Championship winter golf in Ayrshire – hard to beat!
Ayrshire, in south west Scotland, is arguably one of the finest stretches of golfing land in the country!
The rugged, yet picturesque, coastline overlooks the Firth of Clyde, Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran.
What a great place for Championship Winter Golf! Three courses in Ayrshire that immediately spring to most people’s minds are the Open Championship courses at Turnberry, Royal Troon and, the birthplace of the Open Championship itself, Prestwick Golf Club. If you haven’t visited Ayrshire before, you’d be forgiven if you thought that was it – but there are many more great courses along this coastline.
Additionally, Dundonald Links, just north of Royal Troon, was the host venue for the European Tour’s Scottish Open this year. Furthermore, there are over 40 courses in this region and many have hosted countless regional, national and international golf events.
OK! I think you get my point – this region is highly regarded in the world of golf and steeped in golfing history.
So where would I suggest playing, without breaking the bank but getting a real flavour of Ayrshire golf?
Well, here are three top rated courses offering deeply discounted green fees, over the colder months. These courses are traditional links courses and tend to cope better with the Scottish winter weather than their inland counterparts.
All three have held national championship events and two of them have been Final Open Qualifying courses in recent years.
Course 1 – Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club
29 Hillhouse Road, Barassie, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 6SY
Tel: +44 (0) 1292 313920
www.kbgc.co.uk
Barassie Links is the championship layout at Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, which presents a good test for even the best golfers amongst you – and that’s on a calm day!
There are 27 holes at the club but the Barassie Links course offers a mix of old and new – nine holes from the original course and a new nine built in 1997. The combination works well and it’s links turf make it ideal for championship winter golf in Scotland.
Barassie Links has held many high profile events over the years. A handful of examples are:
2017 Final Qualifying for Scottish Open Championship
2012 Final Qualifying for Senior Open Championship
2012 Scottish Amateur Stroke play Championship
2010 Boys Amateur Championship
2009 Final Qualifying for the Open Championship
2007 Scottish Ladies Amateur Championship
Green Fees
The green fee to play this course in the summer is normally £75 per round. However, until the end of February 2018 fees are discounted by over 45% to £40. Better still, a 4 ball in the summer will cost you £250 but before the end of February 2018 it is reduced by 60% to £100, which equates to £25 per person! I’d book this one whilst you can!
Yardages
Back tees: 6852 yards – par 72
Men’s: 6484 yards – 72
Ladies’: 6094 – 75
Course 2 – West Kilbride Golf Club
33-35 Fullerton Drive, Seamill, West Kilbride, Ayrshire, KA23 9HT
Tel: +44 (0) 1294 823911
www.westkilbridegolfclub.com
If you ask me to dig out a hidden gem on the Ayrshire coast, then West Kilbride Golf Club is one that shouts out at me!
This 6523 yard championship links course maybe a few miles from its Ayrshire neighbours (20 mins drive to Irvine) but it is no stranger to hosting championship golf. It held the Scottish Boys’, British Girls’ and Scottish Women’s Amateur Championships in recent years.
I have no doubt that you will enjoy playing this traditional west coast championship links, as it is perfectly suited to winter golf. It is a great golf course, with breathtaking views across Irvine Bay and the Firth of Clyde, with the Isle of Arran sitting proudly in the background.
Green Fees
The green fee next summer will be £57 per round. However, until the end of March 2018 fees are at a discount of 45% to £30.
Yardages
Back tees: 6523 yards – par 71
Men’s: 6146 yards – 71
Ladies’: 5781 – 73
Course 3 – Gailes Links
www.gaileslinks.co.uk
Glasgow Golf Club opened Gailes Links in 1892. The course has hosted numerous national and international events over the years and it has been the sole Scottish Final Open Qualifying course for the last four years.
This course is one for links golf fans – intimidating bunkers, large undulating greens and fairways lined with gorse and heather, to remind you to stay on the short stuff! This setting copes well with the majority of the Scottish weather and is precisely what championship winter golf is all about.
Green Fees
A round over the summer months will cost £100 but between now and the end of March 2018, you will pay a 50% reduced rate of £50!
Yardages
Back tees: 6903 yards – par 71
Men’s: 6322 yards – 71
Ladies’: 5553 – 71
Accommodation
In order to compliment the courses above, here are some great places to stay in the area. They all vary in price and what they can offer you; so please check out their websites:
Marine Hotel – Troon
www.themarinetroon.co.uk
8 Crosbie Road, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 6HE
Tel: +44 (0) 1292 314444
Lochgreen House Hotel – Troon
www.lochgreenhouse.com
Monktonhill Road, Southwood, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 7EN
Tel: +44 (0) 1292 313 343
Piersland Hotel – Troon
www.piersland.co.uk
Craigend Road, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 6HD
Tel: +44 (0) 1292 314 747
Old Loans Inn – Troon
www.oldloansinn.co.uk
31-33 Main Street, Loans, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 7EX
Tel: +44 (0) 1294 204040
South Beach Hotel – Troon
www.southbeach.co.uk
South Beach, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 6EG
Tel: +44 (0) 1292 312033
Gailes Hotel – Irvine
www.gaileshotel.com
Marine Drive, Irvine, Ayrshire, KA11 5AE
Tel: +44 (0) 1294 204040
Waterside Hotel – West Kilbride
www.watersideayrshire.com
Ardrossan Road, West Kilbride, Ayrshire, KA23 9NG
Tel: +44 (0) 1294 824414
Seamill Hydro – West Kilbride
www.seamillhydro.co.uk
Seamill, Ayrshire KA23 9ND
Tel: +44 (0) 1294 822217
The above hotels are all around the £70-£110 per night for two sharing; the only exception is Lochgreen Hotel which is twice that price. There are many smaller hotels and B&Bs available but too many to add to this blog post. Regardless of where you stay, I would suggest booking early for this area, as it is busy most of the year with conferences, weddings and…….golfing trips!!
In terms of costs – if you were to head off as a fourball, sharing twin/double rooms, then the total for 2 nights and 3 rounds of golf would be approximately £180-£220 per person, depending when and where you stay.
Not bad, considering the golf alone would cost you more than that from May 2018 onwards!
And finally……
Whenever playing any Scottish course over the winter, here’s The Home of Golf ‘Winter Golf’ checklist that you may want to have a look at before booking – it’ll help manage expectations:
- Are fairway mats required?
- Are there any winter tees or winter greens in play?
- What condition are the greens in?
- Is there any major winter course work being carried out?
- Can we play at weekends? (many clubs restrict visitors on Saturdays to allow members to play)
- What’s the earliest/latest times for teeing off? (restricted daylight hours in winter)
- Are handicap certificates required?
- Will the clubhouse be open when we arrive or when we get back in? (restricted hours in winter)
- When does the kitchen close/last orders?
- You may want to consider teeing of a bit later, as frost can hit many courses early in the morning, resulting in the use of winter greens for the first few hours.
- Another reason for considering a later tee time is that fog/mist (haar) can also delay an early start on our coastlines particularly on the East coast.
- Take some extra layers, it can get cold out there, particularly if the wind gets up!
Green fees are substantially reduced at this time of year, which mean that if there are restricted tee times or mats required and winter greens in play, then these are the reasons for the discounted rate.
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Thanks for reading!
