Kingsbarns – For a modern take on links
Framed around the spectacular North Sea coastline, Kingsbarns was only designed at the turn of the Millennium, writes club editor Steve Carroll.
You’ll leave breathlessly talking about the par-5 12th, which plays to a green tightly packed in to the coast, and the short 15th with a putting surface that lies just beyond the rocks and juts out into the sea. Kyle Phillips had a lot to work with but he made the most of it.
As remarkable off the course as on it, Kingsbarns is a round to savour.
Boat of Garten – For a (boat) load of fun
This is a bit of a romantic choice, writes deputy editor Mark Townsend.
There aren’t too many places where, should you time it right, you can tee off next to a whistling steam train – but you genuinely cannot fail to fall in love with this James Braid layout.
It doesn’t even stretch to 6,000 yards but who cares?
The challenge is steering your ball through the birches and trying to take advantage of the driveable, and brilliant, short par 4s. And, if you are after the best value green fee possibly anywhere, then you’ll like it even more.
Shiskine – For fun and surprises
Courses like Shiskine were designed to be played regardless of the conditions or the time of year, writes editor Dan Murphy.
Get it on a calm morning and there are birdies aplenty to be found but fear not because Shiskine will have its own back when the weather turns.
This is a course that gets you right next to the water but the best view comes from the tee at the par-3 fourth – a hillside shelf pointing towards the ocean and the Kintyre Peninsula beyond.
The best hole, though, might just be the short, blind par-4 sixth.
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