How to Choose the Courses for Your Scotland Golf Trip

If you’ve spent any amount of time perusing the articles on this website, you’ve likely reached a common conclusion: Scotland golf trips require a lot of planning and inspire a lot of questions. Perhaps you’ve already figured out who to invite, the best time of year for a golf trip to Scotland, and have a general idea of when to begin the planning process. With this trio of important questions decided, next comes the fun part of the planning.

What golf courses should we play on a trip to Scotland?

This is where the expertise of our Expedition Planning Managers and the benefits of a custom golf trip really shine through. Rather than simply tossing together the bucket-list courses and calling it a day, our planning team will guide you to the best combination of courses based on the makeup of your group. They’ll tell you about the relatively unknown course that’s a joy to play, or the one that’s probably not an ideal choice for the 2nd round of a 36-hole day, or even the popular links that may not be a great fit for your group at all.

This is the center of the jigsaw puzzle that we’ve referred to in other articles, and it truly is quite a bit of fun.

For those planning Scotland golf trips, here are a few tips for choosing where to play on your journey.

Pick Your Starting Lineup

The first step when choosing your courses in Scotland is deciding what’s on the “must-play” list. Checking the world ranked courses off the bucket-list serves as a starting point for many, but this presents a conundrum: There are currently 11 Top 100 golf courses in Scotland. Unless you plan on spending a month in the country, our suggestion is to divide and conquer.

The great courses of Scotland are mostly found in six regions: Edinburgh & East Lothian, St. Andrews, Aberdeen, The Highlands, Ayrshire, and Kintyre. Our suggestion is to choose two regions (the pros and cons of each are found here), leave the others for the next trip, and then select the two or three courses that are most important to your group.

Keep in mind that if one of those courses happens to be The Old Course, there’s other factors to consider when it comes to St. Andrews tee times. But once you have your starting lineup in place, the rest of the trip will start to take shape.

A mainstay of starting lineups in Ayrshire: Royal Troon

Narrow Down Your Bench

The same challenge of selecting the must-play golf courses in Scotland also applies to the rest of the trip: Too many great courses, too little time. That is, at least in a single trip. For example, The Old Course, Kingsbarns, and Carnoustie form the must-play list in St. Andrews for most travelers, but there’s roughly ten other courses that would make a fine addition to the itinerary. The same is true in The Highlands. Royal Dornoch and Castle Stuart usually make the starting squad, but there’s at least five others that are worthy of play.

So how do you choose where else to play?

The easiest and most effective method is to simply lean on the expertise of your H&B Expedition Planning Manager. As noted earlier, they’ll not only help select the right courses for your group, but also the ones that fit best with the logistics of the overall trip. They’ll tell you where the commute to the course makes an early morning tee time ill-advised or when a 36-hole day might be ideal, if desired, in your destination.

For still more insight, you can also visit our Scotland page, where you’ll find in-depth descriptions of both the must-play and secondary courses in each region. How many of these courses make the itinerary will largely depend on the length of your trip and how much golf your group wishes to play.

Panmure Golf Club: A fine pairing with Carnoustie next door.
Credit: Panmure Golf Club

Leave Room for the Hot Prospect

To continue the sports analogy, as your itinerary comes together, leave a little wiggle room to give an unknown prospect some playing time. Scotland is home to an abundance of less-heralded courses. Places that rarely register on anyone’s “must-play” list, but often prove to be the highlight of the entire trip. If your final itinerary is chock-block with Open rota and world-ranked courses, you may find there’s no time to take a rewarding journey off the well worn path. Case in point... Brora Golf Club.

Choosing where to play on a Scotland golf trip is no easy task. By taking a selective approach with your must-play list, leaning on the guidance of an expert, and being open to the idea of playing somewhere you’ve never heard of, your group is well on its way to an unforgettable experience.