation that dedicated golfers demand.

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Enjoy the best courses in the UK

The Pure Golf Travel Club specialises in booking bespoke golf breaks encompassing some of the UK’s finest courses. We remove the stress of organising group tours, design your perfect itinerary and deliver the entertainment, challenge and relaxation that dedicated golfer’s demand. Making lifelong golfing memories for the most discerning golfers.

Arrange your no-obligation call today and receive a personalised golf itinerary proposal.