Ayrshire’s coastline boasts some of the best and most spectacular links courses in the world as well as some truly hidden gems.
This traditional golf destination on Scotland’s west coast can claim that modern major golf was born here. The very first Open Championship was staged at Prestwick Golf Club in 1860, known in the rest
of the world as British Open.
Two courses in Ayrshire, Royal Troon and Turnberry are still on the rota of the most prestigious golf championship in the world. Along the
coastline, from Irvine Bogside in the north to Turnberry further south a selection of classical links courses offering Scottish hospitality.
Ayrshire courses have jointly created
six golf passes
Some of Ayrshire’s finest courses have joined together to create six different passes which offer entry into golf heaven at very good prices.
More importantly these passes will cater for any budget, from five-star luxury on famous British Open venues to exploring some of the lesser known championship tracks.
If you are staying in Ayrshire for more than a couple of rounds of golf there are several great value golf packages. By picking up one of the areas’s six golf passes there are some significant discounts on green fees.
Ayrshire Links Experience
Ayrshire Links Experience includes Dundonald Links, Barassie Links and the Irvine Golf Club that have teamed up to offer you golf at three of the best links courses in Ayrshire.
The courses are 15 minutes from each other .Dundonald hosted the Scottish Open of the European Tour and European Ladies Tour (LET) a couple of times. This master piece of American golf architect Kyle Philips is already on the bucket list of many golf connoisseurs.
Irvine Golf Club in Bogside was designed by five-time Open champion James Braid, and is set in a seaside location whilst the romantic peaks of Arran present a stunning backdrop to the landscape.
The Irvine Golf Club was established in 1887, and is regularly used by the R&A as a Final Open Qualifying Course.
Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club, located on the outskirts of Troon, has 27 holes to test the golfer offers everything golfers would expect from a Scottish seaside golf course with challenging fairways and greens as well as a friendly, welcoming membership.
The Ayrshire Open Qualifier Card
The Ayrhire Open Qualifier Card provides four past Open Championship final qualifying courses at Barassie, Irvine Bogside, Prestwick St. Nicholas (pictured at the top of the article) and Dundonald Links.
Testing holes, warm welcomes and good old Scottish hospitality combined to make this three (or four) round golf card delivering savings of up to 30 percent on four courses that were used for past Open qualifying.
Gailes Golf Experience
For the Gailes Golf Experience the neighboring championship courses of Dundonald Links, Gailes Links and Western Gailes have joined to deliver three rounds of golf on some of the best traditional links courses in Scotland in a single package.
Visitors can be sure that they will enjoy the undulating fairways, tight lies, slick greens and West Coast scenery. Western Gailes, established in 1897, lies on a narrow strip of land between the railway line and the sea and is a great test of most of the shots in your bag.
Gailes Links has hosted major championship tournaments through the years and was designed by legendary golf architect Willie Park Jr. of Musselburgh. It was opened in 1892 by Glasgow Golf Club, the 9th oldest golf club in the world.
Its West Coast setting and fabulous condition makes it ideal for summer and winter golf in Scotland. It is a world class links course which attracts players from every corner of the globe.
New Links of Ayrshire
To create the New Links of Ayrshire three of Scotland’s most prestigious venues have combined forces to offer the only package that includes guaranteed times on three of Ayrshire’s finest links courses.
The Turnberry hotel is an iconic and revered destination, a landmark in Ayrshire and in world golf for over 110 years.
With a long and illustrious history, it first opened its doors in 1906. Over the last century, Turnberry has hosted a range of prestigious golf tournaments including Open Championships, Senior Open Championships, Amateur Championships and, most recently, the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
Golf South Ayrshire
Golf South Ayrshire has a variety of different golf passes to suit a golfers budget and preferred golfing experience over eight of the finest municipal courses in Scotland for only £ 190: Darley, Lochgreen, Fullarton, Dalmilling, Givan, Seafield, Belleisle and Maybole.
Open Links of Ayrshire
Open Links of Ayrshire is the only package that includes guaranteed times on all of Ayrshire’s Open Links courses.
With this unique package, enjoy a two night stay in the exquisite surroundings of Turnberry’s iconic hotel and play all three Championship courses with breakfast both mornings and dinner for one evening.
Founded in 1851, Prestwick Golf Club introduced the world to the Open Championship by hosting the inaugural tournament in 1860. Prestwick had the distinct honor of hosting the first twelve Opens, with a further twelve over the years, cementing this club in true golfing history.
Royal Troon has hosted the Open Championship on nine occasions, Prestwick had the distinct honor of hosting the first 12 Opens, with a further 12 over the years, cementing this club in true golfing history.
Royal Troon has hosted the Open Championship on nine occasions, Its most recent was in 2016, where it created its own duel in the sun between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson.
The Ailsa coursehas been the proud host of the Open four times, and was the setting for the famous Watson and Nicklaus ‘Duel in the Sun’ in 1977.
More information: www.ayrshiregolfscotland.com
