scotland's west coast golf links

It was October 17,

when the Open first came to Prestwick on Scotlandslinks-fringed west coast. In fact, this was the inauguralOpen Championship, the first to be held anywhere inthe world.

The 12-hole course at Prestwick, laid out by Old Tom Morris in the 1850ssaw the instigation of this great event and hosted it for the following twelveyears. The line up of players gracing the links at Prestwick through these yearsand on into the 1920s reads like the "Whos Who" of golfs early days: WilliePark, the two Tom Morriss, Willie Auchterlonie, Harry Vardon and JamesBraid, to name but a few.

What had begun as a simple competition between eight of Scotlands leadingplayers turned into the greatest of golfs championship events in the worldand Ayrshire has remained an integral part of that history.

Scotlands West Coast Golf Links is built on that history, celebrating the pastbut with more than a nod to the future. Ayrshire offers the visiting golferperhaps the finest collection of links golf courses in the world and with itcomes easy access, quality accommodation, fine dining and a history andheritage to match.

From the first tee at Irvine Bogside to the walk from the eighteenth on TheAilsa Course is only a journey of some 30 miles or 50 kilometres but to travelit playing any or all of Scotlands West Coast Golf Links will ensure that its ajourney that will last a lot longer in the memory.

This is truly what Scottish golf is about; to play is tounderstand why Scotland is The Home of Golf

>>THE TWO TOM MORRISS >>ROYAL TROON - Postage Stamp

Credits

Malcolm Campbell Open Championship copy

Photography:Ken FergusonDavid WhyteDonald Ford

Brochure Production: GetTheEdgeOnline.com

4

Open Highlights

8

Travelling the Links

The Courses

12

Irvine Bogside

13

Glasgow Gailes

14

Western Gailes

15

Dundonald Links

16

Kilmarnock Barassie

17

Royal Troon

18

Prestwick

19

Prestwick St Nicholas

20

Turnberry Ailsa

21

Turnberry Kintyre

22

Staying & Playing

23

Ayrshires 19th Hole

This introduction to Scotlands West Coast Golf Links is complementedand supplemented by a dynamic website and blog

Sign up to receive regular updates of news and offers or just visit the site to check out the

detailed Google maps, golf course information, route planners, image galleries, golfing history

or check availability and book your rooms alongside your golf. Or take a fly through experience

of the ten courses on our very own You Tube Channel

Whatever you want to learn about Ayrshire and Scotlands West Coast Golf Links, youll find it

quickly and easily at www.ScotlandsWestCoastGolfLinks.com

The Open - The very first.

Shortly before noon on the morning of Wednesday, October 17th 1860, a

small group of eight roughly dressed individuals made their way towards the

wind-strewn sand hills of Prestwick.

Under their arm each carries a strange assortment of wooden implements. They march, like

prisoners under guard, accompanied by four members of the gentry, whose role it is to ensure

that none among them shall transgress.

They are about to make history by playing the first ever round of the

Open Championship. It was in the Red Lion Inn, that the Open

Championship was conceived. Used in 1860 as the clubhouse for the

Prestwick links, it was from here that the historic eight would have made

that famous march before each striking a ball in turn and thus beginning

a championship which has now become one of the leading events in

the modern sporting calendar.

The inaugural Open Championship was contested among only eight

entrants, all of whom were professionals of sorts, either caddies or club

or ball makers. The Prestwick Club recognised the gatherings importance

to professional golf and proposed that the tournament be held over 36

holes of medal play. It would be open to professional golfers from all

clubs. Ironically the idea was greeted with little enthusiasm by all the

clubs concerned and, in the end, Prestwick decided to go it alone.

The first players teed off at 12 noon and the entire field had completed the 36 holes before dark.

This is in marked contrast to the modern Championship, which now takes four days to complete.

Willie Park won the first Open with a score of 174, and a two stroke lead over Tom Morris, who

had moved to Prestwick from St Andrews to be Keeper of the Green in 1851.

And the rest truly is, as they say, history.

The Birth of the Open

What had begun as a simple

competition between eight of

Scotlands leading players

turned into the greatest of

golfs championship events in

the world and Ayrshire has

remained an integral part of

that history.

O P E N H I G H L I G H T S

>>HARRY VARDEN

>>PRESTWICK - Birthplace of The Open

scotlandswestcoastgolflinks.com

4

The 1925 Open at Prestwick was one of the saddest Championships in history.

It was here that this great Championship had been inaugurated in 1860, but on

one fateful day in 1925 the long association between the Open and historic

Ayrshire links came to an end forever.

If there was sadness over that there was nothing short of despair for an exiled Scot by the name

of MacDonald Smith who should have won that last Open at Prestwick, but didnt.

Smith had long since departed his native Carnoustie to seek fame and fortune in the United States

and so too had Jim Barnes, originally from Cornwall, the winner by a mile of the 1921 US Open.

For both men it would be a memorable Championship but for total

different reasons.

In the opening round MacDonald Smith was almost left stranded by a

76 against Barnes opening round of 70, but on the second day the

tables were completely reversed; Barnes had 77 and Smith a marvellous

69. Smith led by two going into the first round of the final day and when

Barnes slumped to a 79 against his 76, Smith was five shots clear and

seemingly home and dry going into the afternoon final round.

Barnes was out early and returned a creditable 74 but it was clear to

everyone that it would not be good enough. Smith needed only a 78

to win, or a 79 to tie.Then fate and enthusiasm of the Scottish of the

Scottish crowds took a hand. It was the classic confrontation, the exiled

Scot and expatriate Englishman back home to fight out the final round

of the Open Championship. The crowds were massive and in the words of Hendry Longhurst,

In their combined determination to see the play at all costs or, in the case of those who did not

pay to come in, (at no cost) and to cheer their hero home, they lost him the ambition of a lifetime.

Hordes trampled over poor MacDonald Smith, desperate to see every shot. He was never given

enough room to play and never saw the outcome of any long shot he played during the round.

He left the course a sad and embittered man with a score of 82 in a championship that he had

all but won before he was trampled to defeat by a well-meaning, but over-enthusiastic crowd.

The lack of adequate stewarding compounded by the tightness of the Prestwick course to

accommodate such huge crowds, was a major concern to the organisers and never again would

the Club be host to the Open Championship.

Prestwicks Swan Song

In their combined

determination to see the play

at all costs or, in the case of

those who did not pay to come

in, (at no cost) and to cheer

their hero home, they lost him

the ambition of a lifetime.


>>JIM BARNES - 1925 Open Champion


5

The revival of the Open Championship in Britain can be laid at the feet of one

player, Arnold Palmer. It was Palmer who led a long trail of top American players

back into the worlds oldest championship, bringing with them a new breath

of life to an ailing patient.

Palmer only just failed to win on his first visit to St Andrews in 1960, putted into second place by

the unflappable Australian, Kel Nagle. At Birkdale the following year he triumphed but Arnold

Palmers greatest victory in the open Championship came in 1962 at a hard and fast Royal Troon

on the Ayrshire coast.

The dry conditions which produced the occasional bizarre bounce on

the fairways were hardly conductive to Palmers all-out aggressive

approach to the game of golf. Careful planning and subtle execution

were not in the Palmer lexicon. Hit it hard, find it and hit it hard again

was more the Palmer way. If there was a challenge to be taken on, no

matter how apparently futile or foolhardy, the great man would take it

on. Most times he succeeded and that made him the most exciting player

in the game.

He opened at Troon with a fairly conservative round of 71, one behind

Peter Thomson, but got into gear the following day with 69 that was

only equalled by Peter Alliss. He then spread-eagled the field with 67.

Arnie simply gave everyone a lesson in how to play a fast running course

that none of the other leading contenders could cope with. Gary Player

couldnt handle it at all and missed the cut. Jack Nicklaus finished 29

strokes behind at the finish and the only danger to Arnie on the final day was himself. He needed

something to shoot for and was encouraged by his wife to make sure he made it two Open

victories in a row, because not many had done that before.

The incentive worked well enough and Palmer outclassed the field with a 69 in the last round for

an aggregate of 276. His winning margin over Kel Nagel of six strokes was a fitting revenge for

his defeat by the Australian two year previously, and it is marked on how much he outclassed the

field that Phil Rodgers and Brian Huggett, tied for third place, were 13 strokes behind the winner.

Arnies total mastery of the long and difficult 11th hole alongside the railway line will always be remembered

from that Open. Nicklaus once got into double figures there, but in six rounds, including two qualifying

rounds, Arnold Palmer was six under par.

Palmer Charges at Troon

Arnies total mastery of the

long and difficult 11th hole

alongside the railway line will

always be remembered from

that Open. Nicklaus once got

into a double figures there, but

in six rounds, including two

qualifying rounds, Arnold

Palmer was six under par.


>>ROYAL TROON - Postage Stamp

>>ARNOLD PALMER - 1962 Open


6

Tom Watsons greatest single triumph produced one of the most sensational

finishes in the long history of the Open Championship. It was the 106th and

the first time the Open had been played on this great Ayrshire links.

In a week of high sunshine there was even higher drama with Watson and Jack Nicklaus fought

out an epic struggle that left them so far ahead of the rest of the field that it became a simple head

-to- head battle, forever to be remembered as The Duel in the Sun.

For 70 holes Watson had never had his nose in front against the dour, ice-cold determination of

Nicklaus, but The Bear could not shake him off. They had identical rounds of 68-70-65 heading

out on the last round together, jointly in the lead by three strokes over

the rest of the field who might as well been playing on the Ailsa Craig

for all the chance they had of catching up.

It took a 60-ft birdie putt from off green at the devilishly difficult par-3

15th hole for Watson to get back on level terms with Nicklaus after

he had gone behind. The ball positively rattled against the pin as it went

in and the two looked at each other. Dan said: This is what its all about,

isnt it?

Jack smiled back and said You bet it is.

They halved the 16th, then with a raking 3-iron to the par-5 17th, Watson

set up a birdie that Nicklaus couldnt match. For the first time Watson was in front and they were

going to the last hole.

Watson fired a 1-iron to the perfect spot in the fairway. Nicklaus, who under other circumstances

would surely have followed suit, had to gamble and he went with a driver. The tee shot was

blocked slightly and finished under some whin bushes on the right.

Watson then delivered the coup de grace, an arrow-straight 7-iron which nailed into the green

and finished two feet from the hole. It did not matter that Nicklaus produced a miracle shot to

scramble the ball on the green and then, as only Nicklaus could, hole a snaking 40-footer for a

birdie.

Watsons two-footer was a formality and the greatest finale in the history of the Open was over,

a victory for the new generation over the old. It was a new era and the record books had to be

comprehensively rewritten. Watsons 65-65 finish for 268 was a new record by an electrifying

eight strokes.

The Duel in the Sun

For four days the galleries

witnessed the most incredible

head-to-head shot making and

low scoring the game of golf

has ever seen.


>>WATSON & NICKLAUS

>>TURNBERRYS AILSA COURSE


7

The stretch of Ayrshire coastfrom Irvine in the north toTurnberry in the south must beone of the most plentiful, ingolfing terms, anywhere in theworld.

On a stretch of coastal land notmore than 30 miles in length youwill find ten of the finest linksgolf courses you could wish for a forty five minute drive but todo those would do an injusticeto the quality of golf you wouldbe bypassing. Take your time andsavour a golfing journey fit forany connoisseur.

>>>>>>>>>>


>>Glasgow Gailes

>>Irvine Bogside

Irvine & GailesIrvine Bogside Golf Club represents the beginning of the West Coast Golf Links and it certainly deserves

to be amongst them and is a delight in every way but most especially on the greens.

Built between the town, an old racecourse and the banks of the River Irvine, Bogsides situation may

lack the perspective of some of the courses to follow but on arriving on the narrow road to the clubhouse

you cannot be anything but captivated by the golfing terrain that lies ahead of you. Always immaculately

manicured, the fairways and greens roll over heavy contours and high dunes dissected by copious

amounts of traditional gorse and even more heather and it is likened by some to Prestwick for its quirky

individuality and blind approach shots.

A couple of miles to the south side of Irvine are the two Gailes courses of Western and Glasgow both

of whom have been well known to the golfing visitor for many years. These two traditional links have

been joined, and complemented, by the new Dundonald Links which slots perfectly into the parcel of

land previously left vacant between Western, Glasgow and Barassie.

Glasgow Gailes course designer, former Open Championship winner, Willie Park always believed this

links to be one of his best creations. The classic layout is tough, fair and traditionally Scottish, wild heather

and gorse define the fairways and the greens are guarded by strategically placed bunkers. Sandy Lyle,

former Open and Masters Champion describes the course as one of the worlds truly great tests

of links golf and it has been selected by the R&A as a final qualifying venue for The Open Championship

every time it has been at Royal Troon and Turnberry. At 6903 yards long from the back tees, Gailes is

a great test of golf whilst the kinder forward tees provide a fine test for players of all abilities.

Just across the railway track and closer to the sea, the reputation of Western Gailes has become stronger

and stronger over recent years attracting visitors from all parts of the world and featuring as a must play

on many Scottish itineraries. This is nothing new; in June 1903 the great Harry Vardon arrived at Western

celebrating his fourth Open victory to win the first professional championship held and promoted by

the Club whilst in 1923 its attractions were being lauded by the then US Open Champion Gene Sarazen

who played the course.

Western Gailes setting is imposing being situated between the railway and the sea, both being very

much in play as major features. The course is never less than an excellent test of true links golf with the

almost central clubhouse situated between the seven holes to the north and eleven to the south.

Sitting across the railway line is Dundonald Links which since its opening has fast become one of the

most impressive new links courses in Scotland. Designed by Kyle Phillips, the structure and shape

of the course easily matches his better known design at Kingsbarns and the layout offers a great

>>Dundonald Links

>>Western Gailes

8

challenge from whichever set of tees its played off.

TroonKilmarnock Barassie Golf Club nestles up to the south side of Dundonald Links and is flanked on the

west by Western Gailes. From above it is one glorious piece of golfing estate. Barassie is on the north

side of Troon and has been extended in recent years in order to maintain its role as an Open qualifying

venue. The new nine hole section has been added to form the longer Barassie Links, a Par 72, which

from the back tees measures in at 7104 yards. There are now 27 holes to play over, with the ideal

scenario being 18 in the morning and a more gentle nine holes in the afternoon. The course has hosted

a number of important events in its time, remains an Open Qualifying Course but importantly remains

wonderfully playable for the visitor to Ayrshire.

Moving along the beach road through the centre of Troon you will be struck by the views out onto the

Firth of Clyde towards Arran and may even witness one of the fast ferries entering the towns harbour

from Northern Ireland. Troon is steeped in the history and business of golf with continuous links courses

all six of them - infilled by the odd street here and there.

One would almost presume that Troon had held its Royal status for an age but the club remains the

youngest of the Royals with the title only bestowed in the clubs centenary year, 1978. Similarly Royal

Troon is a relative newcomer to the Open Championship rota with the first Open played here in

1923, two years before Prestwicks last. Open winners at Troon include Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson,

Tom Weiskopf and Bobby Locke and it truly is a pilgrimage worth making.

It is the 8th or Postage Stamp which is Royal Troons most famous hole. From the tee, looking out to

sea, it somehow seems a long way to that little green. For visitors it plays at around 120 yards, the

shortest hole on the Open circuit which atypically of West Coast Links Golf can call for a pitching wedge

or three iron into a prevailing south westerly! A birdie opportunity if fortunate enough to hit and hold

the small target or a calamitous ruination of a card for those venturing into any one of the five greenside

bunkers. Arnold Palmer scored a seven here in 1973!

>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

T R A V E L L I N G T H E L I N K S

The furthest point out of RoyalTroon sits alongside the furthestmost point of Prestwick, a factthat has resulted in an annualchallenge match of nine holesover Troon and another nine overPrestwick with members startingat one clubhouse and finishingat the other!


>>Royal Troon

>>Kilmarnock Barassie

>>Royal Troon

9



PrestwickAlthough it no longer features on the Open rota, Prestwick is still one of the most unique and challenging

courses in the country. The memorable experience starts at the first tee where, if you have a caddy,

he may gently suggest that Sir does not need that driver from the tee. Prestwick Railway Station is only

a mild slice away to the right.

The massive, and famous, Cardinal Bunker dominates the third hole with the danger compounded by

the nearby burn or in striking the oppressive railway sleepers that rise from the sand. The seventeenth

remains pretty much unchanged since the 1850s with a blind second shot up and over a high dune into

a wonderfully shaped green guarded by the infamous Sahara Bunker. You cannot come off the links at

Prestwick not having had fun.

Slightly more hidden away in the town is Prestwick St Nicholas. Located less than a mile along the beach

from its more famous neighbour, Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club no longer hosts Final Qualifying but

remains a true delight with some superb views across the Firth of Clyde. The course has some wonderfully

quirky challenges with rolling undulating fairways and many gorse bushes that like the other courses lend

some splendid colour to early season rounds. The course is not the longest but is a delight to play

offering a serious challenge and the need to remain straight with some wonderfully timeless approaches

to traditional links greens.

These two courses hugging the west coast ensure that Prestwick remains one of Scotlands finest and

most historic golfing towns and that it has every right to use the boast of being the Birthplace of The

Open Championship. 2010 sees the 150th anniversary of the great event first being played in the town

an occasion that surely, in itself, is a call for the golfer to visit.

>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When Old Tom Morris won threeof his four Open Championships,not only was he employed byPrestwick Golf Club, he was alsoa member (and a founding oneat that) of Prestwick St NicholasGolf Club.

The history of The OpenChampionship runs deep in thisancient golfing town.

>>Old Tom Morris

>>Prestwick

10

Whether you play one or all, youcan be sure you will cherish theexperience that is Scotlands WestCoast Golf Links.

From the first tee at Irvine Bogsideto the walk from the eighteenthon The Ailsa Course is only ajourney of some 30 miles or 50kilometres but to travel it playingany or all of Scotlands West CoastGolf Links will ensure that its ajourney that will last a lot longerin the memory.

This is truly what Scottish golf isabout; to play is to understandwhy Scotland is The Home of Golf.

We are sure you will cherish theexperience that is Scotlands WestCoast Golf Links.



TurnberryTurnberry is the most recent of Ayrshires three Open Championship links to join the rota, with the

event being first played over The Ailsa Course in 1977 with what became one of the most famous of

Open Championships. The world class resort has undergone a complete transformation with a full

refurbishment in time for the 2009 Open Championship and is now truly one of the finest golfing

destinations in the world boasting not one but two Championship standard courses.

The venue impacts on the senses from the moment of arrival, the hotel on the hill, the wonderful

clubhouse facilities, golf academy and the general ambience ensure that your experience will be

memorable, even if the scorecard is less so.

The Open Championship course, The Ailsa, has been supported for the past decade by the excellent

Kintyre Course. The Kintyre included some of the best holes and features of the old Arran layout and

is regarded by many visitors as a tougher course to play and, certainly, if not straight the gorse can catch

stray drives with impunity. It is itself an Open Championship Qualifying Course and provides a wonderfully

appealing addition to its neighbour.

The Ailsa course, host of its fourth Open Championship event in 2009, is deserving of every accolade

given to it, set out on land between the sweeping dunes and the gently rising Ayrshire hills. It is also

regarded by many as the most picture perfect and instantly recognisable of the Open venues. Not only

does it have the magnificent hotel to look up to, it has its own iconic lighthouse and Ailsa Craig, providing

the backdrop.

The 9th hole, Bruces Castle, with the famous Turnberry Lighthouse to its left, is probably one of the

most photographed golf holes in the game with the tee perilously positioned out into the Firth of Clyde.

Even for the most seasoned of golfing travellers it is hard to imagine a finer final green anywhere in the

world to hole out at. Replace the flag, look around and just let it wash over you.

>>>>>>

11

Irvine Golf ClubBogside

The conception and birth of Irvine Golf Club must

be credited to a young man called Robert Adam who

in 1884 looked around for a suitable site on which

a new golf course could be laid out and saw the

potential in the land at Bogside which then formed

part of the estate of the 14th Earl Of Eglinton.

Adams inspiration was the key factor in the creation

of Irvine Golf Club but it was the experience, authority

and leadership of a fellow golfer James Stewart which

would turn this dream into reality.

On Friday 18th March 1887 thirteen men gathered

at a meeting in the Kings Arms Hotel, Irvine, convened

and chaired by Adam and from this gathering Irvine

Golf Club was established.

Irvine Golf Club, Bogside is a traditional links

course owing much of its character to the famous

James Braid, who designed many of Scotland's

top courses. The course can best be described

as a mix of links and heathland. The fairways are

built on sand and are divided by gorse and heather

and every hole has its own identity whilst the

quality of greens is traditionally amongst the

courses strengths. The course is not long by

present day standards, 6423 yards, but demands

accurate shot making and missed fairways and

greens can be well punished.

It is often likened to Prestwick for the number of

blind shots required and like the venerable old

links is a delight to play.

12

Sandy Road, Bogside, Irvine KA12 88N

+44 (0)1294 [email protected]

www.theirvinegolfclub.co.uk

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3189 3047

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3234 31436423 6190

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Chship Medal Standard Ladies

Par 71 71 70 72Standard Scratch 72 72 70 72

Glasgow Golf Club was founded in 1787 and is the

ninth oldest golf club in the World, seven years after

the Town Council had started to issue permits for

playing golf on Glasgow Green.

In 1892 the ground at Gailes was leased from the

Duke of Portlands estate and the Gailes Links course

was inaugurated followed three years later with the

opening of the clubhouse which remains a most

impressive building.

In 1924 Gailes was purchased from the Duke, 12

years after the current course had been laid out by

Open Champion golfer, Willie Park Jnr.

GlasgowGolf ClubGailes Links

At 6903 yards long from the championship tees

with a par of 71 Gailes is a great test of golf whilst

the kinder medium tees provides a fine test for

players of all abilities. It is simply traditional links

at its best. The challenge starts with a steady

stream of four consecutive par fours followed by

the signature hole, a par five dog-leg with out-

of-bounds to the right and a treacherous green

thats guarded by strategically placed sand traps.

It then lets up with a neat par three, only to bite

back with another demanding run of five par

fours. Former Open Champion and the winner

of the treasured Masters Green Jacket, Sandy

Lyle, described the course as one of the worlds

truly great tests of links golf.

Gailes, Irvine, Ayrshire KA11 5AE


www.glasgowgolfclub.com

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3520 3229

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3383 30936903 6322

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Par 71 71 71 71Standard Scratch 74 72 71 68USGA Slope Rating 134 131 129 122

13

"In starting this Club, the promoters have in view the

large number of members of inland courses who

would be glad of the facilities afforded by membership

of a good seaside course in addition to the course

on which they already play, and they therefore propose

that the Annual Subscription should be only Ten

Shillings and Sixpence, with an entrance fee of a like

sum for members who join now."

Founded in 1897, the above was the first promotion

of Western Gailes to its prospective membership and

the first nine holes were ready for play by the spring

of 1898.

The setting is imposing, the course situated

between the railway and the sea and, both very

much in play. It is special amongst seaside courses

never being more than two holes wide and in

having its clubhouse in a more or less central

position. The course is never other than an

excellent test of true links golf with challenges of

wind compounded by the undulating terrain and

finely contoured greens cleverly located and set

in the surrounding sand dunes.

From the clubhouse there are seven holes to the

north and eleven to the south. The line of dunes

running down the coastal stretch, the out of

bounds wall, the plentiful supply of pot bunkers

plus the meandering burns, all combine to present

variety and a memorable challenge.

Western GailesGolf Club

Gailes

Gailes, Irvine, Ayrshire KA11 5AE


www.westerngailes.com

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3473 3050

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14

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Dundonald means Fort Donald and there is a hill

near the course upon which fortifications have been

located dating back to the period 500

through 200 B.C.

Three castles succeeded the original structures and in

the early 1900s there was an old golf course named

Dundonald on the site of the new course. It was

converted to military use during World War II, at which

time it was known as Dundonald Camp, and was used

to rehearse the D Day landings.

The old Dundonald Course sits underneath both the

new Dundonald Links and the adjoining Barassie Links.

Designed by the highly respected golf course

architect Kyle Phillips the 7,100-yard, par 72

course was inspired by the timeless architecture

of the great Ayrshire links courses of Royal Troon,

Prestwick and Western Gailes, all connected by

the historic rail line.

In its short history, Dundonald Links has quickly

become recognised as one of Europes must

play new links courses and was named as a Final

Qualifying Course for the 2008 Btitish Seniors

Open.

DundonaldLinksGailes

Ayr Road, Gailes, Ayrshire KA11 5BF


www.dundonaldlinks.com

15

1 509 501 5 122 394 376 4 63 430 365 4 24 169 149 3 165 442 336 4 146 150 143 3 187 462 427 4 48 539 519 5 89 416 371 4 10

3511 3187

10 387 346 4 1111 398 385 4 712 523 387 5 1513 376 355 4 114 210 170 3 1715 429 413 4 316 491 475 4/5 917 406 401 4 1318 378 365 4 5

3598 32977109 6484

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Par 73 72/73 72 75Standard Scratch N/A 74 72 76USGA Slope Rating N/A 138 135 N/A

Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club has been offering

the golfer a magnificent links golf challenge for over

an hundred years. Formed as Ossington Golf Club

in 1887, the first course was at Holmes Farm in

Kilmarnock, but the Club soon became Kilmarnock

Golf Club and to Barassie in the 1890s.

The club has hosted many top class amateur and

professional events in its time as well as being host

to the Open Qualifying including the British Boys won

by a young Ronan Rafferty. In the not too distant past

the club has produced, in Gordon Sherry and Jim

Milligan, Walker Cup players who were Amateur

Champion and Scottish Amateur Champion

respectively.

Barassie has undergone considerable changes

over the past few years and not only has twenty

seven holes with which to test the golfer but also

has much improved facilities in the clubhouse and

professional's shop. The additional nine holes are

part of the championship course and have added

a different dimension to Barassie with a Par of 72

and a Standard Scratch of 74.

The course measures just under 6500 yards for

visitors and the new holes provide some

wonderful challenges perhaps no more so than

the par 3 fourth hole or the quirky dog leg par

5 eighth. The course is challenging, but is typically

what Scottish Links golf is about - large undulating

greens, deep bunkers and doglegs.

29 Hillhouse Road, Troon, Ayrshire KA10 6SY

+44(0)1292 313920

[email protected]

www.kbgc.co.uk

KilmarnockBarassie

Golf ClubBarassie

16

1 370 348 4 162 391 369 4 73 379 366 4 114 560 476 5 45 210 183 3 146 601 518 5 27 405 354 4 98 123 114 3 189 423 375 4 5

3462 3103

10 438 367 4 1011 490 357 4 112 431 377 4 613 472 382 4 1214 178 167 3 1515 483 433 4 316 542 504 5 817 222 167 3 1318 457 344 4 17

3713 30987175 6201

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Par 71 71 71 75Standard Scratch 75 73 71 76USGA Slope Rating N/A 134 130 N/A

Troon Golf Club was formed on the 16th March 1878,

at a Meeting of enthusiasts, in the Portland Arms Hotel

in Troon. By 1880 the Club had six holes, and eight

years later had been extended to eighteen holes

measuring 3 miles, 1 furlong and 156 yards!

George Strath was the first Professional to the Club

and was involved in the design of the courses prior

to leaving in 1887. His successor Willie Fernie, by the

following year, had implemented further changes to

the layout of the 18 hole course.

In the Centenary Year, 1978, the Club was proud to

receive the Royal Accolade and is, to date, the most

recent Club to be so honoured.

One of the great links courses in Scotland, Royal

Troons Old Course is a challenging test of golfing

ability. With the wind to contend with, and deep

rough interspersed with gorse and broom,

accurate shot making is essential. Players should

make their scores on the outward nine, as the

prevailing north-westerly wind can make the back

nine extremely difficult.

Although a links course, the neighbouring Portland

is a little more sheltered than the Old Course

and, of course, shorter. The holes meander

through terrain filled with gorse and broom and

has a generous helping of Par 3's, five in all. This

is tempered however, with four Par 5's, all of

which are on the back nine.

Royal TroonGolf Club

Troon

Craigend Road, Troon, Ayrshire KA10 6EP+44 (0)1292 311 555

[email protected]

17

Prestwick Golf Club was founded in 1851 by a group

of 57 members who met at the Red Lion Inn,

Prestwick.

The Earl of Eglinton was the first Captain of the club,

and presented a gold medal for annual competition

which is still played for to this day. A stone cairn to

the west of the Clubhouse, marks the first tee of the

original 12 hole course, from which the first Open

was played.

The 1st hole measured 578 yards to what is now

the 16th green, where in 1870 Tom Morris Jr. holed

out in three strokes using hickory shafts and a gutty

golf ball. Seven of the original greens are still played

on today.

Prestwick is an old fashioned links course in the

true sense of the word. Designed by Old Tom

Morris, the course is built on an undulating sandy

stretch that links the beach to the inland. Its 6,544

yards follow the natural contours of the terrain

and features some odd twists and turns and even

some nasty blind shots. Much of the original 12

hole course at Prestwick is still identifiable today

more than a century after it was extended to

eighteen. The fairways are narrow and greens

small by modern standards but always fast and

true. From the first tee with the out of bounds

on the right, through the third with The Cardinal

Bunker and The Alps at seventeen, the golfer will

be challenged by Prestwick in a way that perhaps

no other links course in the world can.

PrestwickGolf Club

Prestwick

2 Links Road, Prestwick, Ayrshire KA9 1QJ+44 (0)1292 477404

[email protected]

1 346 346 4 112 167 167 3 173 541 482 5 34 417 382 4 135 236 206 3 56 407 362 4 157 488 430 4 18 452 431 4 99 461 444 4 7

3515 3250

10 454 454 4 411 215 195 3 1612 552 513 5 813 460 460 4 214 404 362 4 1415 347 347 4 1016 288 288 4 1817 391 391 4 618 284 284 4 12

3395 32946910 6544

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18

1 242 242 4 72 172 172 3 173 281 281 4 134 420 420 4 35 406 406 4 96 326 326 4 117 454 454 4 18 360 360 4 59 338 338 4 15

3099 3099

10 165 165 3 1211 523 523 5 812 206 206 3 1813 456 456 4 214 412 412 4 615 276 276 4 1016 379 379 4 417 301 301 4 1618 227 227 3 14

2945 28436044 5942

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Par N/A 69 69 72Standard Scratch N/A 69 69 72

Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club is the 26th oldest

Golf Club in the world having been founded in

November 1851 by 28 local men.

One of these men was Old Tom Morris who had

been brought to Prestwick Golf Club when it was

founded earlier in 1851 to be Keeper of the Greens,

Club and Ball Maker. It is St Nicholass proud boast

that in the years Tom Morris was employed by

Prestwick Golf Club, and won three of his four Open

Championships, St Nicholas was the Club of which

he was a member.

Although various alterations have taken place over the

decades the course has remained, in essence,

unchanged since the course opened on 7th May 1892.

The course is a traditional Scottish links possessing

as it does a sandy, free draining soil, gorse, deep

bunkers and a seemingly ever present wind which

tests the skills of players of all abilities. The course

lies between the railway line and the Firth of

Clyde resulting in golfers being able to admire

the truly stunning scenery of the Ayrshire coast.

It would be fair to say that thanks to the hazards

provided by nature, strategically placed bunkers

and the fact that Out of Bounds is a feature on

at least 12 holes, this course is one which can

favour the thinking golfer rather than the long,

wild hitter. The closing three holes are as

challenging as it is possible to find and any score

near par can be regarded as a positive.

PrestwickSt. NicholasGolf Club

Prestwick

Grangemuir Road, Prestwick, Ayrshire KA9 1SN

+44 (0)1292 477 [email protected]

www.prestwickstnicholas.com

19

1 354 340 4 72 428 368 4 133 489 386 4 154 168 157 3 55 479 392 4 16 231 187 3 117 538 463 5/4 38 454 365 4 179 452 388 4 9

3593 3046

10 457 415 4 611 175 146 3 1812 447 377 4 813 410 344 4 1414 449 390 4 215 206 170 3 1616 455 385 4 1017 558 457 5 418 461 370 4 12

3618 30547211 6100

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Par 70 69 69 75Standard Scratch 76 73 71 75USGA Slope Rating 134 127 125 N/A

Turnberry has had a chequered history having been

dug up twice in the twentieth century to make way

for wartime airfields, parts of which can still be seen

today.

The course was only rebuilt after the Second World

War when the owners British Transport Hotels forced

the government to pay out compensation. The course

was then mapped out by golf course architect

Mackenzie Ross, creating one of the finest links courses

in the world.

The course remained arguably a hidden gem until

the famous Open Championship of 1977 and the

rest is golfing history.

The first three holes on The Ailsa pose a fairly

tough opening, particularly when the wind blows

from the direction of Ailsa Craig. From the

admirable short fourth to the short 11th the Ailsa

Course follows the shoreline, the fifth to the eight

framed by dunes and the ninth, tenth and eleventh

flanked by craggy rocks.

The scenic glories of the Ailsa Course are to be

savoured - the granite dome of Ailsa Craig, the

low form of the tip of Argyll and the peaks of

Arran highlighting the changing patterns of light

and shade. Closer at hand, the lighthouse, and

the ninth's lovely back tee are other symbols of

Turnberry. A round on The Ailsa engages all of

the senses, all of the time.

Ailsa CourseTurnberry

Turnberry Resort, Turnberry, Ayrshire KA26 9LT


www.turnberry.co.uk

20

1 547 517 5 72 178 151 3 133 326 306 4 154 402 376 4 55 452 403 4 16 187 171 3 117 379 365 4 38 309 280 4 179 481 317 5/4 9

3261 2886

10 440 410 4 811 430 368 4 1212 205 165 3 1613 464 414 4 214 530 496 5 1015 477 418 4 616 143 125 3 1817 454 418 4 418 517 494 5 14

3660 33086921 6194

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Par 72 71 71 73Standard Scratch 74 72 N/A 74

The Kintyre was created out of a desire to make

Turnberry more than just a single golf course.

The course was created from the old Arran course

by designer Donald Steel at the same time as the

resort added the Colin Montgomerie Links Golf

Academy and a nine hole teaching course renamed

The Arran.

These golf facilities, the magnificent clubhouse combine

with the refurbishment of the hotel for the 2009

Open, to make Turnberry the premier golf resort in

Scotland.

The Kintyre is links golf at its exhilarating best with

undulating greens, glorious fairways, magnificent

sea holes, and stunning views of Arran, and the

famous Turnberry Lighthouse. The panorama

that stretches in every direction is quite

breathtaking but the holes need concentration.

Widely regarded as the Kintyre's signature hole,

the 8th, involves a drive from an elevated tee

towards the sea and an unforgettable blind shot

to a green set in a cove that seems to merge with

the craggy beach beyond. The Kintyre requires

accuracy, perhaps more so than its neighbour

which it complements so perfectly.

Kintyre CourseTurnberry

Turnberry Resort, Turnberry, Ayrshire KA26 9LT


www.turnberry.co.uk

21

Like the rest of Scotland, Ayrshires accommodation provision has improved beyond recognition

over the past decade. The traditional seaside resort hotels have been replaced or augmented by

some of the finest individual properties in the country.

World class luxury resort hotels sit alongside privately operated restaurants with rooms.

Country inns with quirky rooms are complemented by traditional hotels with first class

spa and leisure facilities. Townhouses or castles, pubs with beds, guest houses, self catering

or farmhouses; theyre all available in Ayrshire.

The traditional golfing destinations of Prestwick, Troon and Ayr have a large selection of

properties to choose from but dont overlook the towns of Irvine and Kilmarnock both of

whom have some excellent rooms on offer. And all within a short drive of your first tee.

The area now also boasts excellent conference facilities, from the smallest to the largest,

and when combined with golf and transport infrastructure it becomes a superb incentives

or convention venue.

Whatever you may be looking for from a golfing break you can be sure of finding what you're

looking for in Ayrshire.


staying &playing

22

You could be excused for doing nothing but playing golf, butthat would be to miss out on Ayrshires diverse range of aprsgolf activities and attractions.

A wide range of visitor attractions spans the county and castles and historic trails abound with many

famous sites of interest and ruins to be explored. There are also family attractions and outdoor sports

facilities in abundance.

If youre with the family, try the Heads of Ayr Farm Park, Vikingar,

Loudoun Castle Theme Park or experience real industrial heritage

at the Scottish Maritime Museum.

Ayrshire is increasingly renowned for the quality of its dining using

fresh local produce and creative cooking skills. In recent years the

increased quality and quantity of restaurants, a resurgence in the number of country inns

and a move towards greater use of local produce, have all contributed to Ayrshire now

being a haven of excellent cuisine.

Equally impressive are some of the traditional pubs and designer bars. Whether youre

looking for a gantry full of malt whiskies, some real ale or live entertainment, youll usually find something

going on around you.

Ayrshire, for sure, has a 19th Hole worth playing!

Ayrshires

19th hole


History and heritage loom large with a list including the splendid

Culzean Castle, nearby Dundonald Castle and other country parks

and castles at Kelburn and Dean. Robert Burns was born in nearby

Alloway and wherever you travel in the county there are

references to Scotlands world-famous national bard. Plan your visit

to fit in with the sporting calendar and you could take in a race

meeting at Ayr, Scotlands premier racecourse.

Irvine Bogside | Glasgow Gailes | Western Gailes | Dundonald Links | Kilmarnock Barassie | Royal Troon | Prestwick | Prestwick St Nicholas | Turnberry Kintyre | Turnberry Ailsa

Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland - now well within a coupleof hours flight time of much of Europe, easily accessible from

Ireland by sea and well connected by road from the south, makingit the perfect short break or golf destination.

For those planning a tour of Scotland, Ayrshire is less than ninety minutes drive from Edinburgh, thirty

from Glasgow and can be easily fitted into an itinerary. The Isle of Arran, and a gateway to The

Highlands, is connected to Ayrshire via the fifty five minute crossing on Cal Mac ferries from Ardrossan

to Brodick or from the Mull of Kintyre from Clonaig.

Prestwick Airport is only a few minutes from the courses of Scotlands West Coast Golf Links and well

connected to the rest of Ayrshire by an excellent rail and road network. Low cost airline Ryanair fly

into Prestwick from an ever increasing number of European departure points. A host of long and short

haul carriers fly into Glasgow Airport which is only thirty minutes from Ayrshires coast.

P&O Irish Ferries run the fast ferry operation from Northern Ireland into Troon from March to

September on the reliable P&O Express fast craft. Stena Line has sailings to Stranraer. The sailing takes

about ninety minutes on the fast ferry and the drive to the heart of Ayrshire less than an hour.

Ayrshire links were built along the stretch of railway from north to south with Turnberry originally

being a railway hotel. Nowadays the stations at Irvine, Barassie, Troon, Prestwick give easy access to

the majority of the courses and Girvan Station is only a few miles from Turnberry itself and the line

links to all national routes via the east and west coast mainline.

Whatever your preferred mode of transport Ayrshire couldnt beeasier to get to or get around.

Prestwick

Ayr

Troon

Irvine

Turnberry

1 Irvine Bogside2 Glasgow Gailes3 Western Gailes4 Dundonald Links5 Kilmarnock Barassie6 Royal Troon7 Prestwick8 Prestwick St Nicholas9 Turnberry Kintyre10 Turnberry Ailsa

Location& Getting to

Ayrshire

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scotland's west coast golf links

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