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Scottish Golf Courses - Holiday Pages

Golf in Ayrshire

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No golfer is capable of thinking of Ayrshire without thinking of The Open Championship. It was here on the south-west coast of Scotland, you see, that the world’s oldest and greatest golf tournament was born back in 1860 when Willie Park  of Musselburgh triumphed at Prestwick.

The course, just a stone’s throw from Ayr town centre and a mere 30-minute drive from the centre of Glasgow – Scotland’s largest city – hosted the first 12 stagings of the tournament (22 in total) but is now, sadly, no longer on The Open rota.
However, that doesn’t mean that the championship has completely forgotten its roots. Royal Troon, just around the coast, has become an increasingly popular port of call for The Open since Arnold Palmer triumphed there in 1962. Most recently, Todd Hamilton won in 2004.

Turnberry, meantime, will make its long-awaited return to The Open rota when it hosts the event in 2009. The last time the Ailsa links hosted the tournament was in 1994 when Nick Price prevailed but it is for the ‘Duel in the Sun’ between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in 1977 that Turnberry is most famous. That particular contest is considered one of golf’s greatest-ever contests.

Open courses aside, Ayrshire has plenty to offer those with a passion for golf. Indeed, there are great courses in just about every nook and cranny of the region. Indeed, as well as being home to an Open course, Troon is also where you’ll find three of the most played courses in the area. Darley, Lochgreen and Fullarton are three municipal courses in the seaside town and are hugely popular with golfers of all ages and handicaps.

Then, of course, there is Kilmarnock Barassie, a fearsome links of some considerable renown. It dates from 1887 and, whilst a few nip and tucks have been administered there since then, special care has been taken to ensure that it remains as natural a links as possible.

Western Gailes and West Kilbride also ought to be on any Ayrshire golfing itinerary whilst a round at Largs’ Routenburn course will see you follow in the footsteps of one of Scotland’s greatest golfing sons, Sam Torrance. It was on this course, in this sleepy, seaside town, that the Ryder Cup-winning captain cut his golfing teeth.

Other courses worthy of a mention in Ayrshire include Maybole, Girvan, Seafield, Belleisle and Dalmilling – the choice is yours!