Golf ScoutLinks golf courses in Scotland
A links is a course on sandy land by the coast: firm, fast turf, few trees and plenty of wind. Scotland's links include Muirfield and North Berwick in East Lothian, St Andrews and Kingsbarns in Fife, Carnoustie in Angus, Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, Nairn and Castle Stuart in the Highlands, and Prestwick, Royal Troon and Western Gailes in Ayrshire.
What is links golf?
A links is a golf course on sandy coastal land, usually right by the sea. The word comes through Scots from the Old English hlinc, meaning rising ground or a ridge, and it describes the dunes along the shore. Links land was poor for farming but grew fine native grasses, and that's what makes a links play the way it does:
- Firm, fast turf. Fescue and bent grasses on sand make the ground firm, so the ball runs a long way after it lands. That's why links golf is played along the ground as much as through the air.
- Few trees and little water. The hazards are bunkers, dunes and long grass.
- Wind. With the sea on one side and no trees, the wind is part of every shot, and rain squalls come and go.
The Open Championship is always played on a links. Seven of its venues are in Scotland: St Andrews, Muirfield, Carnoustie, Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick and Musselburgh.
Scotland's links courses by region
Where we have a free hole-by-hole map, the course name links to it, with its length as mapped on OpenStreetMap.
East Lothian
- Muirfield (18 holes, 7,122 yards, par 71). One of the Open Championship venues. VisitScotland calls it "an esteemed links layout".
- North Berwick (West Links) (18 holes, 6,496 yards, par 71). Among the East Lothian links on VisitScotland's golf tour.
- Dunbar (18 holes, 6,348 yards, par 70). A "traditional links layout", says VisitScotland.
- Kilspindie (18 holes, 5,161 yards). "A classic Scottish links layout", says VisitScotland.
- Musselburgh Links, the Old Course (9 holes, 2,855 yards, par 34). One of the Open Championship venues.
Fife
- Kingsbarns Golf Links (18 holes, 7,161 yards, par 72). Opened in 2000, with views over the North Sea, and a regular venue for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
- The Old Course, St Andrews. Called the oldest public golf course in the world by VisitScotland, and an Open Championship venue.
Angus
- Carnoustie Championship Course (18 holes, 7,119 yards, par 72). An Open venue that VisitScotland calls "one of the toughest links courses in the world".
- Panmure (18 holes, 6,344 yards, par 70). A "traditional links-style course", says VisitScotland.
Aberdeenshire
- Cruden Bay (18 holes, 6,419 yards, par 70). A "classic links course" of blind shots and towering dunes, says VisitScotland.
The Highlands
- Nairn (18 holes, 6,737 yards, par 71). Founded in 1887, it has hosted the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup, and is on VisitScotland's Northern links tour.
- Castle Stuart Golf Links (18 holes, 7,328 yards, par 71). Overlooks the Moray Firth near Inverness, and hosted the Scottish Open in 2016.
Ayrshire
- Prestwick (18 holes, 6,912 yards, par 71). A traditional links laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1851, and where the first Open Championship was played in 1860.
- Western Gailes (18 holes, 6,963 yards, par 71). One of VisitScotland's Ayrshire links.
- Gailes Links (18 holes, 6,745 yards, par 71). Also on VisitScotland's Ayrshire links tour.
- Dundonald Links (18 holes, 7,220 yards, par 72). Hosted the men's and women's Scottish Opens in 2017.
- Royal Troon. Founded in 1878, "one of the most challenging links courses in the world" according to VisitScotland, and host of the 2024 Open.
- Trump Turnberry (Ailsa). An Open venue, home of the 1977 "Duel in the Sun".
Course data © OpenStreetMap contributors, see about the course data. Lengths follow each hole's line as it's mapped, from the tee end, so they won't match every set of tees.
More Scottish courses called links
These courses have "Links" in their name and a free map on this site. A name isn't proof of a links course, though: "links" is also a place name in Scotland, as in Lundin Links in Fife, so check the course before you book.
- Archerfield Links (Lothian, 18 holes, 6,906 yards)
- Balcomie Links (Fife, 18 holes, 5,734 yards)
- Bruntsfield Links (Lothian, 18 holes, 6,420 yards)
- Carnegie Links (Highland, 18 holes, 6,687 yards)
- Covesea Links (Grampian, 9 holes, 2,000 yards)
- Craighead Links (Fife, 18 holes, 6,655 yards)
- Dumbarnie Links (Fife, 18 holes, 7,521 yards)
- Kings Links Golf Course (Grampian, 18 holes, 5,883 yards)
- Leven Links Golf Course (Fife, 18 holes, 6,472 yards)
How to play a links
- Use the ground. On firm turf a low shot that lands short and runs on is often easier to judge than a high one. A common approach from just off the green is to putt, or to chip with a mid iron and let it run.
- Club for the wind. Into the wind a shot can fall well short of its usual number; downwind it goes further and stops less. The plays-like calculator shows how much.
- Know where the bunkers are. Dunes and humps can hide bunkers from the fairway, and some links have blind shots. Check reach and carry for each one on the course map before you play, as you would with a yardage book.
- Expect more roll than at home. Your usual distances, from the club distance chart, include some roll, and on a dry links in summer there can be a lot more.
For courses elsewhere in the UK and Ireland, see our free golf course maps.
Related guides
- Free golf course maps for the UK and Ireland
- How long is a golf course?
- What is a yardage book, and how do you read one?
Sources
- Wikipedia: Links (golf)
- The Open: venues
- VisitScotland: famous golf courses in Scotland
- VisitScotland: East Lothian golf tour
- VisitScotland: Tayside golf tour
- VisitScotland: Aberdeenshire golf tour
- VisitScotland: Northern links tour
- VisitScotland: Ayrshire classic links experience
- Prestwick Golf Club
- Nairn Golf Club
Golf Scout shows the distance to the front, middle and back of the green and to reach and carry every bunker, including the bunkers you can't see from the fairway. Get Golf Scout on the App Store, free for iPhone and Apple Watch.