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You probably know all about Scotland’s legendary links.
After all, the birthplace of the game is iconic for golfers everywhere.
Now it’s time to discover the magnificent modern links golf courses in Scotland that often fly under the radar.
Every golf trip to Scotland involves a certain kind of time travel.
No more so than in Aberdeenshire, where you can play links courses built in 4 different centuries.
You’ll find the latest arrivals in 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 find it the perfect complement for elder Aberdeenshire golf courses like Cruden Bay.
Next, we head west, to Ayrshire.
For generations, golfers have battled for Open Championship glory on the legendary 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, however, 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.
You’ll also find a perfect example of modern links golf courses in Scotland.
All hail King Robert the Bruce.
King Robert the Bruce got the Martin Ebert treatment before being unveiled in 2017.
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.
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’ll 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.
From 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.
Unmissable.
Golf vanished from the linksland of Kingsbarns for over 50 years. Finally, at the dawn of the 21st century, 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 is delightful.
Just be ready to navigate:
Kingsbarns is just a short drive from St. Andrews and Carnoustie Golf Links.
In fact, the venues have co-hosted the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since 2001. Talk to our team about visiting this top-notch trio.
In the untamed Scottish Highlands, on the banks of Moray Firth, sits a tower house that has stood since 1625.
Castle Stuart was once the residence of the Earl of Moray.
These days, the picturesque property is known as Cabot Highlands.
And the name Castle Stuart is synonymous with the world-class modern links golf courses in Scotland.
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