Sample the thrills of island golf

Leave the Scottish mainland and some incredible golfing challenges await you.

 

Head to Shetland and tackle Whalsay, the most northerly golf course in the UK. You’ll barely believe that greens this beautiful could exist this far north. Whalsay has some astonishing cliff-top holes and the drive over the loch at the final hole is not something you’ll forget in a hurry.

 

The much-loved Isle of Arran has seven golf courses, one for every day of the week. Perhaps the pick of the bunch is Shiskine, a 12-hole gem on the west side of the island, overlooking Kilbrannan Sound and the Kintyre Peninsula. Shiskine features some unforgettable holes, like the Crow’s Nest, a head-scratching uphill par three that plays to a hidden green. You can explore all of Arran’s courses with the Arran Golf Pass and make big savings on green fees.

 

You could even be golfing in the Outer Hebrides this autumn against stunning backdrops of white sand beaches and Atlantic waves. Harris is a rollercoaster 9-hole course enjoying some of the finest golfing scenery in all of Scotland. Nick Faldo has played at Harris and the former Open and Masters champion says that on a good day Harris is as good as anywhere for a game of golf. There’s also the ‘lost’ course at Askernish on South Uist, an ‘Old’ Tom Morris classic that has been recently restored.

 

Islay is famous for its whisky distilleries but is also home to one of Scotland’s greatest links courses, the Machrie. It’s a stupendous layout with numerous blind shots over giant dunes. You’ll never have played a golf course quite like it and never will again. The Machrie is an idiosyncratic course, but one with great pedigree.

 

For a breath of fresh air, go golfing in the islands.