Explore Scotland's Golfing Alternatives
SIGTOA
Golf in Scotland has always been about enjoying unique experiences, but the past 25 years have seen an explosion in playing golf “differently”.
This page looks at just some of the more unique ways to play visitor golf in Scotland and how the tour operators have tailored their offerings to meet the increased demand for experiential golf travel. Read more about The Open Qualifying Courses, Island Golf, The North Coast 500 Golf Route and how about some whisky with your golf as a mixer!
If you're interested in exploring some of the lesser travelled golf trails across Scotland please leave your contact details by clicking the link below and we shall ensure that you receive the correct information from our member tour operators.
Whatever they may be named, be it hidden gems, jewels or unspoilt golfing nuggets, one thing is for sure they are now a lot less hidden they were at the turn of the millennium!
Scotland has always offered an awful lot more than the Open Championship links and other A list courses, but they have understandably dominated the destination marketing landscape. However, since the turn of the millennium the strategy has increasingly moved towards highlighting the options open throughout the country and the focus on the merits of going a little rogue with the course selection has exploded.
Twenty-five years ago, it may have been impossible to add a lesser-known course to an itinerary or to move many golfers from the bucket list courses but the dynamic has shifted and whilst the demand for the top courses is still outstripping supply there is a growing percentage of organised visitor golf being played across the country.
The (marketing) phrase “experiential travel” has permeated the lexicon and as a consequence of social media influencers and shared experiences from friends and family, Scotland’s lesser-known golf courses have reached audiences that traditional marketing methods could never have touched.
The result now is a more dynamic golf tour operator base who are continuously exploring their own new options for next year’s tours and programmes and recognising that there is another marketing that enjoys golf but wants to experience the rest of Scotland from beyond the confines of their tour bus!
The new golf breaks and programmes will adapt and adopt; festival tickets, history and heritage stops, whisky distillery tours, exploration of Scotland’s larder, quality retail experiences and possibly most importantly space between rounds of golf to allow Scotland to be enjoyed rather than passed through.
These new itineraries are embracing the far flung and the quirky, there are island golf trips and some magnificent city centre stays with golf on the doorstep. It is always about marrying the Scottish golf experience with the wider cultural opportunities. Scotland, perhaps like no other destination on the planet can combine both so seamlessly.
So, whilst your tour operator is going to be the very best at arranging that ten-day tour across Scotland’s Open Championship Links, they will also be pretty handy when it comes to showcasing what else is on offer. It is still a golf vacation however and the collective and eclectic knowledge of SIGTOA’s members comes into its own when you want to explore the regional and local options that Scotland offers.
SIGTOA’s members share a Scottish base but they are well spread across the country and their knowledge of the courses is without a doubt second to none. If golf courses and hotels wish to showcase their products and services SIGTOA are a must go to and as a result members’ first-hand experience is invaluable and most importantly expanding. The creativity of the members can be seen with their tour offerings; you will find golf passes, multi day golf events and competitions, charity and corporate days all created and nurtured with care and imagination. In fact, one of the operators said that it was the off the beaten track tours that allowed them to shine and express their personalities. Something the Chat GPT will never replace?
Where would you start? Or end for that matter! That’s the beauty and flexibility of Scotland; you can start with an idea – The North Coast 500 for instance – and before you know it you’ve combined it with five rounds of golf on the journey!
You want to but a whisky cask from the distillery? Then you realise that you’ve turned it into an island golf hopping vacation!
Delving into half a century of “experiential golf” in Scotland deserves a full blow book but for the purposes of brevity maybe a short description of just a few of the chapters would be a start. Then let your imagination go and get in touch with one of the tour operators and get ready for the trip of a lifetime.
The Open Qualifiers
In the good old days before The Open took place there was a local qualifying competition played over four courses in the area. 36-holeshout out for a fixed number of spaces at each course. It’s much missed in my opinion but the list of courses around each Open venue provide a series of trips. Search out some true golfing gems, Troon and Turnberry used Bogside, Western Gailes, Gailes Links, Barassie amongst others. Muirfield had Gullane, Longniddry and Kilspindie and more. St Andrews used Scotscraig, Ladybank and Lundin Links and more; Carnoustie made use of Monifieth, Panmure and Montrose.
Ask your operator about playing the Open Championship Qualifying Courses and be prepared for a treat.
(Image courtesy of Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club
Ayrshire, Arran and Argyll
South west Scotland doesn’t just offer the Open Championship courses but with its unique ferry links between the mainland of Ayrshire, the isle of Arran and the Argyll peninsula it is quite possible to create one of the most perfectly rounded golf vacations around. Combine it with whisky visits and you’re quid’s in! Play some of the lesser-known North Ayrshire course – West Kilbride or Bogside – then take the ferry across to the Isle of Arran and you find seven very different golf courses and the most beautiful island. From the west of the isle, you can then take the very short ferry over to Argyll and head south to Dunaverty near Campbeltown or across to Machrihanish. Further ambition and you can be on Islay the next day for more golf and whisky. Wonderful trip.
(Image courtesy of Machrihanish Dunes)
The North Coast 500
This was one that just had to be tried! The NC500 has become Scotland’s must do road trip along 500 miles of the north coast of Scotland; as a stand-alone trip it actually is mind bindingly beautiful (we travelled in autumnal October) but if you add golf along the way and a little more time, it becomes even more amazing! We did Fortrose and Rosemarkie, Brora, Wick, Durness and Gairloch but there are around twenty courses on the route including Royal Dornoch. Worth the time and effort!
(Image of Durness Golf Club courtesy of Plan B Digital)
The Speyside Malts and Golf
The River Spey provides the water for some of the finest malts in Scotland but it’s hills, mountains and coast also offer some wonderful golfing challenges and perhaps some o0fn the most spectacularly placed green and tees you’ll find anywhere.
We may be stretching the term Speyside a little by including the Cairngorm courses of Grantown on Spey, Boat of Garten, Kingussie and Newtonmore but they are all still within reach of the more northern courses at Elgin, Moray and Forres for example. The area really does provide a seven-day escape with no duplication of styles and those mountain views!
(Image Elgin Castle courtesy of VisitScotland)
City Golf Breaks
Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and of course the Capital city of Edinburgh all offer some great opportunities for a city centre break near the airports with some superb golf. Explore the options with your tour operator but we recently had four nights in Edinburgh city centre and enjoyed great golf at the historic Royal Burgess on the west of the city and the unbelievably panoramic public course at Braid Hills. You can see most of the east of Scotland from the top of those hills! Short journey back to the hotel and we were out to the Grassmarket and enjoying the Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. Wonderful golf and city escape.
(Image courtesy of Royal Burgess Golf Club)
These are only five of my personal chapters; between them the SIGTOA operators are now onto volume five. Go and explore what Scotland can offer you, your friends and your family.
For more information why not explore the rest of the SIGTOA website and have a look at the list of SIGTOA Tour Operators or drop us your contact details and we'll put you in touch with the operator to suit you.
A truly awe inspiring piece of the golfing world encompassing the links around Aberdeen, the Moray Coast, Speyside, Inverness-shire, Highlands and Islands and as far up as the North Coast 500. Majestic.
Perhaps the finest stretch of almost unbroken links golf courses you would find anywhere in the world with three Open Championship courses, island golf and wonderfully quiet gems on the south west corner of the country.
Perhaps the number one wish list destination for the golfer worldwide - the area radiates outwards from the magnet of St Andrews and Fife to cover the links courses of Angus to the north and Perthshire to the west.
Edinburgh, The Lothians and the Borders make up this areas and offers up the magnificent links south of Edinburgh in East Lothian through to challenging parkland and city layouts.
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