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Royal Aberdeen. North Berwick. Royal Troon. St Andrews. Royal Dornoch.
You probably need no introduction to Scotland’s ancient hallowed links.
After all, the birthplace of the game is iconic for golfers everywhere.
Now it’s time to meet the next generation of legendary layouts.
In this guide, you’ll discover 10 modern links golf courses in Scotland that deserve a spot on your must-play list.
Grab your clubs.
Every golf trip to Scotland involves a certain kind of time travel.
No more so than in Aberdeenshire, where you can play high-calibre links courses built in 4 different centuries.
The latest arrivals await you at the same 5-star resort.
Laid out on a 3-mile stretch of remarkable terrain, the championship course at Trump International Scotland opened in 2012 to instant acclaim.
Martin Hawtree created yet another masterpiece.
This thrilling par-72 brings you through epic dunes, up to the heaving North Sea, and deep into hidden valleys.
Both beauty and the beast.
Certainly, Trump International ranks among the finest new links courses in Scotland.
At the same time, Hawtree’s classic out-and-back layout also honours tradition.
No wonder it’s become a favoured venue for the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship.
Helpfully, each hole offers at least 5 tees. So every golfer in your group can enjoy this unmissable experience.
Did you catch the first-ever Talking Golf Travel?
It featured a sneak peek of The Greatest 36 Holes in Golf.
At least that’s how Trump International described the combination of its championship links and the new MacLeod Course.
It’s a bold claim.
Nevertheless, the MacLeod – which opens this summer – looks otherworldly.
The course knits together sublime linksland, heathland and grassland to form a jaw-dropping layout.
Expect elevated tees, infinity greens, bottomless hollows, cavernous bunkers, and outrageous dunes at the edge of the North Sea.
Sure, it’s still too early to tell.
But the MacLeod promises to be an uncommon modern Scottish links.
Undoubtedly, you’ll relish the contrast with elder Aberdeenshire golf courses like Cruden Bay.
Next, we head west, to Ayrshire.
For generations, legendary golfers have battled for the Claret Jug on the age-old links of Ayrshire.
From Prestwick to Turnberry and Royal Troon.
Nowadays, golf lovers also flock to the sparkling Southwest to play a new generation of Scottish courses.
Chief among them is Dundonald Links.
You’re guaranteed a rip-roaring round on this masterful Kyle Philips design.
Notably, it doesn’t follow the water. But you’re never far from a burn. Or a pot bunker.
Towering pine trees that line the tumbling terrain only add to the eccentricity of this tough but fair par 72.
Unsurprisingly, since opening in 2005, Dundonald has become a top tournament venue in Scotland.
For you, it’s the spectacular stay-and-play resort on your Ayrshire golf tour.
In the Firth of Clyde, on a jagged headland overlooking the Isle of Arran and Ailsa Craig, a lighthouse stands among castle ruins.
It’s a sight for sore eyes.
And a sacred monument in Open Championship folklore.
This is Turnberry: home of the hallowed Ailsa Course.
Since 2017, Ailsa has shared the dazzling 800-acre estate with a textbook example of modern links golf courses in Scotland.
All hail King Robert the Bruce.
King Robert got the Martin Ebert treatment before being unveiled.
Already, it ranks among the best in the world.
The course takes its name from the warrior king who was born in Turnberry Castle and restored Scottish independence in 1314.
But you won’t need such an effort to conquer this breathtaking links on your adventures in Ayrshire.
New golf courses with world-famous venues for neighbours will be scrutinised more than most.
Especially in East Lothian: Scotland’s Golf Coast.
But Fidra Links at Archerfield is not most courses.
Since opening in 2004, this pristine hybrid links has more than held its own between Muirfield and North Berwick.
Your round on the Fidra unfolds across the idyllic Archerfield Estate.
Interestingly, rows of gigantic pines define the early holes that meander through sheltered woodlands. You navigate classic, windblown linksland from the 12th hole onwards.
Then it hits you.
That unforgettable sight of the Firth of Forth and Bass Rock.
It’s this winning formula of quriky design, immaculate conditioning and spellbinding scenery that always makes Fidra Links such a pleasure to play.
Did we mention that Archerfield is also where you stay?
Why Scotland’s Golf Coast?
Because, in East Lothian, a championship links waits for you behind every turn.
Craigielaw Golf Club joined this illustrious collection of courses in 2001.
Almost immediately, the Donald Steele creation started staging top-tier tournaments. Incidentally, the clubhouse is incredible.
Expect a traditional links challenge from the par-71 course at Craigielaw.
The undulating greens – flanked by crafty bunkers – will demand the very best of your short game.
And don’t let the lack of dunes fool you.
Snaking burns, stone walls, strategic bunkering, and an unforgiving rough will more than occupy you for all 6,601 yards of Craigielaw.
So will the beautiful backcloth.
Across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh and our next destination, Fife.
Welcome to the hallowed cradle of golf.
Fife is your gateway to storied icons like St Andrews, Carnoustie and Balcomie.
Elsewhere, the Kingdom counts a duo of the greatest modern links golf courses in Scotland among its subjects.
Dumbarnie Links arrived in 2020.
Only a year later, Clive Clark’s high-octane layout hosted the Women’s Scottish Open.
Indeed, at first glance, the multi-award-winning Dumbarnie has all the hallmarks of a classic championship links.
But looks can be deceiving.
Dumbarnie sits seamlessly in the natural landscape of the magical Balcarres Estate and boasts a breathtaking expanse of beachside frontage with panoramic views over the Firth of Forth.
Yet the course is entirely manufactured.
For you, the result is an exhilarating experience with wild elevations, devilish doglegs, eclectic bunkering, wide-open fairways, and generous greens.
Golf vanished from the linksland of Kingsbarns for over 50 years.
Then, in the summer of 2000, it reappeared.
Kingsbarns Golf Links became an overnight sensation.
Like Dundonald, Kyle Philips masterminded this lunar layout on the eastern shores of Fife.
Kingsbarns – despite its tender years – is a vintage Scottish links that will delight you from start to finish.
It’s a non-stop adventure along almost 2 miles of the bracing North Sea. Needless to say, the scenery at Kingsbarns is delightful.
Just be ready to navigate:
Conveniently, Kingsbarns is a short drive from St. Andrews and Carnoustie Golf Links.
So close, in fact, the venues co-host the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Talk to our team about tee times for this top-notch trio in Fife.
Seated in the glorious Scottish Highlands, Castle Stuart was once the home of the Earl of Moray.
These days, golfers know the rustic resort as Cabot Highlands.
And they know Castle Stuart as the seaside championship links that burst onto the scene in 2009.
Any new golf course co-designed by Gil Hanse tends to attract attention.
Then again, so does staging 4 Scottish Opens within 7 years of opening.
You’re in for a treat at Castle Stuart.
Carved into the serene shoreline of the Firth of Moray, the routing flows through a quilted landscape lined with vibrant gorse, heather, fescue, and broom.
Meanwhile, vast fairways, natural bunkering, rollercoaster undulations, and impeccable greens ensure endless entertainment.
In short, Castle Stuart is a triumph of modern links architecture.
Soon, it won’t be the only contemporary course you can play at Cabot Highlands.
Officially, your final modern Scottish links course doesn’t open for preview play until August 1st, 2025.
Still, as you can see, Old Petty looks sensational.
Let’s just assume this much-anticipated Tom Doak design at Cabot Highlands proves equally incredible to play. Certainly, breakdowns of Doak’s inventive layout bode well.
So, what do we know about Old Petty?
In 2023, Cabot Highlands revealed plans for a new course to complement the world-renowned Castle Stuart.
Old Petty would be a beautiful contradiction.
On the one hand, Doak promised golfers an old-school links experience. But on the other, his routing was anything but traditional.
What’s the result?
Journey to the wild, wonderful Highlands and find out for yourself.
On your travels, you’ll also uncover timless masterpieces at Tain, Narin, Brora, and Royal Dornoch.
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