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Golf Breaks and Holidays in Scotland

It was on the links, the undulating sandy stretches of rabbit-cropped coastal turf, that the game of golf developed in Scotland and became especially associated with St Andrews, still sometimes described today as The Home of Golf.

However, there are over 500 golf courses in Scotland - probably the greatest concentration in the world. A few are exclusive, some are world famous, but many are open to visitors with costs per round generally reasonable. Also, from a visitor viewpoint, because golf is so widely played throughout Scotland, chances are there will be a wide choice of courses available within a comparatively short travelling time.

As Scotland has a climate normally without extremes, courses tend to be in good condition for a large part of the year and often playable nearly all year – ideal for a short break if the weather looks promising .

Many historic classic links courses – and hence good bases for golfing vacations - can be found in East Lothian, Fife (not just St Andrews), Aberdeenshire and along the Moray Firth coast, and also the Clyde coast and also the Solway coast. Inland, Perthshire, with famous courses such as Gleneagles and Rosemount (Blairgowrie) is another area offering excellent choice for golf tours from the centre of Scotland. Speyside is another popular golf ‘hotspot’ while among the islands, the traditional holiday island of Arran has seven courses on offer.

Though there are still courses with honesty boxes and in some places it is possible to turn up and play, checking in advance for availability of tee-times is well advised. Some clubs have facilities to advance book online and it is always a good idea to check out clubhouse facilities, for example, catering, practice greens, buggy hire etc.

In various parts of Scotland, there are also discount and promotional tickets for golf breaks, and a variety of operators can arrange golf packages.