Scotland is the home of golf and this historic landscape boasts somewhere in the region of 550 courses, including some of the finest on the planet.
Many of you will have dreams of experiencing legendary names like St Andrews, Carnoustie and Royal Dornoch, or exploring the majestic coastlines of Ayrshire and East Lothian.
That all sounds fabulous, but there are other remarkable and memorable layouts to play that perhaps don’t receive that fame.
Looking at the Golfshake Course Section, our Must Play ranking features those places that you may not see widely publicised, but which have been rated highly as part of the 300,000 reviews that have been submitted by over 50,000 golfers.
Including green fees that are available from April to October, we are excited to share 18 of those venues with you now. Perhaps you have already been acquainted with some of them.
Have you played these must play golf courses in Scotland?
Aberdour Golf Club
Location: Aberdour, Fife
Golfshake Rating: 4.27
Green Fees: From £60
Review Comment: “Aberdour is a lovely course situated by the sea. Not a traditional links, but plays like one. Some stunning scenery, and great holes. A well laid out golf course, absolutely incredible start with two fantastic par 3s.”
Aboyne Golf Club
Location: Aboyne, Aberdeenshire
Golfshake Rating: 4.48
Green Fees: From £45
Review Comment: “A top quality course. Great facilities, clubhouse, staff and course. Possibly one of the best looked after courses I’ve ever been to. Greens and fairways immaculate. Well done to greenkeeping staff! Didn’t play as well as I hoped but on our tour of Scotland this was voted the top course.”
Balnagask Golf Course
Location: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire
Golfshake Rating: 4.61
Green Fees: From £33
Review Comment: “This is the second time I have played the course, the first was a few years ago. I really cannot believe that this is a municipal course, the greens are exceptionally good, far better than 90% of private courses in England. The course is not for the fainthearted, a lot of blind crests to play over and as it is quite a compact course, there are several pinch-points where you are playing over a crossing fairway so have to wait for it to be clear, this is especially the case on 15/16/17. The wind can be a real challenge, but the views are spectacular. Well worth a trip and certainly we will be playing it again.”
Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club
Location: Near Edinburgh
Golfshake Rating: 4.02
Green Fees: From £40 (East) / From £30 (West)
Review Comment: “Better than I expected. Course in excellent condition. Staff in shop and the starter’s hut very friendly. Quite an open course, so can hit driver freely apart from the last five holes or so.”
Downfield Golf Club
Location: Dundee, Tayside
Golfshake Rating: 4.60
Green Fees: From £80
Review Comment: “Extremely enjoyable course with some blind holes that are very interesting off the tee. Placing is very important off the tee for these holes, otherwise you get cut out from the green for your second. A couple of beautiful scenic holes that do the course justice as the best in Dundee. Loved it and will deffo be back again next time I am up in Dundee.”
Drumoig Golf Hotel
Location: Drumoig, Fife
Golfshake Rating: 4.43
Green Fees: From £50
Review Comment: “This is an amazing course situated in Fife and not too far away from St Andrews and at a fraction of the price. Some amazing holes and a couple where you have a backdrop of the rockface straight at you. Some great holes and the 9th has to be one of the most daunting you can see when standing on the tee. A great 10th and 11th over water is a make or break three holes. Give it a try and you will not be disappointed.”
The Glen Golf Club
Location: North Berwick, East Lothian
Golfshake Rating: 4.73
Green Fees: From £70
Review Comment: “A cracking good golf club which is a challenge if the wind is breezy. Greens are great to play on. The clubhouse has views to die for. Excellent food and service.”
Kilspindie Golf Club
Location: Aberlady, East Lothian
Golfshake Rating: 4.44
Green Fees: From £100
Review Comment: “Kilspindie is a diamond in a gem-studded line of courses on the East Lothian coast. Me and my sons and son in law have an annual trip to the Scottish Open, preceded by two rounds for ourselves. We played Gullane 3 in the rain on Tuesday, but Kilspindie the next day was fabulous and not just because it stayed dry. A friendly welcome in the pro shop and the bar, followed by a superbly conditioned course with stunning views of the Firth of Forth. Greens, fairways, bunkers and even rough are all in mint condition. We will definitely be back next year. Highly recommended.”
Kinghorn Golf Club
Location: Kinghorn, Fife
Golfshake Rating: 4.03
Green Fees: From £14
Review Comment: “Great value and great views. Some of the holes are quirky and fabulous. Thoroughly recommended.”
Lundin Golf Club
Location: Lundin Links, Fife
Golfshake Rating: 4.66
Green Fees: From £90
Review Comment: “Outstanding. The quality shines through on the excellent greens and fairways. Excellent condition throughout the year, rarely on winter greens.”
Monifieth Golf Links
Location: Monifieth, Angus
Golfshake Rating: 4.20
Green Fees: From £140 (Medal), From £60 (Ashludie)
Review Comment: “My wife and I were in Dundee recently and decided to visit Monifieth and what a great decision that was. We were met with a friendly welcome in the shop with some advice about the course and then, after hitting some warm up shots, we were met by the starter who gave us some advice about where to aim on the first few holes. The first six holes go away from the clubhouse and were downwind so played nice and easy to start with. Typical links course with strategically placed fairway bunkers that you need to avoid if you want to hit the greens in regulation. Once we turned back into the wind, we found out how tough the course could be with holes playing at least three clubs longer. The course was in great condition, the greens ran true and the bunkers had plenty of sand which was soft and easy to play from. Once we completed our round, we went into one of the clubhouses and had a meal. That was one of the biggest portions you could have and tasted great. This course is definitely worth playing and, we will definitely return to play it.”
Pitlochry Golf Club
Location: Pitlochry, Perth & Kinross
Golfshake Rating: 4.40
Green Fees: From £40
Review Comment: “Great round in the heart of Scotland. Warm welcome to a good course. Great views over Pitlochry as you go around the course. Well worth the visit.”
Portlethen Golf Club
Location: Portlethen, Aberdeenshire
Golfshake Rating: 4.13
Green Fees: From £65
Review Comment: “The facilities were well maintained and made for an all-round great experience. Not only was the condition of the place good, but the clubhouse was also good.”
Portpatrick Golf Club
Location: Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway
Golfshake Rating: 4.38
Green Fees: From £60 (Dunksey)
Review Comment: “Absolutely outstanding visit to Portpatrick over two days. The golf on both days was amazing. The staff in the clubhouse could not do enough for us even though they had a very large group of visitors over the two days. Dined in the clubhouse both nights and the food was fantastic. Will definitely be back again next year.”
Royal Musselburgh Golf Club
Location: Prestonpans, East Lothian
Golfshake Rating: 4.43
Green Fees: From £50
Review Comment: “Lovely course, in really good condition, greens were brilliant, pace of play was good, no waiting at all, can highly recommend.”
Strathmore Golf Centre
Location: Alyth, Perth & Kinross
Golfshake Rating: 4.65
Green Fees: From £70 (Rannaleroch)
Review Comment: “Every hole is interesting and designed to make you think. Course condition has been remarkably consistent over the years. The greens this year were the truest and quickest of the 25+ courses I played. Always a friendly welcome and a fine day out.”
The Carrick at Cameron House
Location: The Carrick, Loch Lomond
Golfshake Rating: 4.29
Green Fees: From £60
Review Comment: “What can I say about this place? Stunning layout in great condition with some outstanding views over the famous Loch Lomond. Lots of different tee options though so depending on ability, everyone should be able to enjoy this cracking golf course. Food after is great too.”
The Roxburghe Golf Club
Location: Kelso, Borders
Golfshake Rating: 4.23
Green Fees: From £90
Review Comment: “We played in mid-October and the course was in good condition. Well looked after and some fantastic views. A long walk between holes at times but some cracking holes. It’s quite open but greens guarded with big bunkers. A challenging course but really enjoyable. I would recommend playing it.”
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