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It’s not actually clear where golf had its beginnings but the most acknowledged speculation is that the sport started off in Scotland during the High Middle Ages. Following its conception, golf courses and clubs dedicated to it were soon established in the country and eventually, the sport was taught by Scots from interested folks all over the world.
Plenty of the country’s golf courses are included among the world’s best and the sport is believed to be an important nationwide cultural icon. If you’re an avid golfer, you are probably curious of the sport’s country of origin and the best courses available in the land. Playing on these great golf courses is a fantastic experience. Of course you want to play your best game on such an unfamiliar course and with some extra help of a golf rangefinder this might be a lot easier. This article is dedicated to only Scottish golf courses, so read on and know what the Scots have in store for you.
Scotland’s Ace Golf Courses
The country has a total of 578 courses which are split around ten regions. Majority of courses can be found in key cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow while other parts of the country have around 40 courses each.
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Gullane Golf Club
The course is over 350 years strong and has provided an excellent environment for both locals and foreign golfers. It has highly-esteemed fields and a great climate that permits plenty of play for most of the year. Guests and tourists are most welcome to give the championship courses a go, which are blessed with splendid coastal views and perfect greens.
Club membership benefits include course availability for 52 weeks, the chance to engage in club matches plus access to Members’ and Visitors’ clubhouses and facilities.
Gullane No. 1 is the go-to course for national and international championship golf events while the No.2 has been employed as the area for the Open Championship Qualifying and Seniors Open Amateur.
No.3 is the shortest course among the three but it has a layout that will test the shot-making expertise of every discerning golfer.
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The Old Course at St. Andrews
This is the original “Home of Golf” because the game was first performed on the St. Andrews Links in the 15th century. It’s considered as one of the granddaddies of golf courses around the world, being around for centuries.
This amazing golf course features double greens, one of its most distinctive features. The seven greens in the course are divvied by two holes, with the numbers ranging up to 18. It also features the Swilcan Bridge, which is now a recognizable icon of the sport.
Another distinctive feature of the course is that the sport can be performed in whichever direction, be it clockwise or counter-clockwise. The Old Course also includes 112 bunkers which have their own names and history, the most popular among them being the Hell Bunker and the Road Bunker. A lot of pros have won Open Championship games by getting hits in the aforementioned bunkers.
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Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay is a classic Scottish links course and is only 120-minutes away from the St. Andrews course. Guests are welcome to play every week and the course has been seen by several enthusiasts as unique while some have praised it for its excellence.
You will find here craggy links land and elevated sand dunes plus raised tees wounding into the dunes. The course is also inimitable with its bulging, burrowed fairways meeting uplifted greens all snuggled in eye-catching glades situated against the setting of the North Sea. There are also attractive views, a relaxed beach atmosphere, par fours, end-to-end par threes and blind drives.
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Castle Stuart
The course was the setting of the 2011 Barclays Scottish open, but due to a summer storm, the 54-hole competition was attenuated. The course has a modern feel to it, with cleverly-set moundings that guarantee majority of the holes will be played separately.
Castle Stuart also has a unique feature in that the whole layout of the course features broad, untamed waste bunker locations to border its greens and sand-covered fairways. One of the course’s exceptional holes is the 552-yard par 5, 6th which can be played to a winding, tapered green situated between a couple of striking waste bunkers.
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King’s Course at Gleneagles
Gleneagles is considered as an excellent setting for a golf game, and the King’s course is one of the best undisputed moorland track in the planet. Stunning landmarks like the Trossachs, the Ben Vorlich and the Ochil Hills can be seen around the course, making you feel that you really are in Scotland.
It has an exceptional terrain, with the holes blending like a dream into the land. The yielding fairways breezes through heather-strewn coarse territory. However, it’s the stunning views that might take away your deep focus into your game.
Several impressive competitions have been performed over the course and this includes tournaments like the Scottish open, the European leg of the WPGA Championship and the Dunhill Trophy.
To see a great overview of golf courses in the US, please visit golfcourselistings.org. Their extensive directory of all courses, whether they are small or the best well known, is being update frequently.