Following in the footsteps of some of golf’s ghostly heroes, Minty Clinch braves five Scottish courses.
PRESWICK GOLF CLUB
WHERE IS IT? ?30 miles south-west of Glasgow.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Designed by Old ?Tom Morris as a ?12-hole course in 1851, Prestwick is ?the original home ?of the British Open Championship. Multiple winners include Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris and Harry Vardon, and their ghosts haunt a course still touched by magic. It takes more than a bit of their talent to score well on this teasingly quirky layout, with its engulfing bunkers, blind shots and rippling fairways. The club’s ethos is determinedly yesteryear, with its all-male members ?taking pride of place at all times. Privileges include pints of Belhaven ale in antique silver tankards and sumptuous lunches around a 32-seat communal dining table.
ADDRESS 2 Links Road, Prestwick, Ayrshire, KA9 1QG.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +44 (0)1292 671 020; prestwickgc.co.uk.
PRICE Weekdays: £115 per round, £170 per day; Saturday and Sunday: £145 per round. (From November to March it costs £85 per round, or £110 per day in the week.) Caddies are £35 plus tip.
CLUB HIRE Titleist/Callaway, £35.
CLUB HOURS 9am until last member leaves.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 24 men, 28 women. Certificate required.
FACILITIES 18-hole course (par 71, 6,198m), grass practice area (no range balls), pitching area and putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF In summer, three-course lunches are available at the Dining Room (Tuesday to Friday), while breakfast and lunch (for women too) is served in the Cardinal Room from 10am.
WESTIN TURNBERRY RESORT
WHERE IS IT? 48 miles south-west of Glasgow.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? After Prestwick, it’s logical to move on to the Ailsa course at Turnberry, the host of the 2009 Open Championship. This too has its ghosts, most notably Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus, who fought their celebrated “duel in the sun” here over four days in 1977.
That was certainly their lucky week because it’s not unusual to play this outstanding course without sighting the landmark Ailsa Craig, 11 miles out to sea, through the fog. The Ailsa was extensively remodelled by Mackenzie Ross in 1946, after the site had been used as an RAF base during the Second World War. Using dunes and rocks as a natural frame, he created a stretch of classic links holes along the shore between the fourth and the 11th, which are widely seen as the finest in the world.
ADDRESS Turnberry, Ayrshire, KA26 9LT.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +44 (0)1655 334 032; turnberry.co.uk.
PRICE Ailsa: weekdays, £160, weekends £200; Kintyre: weekdays £120, weekends £120. Day tickets are not available.
CLUB HIRE Titleist, £50.
CLUB HOURS 6.30am to 9.30pm (or 8pm on Sunday and Monday).
MINIMUM HANDICAP 24 (men), 36 (women).
FACILITIES Ailsa (par 70, 6,605m), Kintyre (par 72, 5,987m), Arran par three and four nine-hole practice course, pitch and putt course, covered driving range, practice area and putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF The Tappie Toorie restaurant and bar has views over the Ailsa course and serves refreshments from 7am. There is an extensive grill menu at lunchtime and a bar supper menu from 5pm.
WESTERN GAILES GOLF CLUB
WHERE IS IT? 24 miles ?south-west of Glasgow.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Many of Ayrshire’s classic courses are wedged between the sea and the railway line, which means that a certain number of shots will inevitably be interrupted ?by the chug (and often the taunting whistle) of Strathclyde Passenger Transport rolling stock. It’s best to wait until the train has passed at Western Gailes, a stern test which is regularly used for final qualifying when the Open is held at Turnberry or Troon.
Founded in 1897 and credited to Willie Park, the first ever Open Champion, it is seen as a “must play” by purists, partly because of the influence of hostile breezes from the Firth of Clyde. With holes five to 11 routinely played into the wind, this is a key factor in club selection, and with only three par threes and no women’s tees, this is a particularly rugged experience for female golfers.
ADDRESS Gailes Road, Irvine, Ayrshire, KA11 5AE.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +44 (0)1294 311 649; westerngailes.com.
PRICE Monday, Wednesday and Friday (tee times 9am-12pm, 2pm-4.30pm): £115 per round, £165 per day (including lunch and stroke saver). Sunday (2pm-3.30pm): £125 per round.
CLUB HIRE Three sets of Wilson fat shafts can be borrowed free.
CLUB HOURS 8am until close in summer, or until 5pm in winter.
MINIMUM HANDICAP No certificate required.
FACILITIES 18-hole course (par 71, 6,308m), practice area (no range balls) and putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF The clubhouse serves bacon sandwiches from 9am and lunch from 11.30am (there is a choice of soups and four main courses). The bar service starts at 9am.
IRVINE BOGSIDE
WHERE IS IT? 20 miles west of Glasgow.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Opened in 1887, Irvine Bogside owes its reputation to James Braid, who revamped it some years later. This ensures its spot on Scotland’s south-western Braid trail, which also includes Stranraer, Routenburn, West Kilbride and Ayr Belleisle.
The fourth hole epitomises Victorian golf, its high, awkward green dominated by the railway running across a bridge over the River Irvine. This is the taster for the sixth, a worthy stroke index one with a high tee-shot leading, eventually, to a wide green on the river bank below. Braid certainly didn’t go easy on the gorse and heather, so take lots of balls and enjoy one of the value options on the Ayrshire coast.
ADDRESS Sandy Road, Bogside, Irvine, Ayrshire, KA12 88N.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +44 (0)1294 275 979; for more details email [email protected] or go to theirvinegolfclub.co.uk.
PRICE £50 per round or £60 per day on weekdays. £60 per round on weekends (day not available).
CLUB HIRE Not available.
CLUB HOURS 8am-11pm.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 18 (men), 24 (women).
FACILITIES 18-hole course (par 71, 5,873m), driving range, practice area and putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF The clubhouse offers a two-course lunch from 11am to 2.30pm. It also serves dinner à la carte from 5pm to 9pm.
KILMARNOCK (BARASSIE) GOLF CLUB
WHERE IS IT? 28 miles west of Glasgow.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Founded as a nine-hole park course in 1887, Kilmarnock pushed the boundaries into uncharted links territory to make the full 27 it now offers. After three holes of the original track, players on the championship course – another final qualifying venue for the Open – trek out towards the ocean for a coastal sector affected by gale-force winds and huge stretches of heather. However, those who imagine that the return to the park after the 12th for the final stretch will be a softer option may be in for a nasty surprise.
ADDRESS 29 Hillhouse Road, Barassie, Troon, KA10 6SY.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +44 (0)1292 313 920/311 077; [email protected]; or go to kbgc.co.uk.
PRICE Monday-Friday: £45 per round, £70 per day. Sunday (from 2pm): £55 per round.
CLUB HIRE Not available.
CLUB HOURS 8am-7pm.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 28 (men), 36 (women). No certificate required.
FACILITIES 18-hole Barassie Links (par 72, 6,233m), nine-hole Hillhouse (par 34, 2,641m), grass practice area (no range balls) and putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF Meals and snacks are served in the clubhouse from 10am every day (except Friday when they are served from 9.30am), as well as bar snacks in the lounges, and high teas and evening meals at weekends in the Dining room from 5pm. During the week, last orders vary from 9pm (Tuesday and Friday) to 5.30pm (Monday and Wednesday).
