King's Course, Gleneagles

The great James Braid won five Open Championships before he designed the King’s Course at Gleneagles which opened in 1919.  Of the more than 200 courses he would go on to design, the King’s is considered to be Braid’s parkland masterpiece. You’ll find links-style pot bunkers, heather and gorse combined with inland characteristics like trees and forests, a generally slower surface;  plus numerous elevation changes several of them considerable.

This is one of sixteen Scotland golf course videos we’re posting on a weekly basis to start the year.   Each one provides a great sense of the respective experience which we hope will help you confirm your selections from the many available options.

Treasure hunting links golfers will be pleased to find new loot in the Highlands at Castle Stuart 

Castle Stuart, venue for 2011 Scottish Open

It was Golf Magazine’s “Best New International Course of the Year” in 2009.  It was ranked World 56 and selected to host the Barclays Scottish Open in 2011.  Better still, if you’re the type that likes to hit the ground playing, the first tee is but 2.9 miles from the airport! 

This is one of sixteen Scotland golf course videos we’re posting on a weekly basis to start the year. Each one provides a great sense of the respective experience which we hope will help you confirm your selections from the many available options.

Castle Course, St. Andrews

Although opened to a flurry of some controversy, The Castle Course at St Andrews will begin its fourth year of play in 2012 with some well considered modifications.  Several greens including 15’s enormous false front have been “tempered” for less slope plus the club plans to keep the surfaces softer than in the past.  Secondly, there are fewer blind “hummocks” – those large, hay covered, well- struck-drive-eating mounds to avoid.

This is one of sixteen Scotland golf course videos we’re posting on a weekly basis to start the year.   Each one provides a great sense of the respective experience which we hope will help you confirm your selections from the many available options.

Kingsbarns Golf Links has been voted the number one ranked new course in Britain and Ireland.  The accolade, which can only go to courses built after 1960, was awarded by prestigious American magazine GolfWeek and was voted for by a panel compiled by the magazine who took a number of aspects into consideration.  Second and third in the rankings also went to Scottish courses in the shape of Castle Stuart and Loch Lomond; so it was a major coup for the home of golf.  It’ll be interesting to see where Trump’s course in Aberdeen will feature on the rankings next time they’re announced.

Anyone who has contacted PerryGolf regarding a trip to Scotland, and has spoken to me, will know that I agree wholeheartedly with this decision, as I consider Kingsbarns to be my favourite links course in the world.  If you haven’t played it and you’re planning a trip to Scotland, be sure to include it on your list of ‘must plays’.

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By Keith Baird.  Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

Championship Course at Carnoustie

The Championship Course at Carnoustie has been host to the British Open on seven occasions, most recently in 2007 when Padraig Harrington won in a playoff over a gallant and deeply disappointed Sergio Garcia. Ben Hogan won here in 1953; it was his only appearance in the Open but he left a unique legacy for his play on No. 6 named thereafter as “Hogan’s Alley”. Carnoustie is considered by many to be the most challenging layout in the rota due largely to its demanding finish: No. 16 – 248 yard par 3; No. 17 – 461 yard par 4; No. 18 – 499 yard par 4. Ironically it was club member and local accountant James Wright who in 1930 designed the famous finish. His improbable stamp on one of the world’s most respected golf courses is found in the company of James Braid’s major redesign of 1926; Old Tom Morris’ extension to eighteen holes in 1870; and the original layout by Alan Robertson in 1850. Carnoustie is presently ranked World 21 by Golf Magazine.

This is one of sixteen Scotland golf course videos we’re posting on a weekly basis to start the year.   Each one provides a great sense of the respective experience which we hope will help you confirm your selections from the many available options.

The Turnberry Resort and the Ailsa Course are found on Scotland’s west coast in South Ayrshire. Designer Mackenzie Ross is credited with restoring the course to championship standards when it re opened in 1951 after World War II when the property was converted to an RAF airfield and hospital. Ailsa has staged The Open Championship on four occasions beginning in 1977 with the legendary showdown between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus remembered as the “Duel in the Sun”. Watson’s weekend of 65-65 clipped Nicklaus’ 65-66. They both birdied 18 on Sunday; Nicklaus from 40 feet… Watson from 3! The 2009 British Open was more of the same – remarkably including the same but 59 year old Tom Watson – who came within an eyelash of becoming the oldest major champion in golf history. A visit to Turnberry would include regional clubs like Royal Troon, Prestwick, Western Gailes, Machrihanish and impressive Machrihanish Dunes; plus very often St Andrews for a west coast / east coast combination.

This is one of sixteen Scotland golf course videos we’re posting on a weekly basis to start the year.   Each one provides a great sense of the respective experience which we hope will help you confirm your selections from the many available options.

Royal Portrush Golf Club

The 2013 Irish Open will be held at Royal Portrush – the only club in Ireland to have hosted the Open Championship.  With two fantastic links courses; the Dunluce Links and the Valley Links; avid golfers are always keen to include Royal Portrush in their Northern Irish golfing itineraries.

To read more about Ireland’s possible bid to host The Open again after Royal Portrush last held it in 1951, click here.

Congratulations to Ardglass Golf Club who recently won Irish Golf Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) Links Golf Course of the Year 2011.  Located in Northern Ireland, the club is a great addition to a golf schedule in that area and for groups looking at 36 holes, it could easily be combined with a morning round on Royal County Down.  To read more on the club’s award, please click here.

By Denise McKee.  Denise has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and is a member of our admin team.

The Ryder Cup will be held over the weekend of 26-28 September in 2014, it was announced earlier today.  The event, which will be held in Scotland for the first time since 1973 when it was at Muirfield, will be played over the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles.  Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, was “delighted to have seen […] the many exciting changes that are being made to improve this already outstanding golf course.   As well as the hi-tech efforts to reduce water on the greens, the Ryder Cup teams can expect many of the changes – proposed by Jack Nicklaus – to provide a sterner test as they seek glory during the competition.”

Keep your eyes peeled for the trips PerryGolf will be offering to what always proves to be a memorable tournament!

By Keith Baird.  Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

Congratulations to the St. Andrews Links Trust who have become the first Open championship course to win a GEO (Golf Environment Organisation) certified eco-label.  The Links Trust at St. Andrews manages seven courses around the town and the award is in recognition of operating a sustainability programme across all courses and facilities, as well as demonstrating a commitment to promoting social responsibility and community engagement.  It is good to see a course with such heritage demonstrating such view to the future.  You can see further details here.

By Alastair Niven.  Alastair has been with PerryGolf for over 11 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.