Top 20 Golf Courses
in Scotland

The cradle of the game. Playing the Old Course is a pilgrimage every golfer should make — the Swilcan Bridge, the Road Hole, the shared fairways, the history pressing down on every shot. There is nowhere else like it on earth.

Known as Car-nasty for good reason. Carnoustie is the hardest test in links golf — Barry Burn, the wind, the relentlessly demanding layout. A round here earns bragging rights for life. Five Open Championships have been decided on these fairways.

Home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers — the world's oldest golf club. Muirfield's design is deceptively strategic: two loops of nine holes mean the wind never works in your favour for long. Pure, uncompromising links golf.

Home to the famous Postage Stamp — the 8th hole, at 123 yards, looks simple and destroys scorecards. Troon's out nine runs with the wind, the back nine fights it all the way home. Views across to Arran are spectacular on a clear day.

Perhaps the most visually stunning links course in the world. The lighthouse at the turn, Ailsa Craig rising from the Firth of Clyde, the ruins of Robert the Bruce's castle — Turnberry is golf as theatre. The Duel in the Sun was fought here in 1977.

The remoteness is part of the magic. Two hours north of Inverness, Royal Dornoch sits on a natural links strip above the Dornoch Firth. Tom Watson called it the most fun he'd ever had on a golf course. Old Tom Morris laid out the original design in 1886.

Opened in 2000, Kingsbarns feels like it has been there forever. Clifftop holes with the North Sea below, natural hollows and burns weaving through the layout, and a finish that ranks among the finest in Scotland. The Alfred Dunhill Links visits every year.

The King's Course opened in 1919 and remains one of Scotland's great inland tests. Heather-lined fairways, sweeping Perthshire views, and James Braid's masterful design combine to make this a round unlike any links. The Ryder Cup came to Gleneagles in 2014.

Tucked into a bay north of Aberdeen, Cruden Bay is one of the great undiscovered links courses. Massive sand dunes, blind shots, quirky routing — it feels entirely unlike anywhere else. Golf at its most elemental and unpredictable.

At the tip of the Kintyre peninsula, Machrihanish Dunes is wild, remote, and unforgettable. The Atlantic pounds the western shore. The course winds through giant dune systems with almost no sign of civilisation. Golf as it was meant to be played.

Built on a clifftop overlooking the Moray Firth and the Black Isle, Castle Stuart — now Cabot Highlands — is modern links design at its finest. Stunning views from virtually every hole and a layout that rewards bold play.

Opened in 2020, Dumbarnie is the newest entry on this list and already one of the most talked-about. Clifftop holes above the Firth of Forth, natural fescue fairways, and a course that feels decades old despite its newness. Clive Clark's finest work.

One of the quirkiest and most beloved courses in Scotland. Blind shots, shared greens, stone walls cutting across fairways, and Bass Rock rising from the Firth of Forth. North Berwick is eccentric, historic, and absolutely wonderful.

Perched on Gullane Hill with panoramic views across East Lothian and the Firth of Forth, Gullane No. 1 is a proper links test often overshadowed by its more famous neighbour. The views from the top of the hill are among the finest in Scottish golf.

The Open Championship was born here in 1860. Prestwick's 12 holes are now 18, but the old bones remain — Cardinal bunker, the Himalayas, blind shots and quirky stances. Playing Prestwick is a lesson in golf's origins.

A narrow, natural links strip between the railway and the sea — Western Gailes is pure Ayrshire coast golf. No houses, no intrusions. Just fairways, dunes, gorse, and the Firth of Clyde. Seriously underrated on the world stage.

Founded in 1780, Royal Aberdeen is the sixth oldest golf club in the world. Balgownie Links runs through towering sand dunes with the North Sea to the east. A demanding, traditional test with all the character of a course that has watched centuries of golf.

Nairn sits on the south shore of the Moray Firth with the Highlands rising behind. The course's position gives it a quality of light — especially in the long Scottish evenings — that makes it feel almost otherworldly. A Walker Cup venue, and deservedly so.

Say what you like about the politics — the golf course itself is spectacular. Massive, mobile sand dunes, some of the most dramatic links terrain in Europe, and a routing that takes full advantage of the wild Aberdeenshire coast. A genuine world-class test.

Often overshadowed by the Old Course next door, the Jubilee is a serious links test in its own right — and shares the same extraordinary setting above the West Sands. At a fraction of the price and often with same-day availability, it's St Andrews golf at its most accessible.