The Nairn Golf Club

Seabank Road,

Nairn, Highland & Moray IV12 4HB

  • Office

    +44 (0)1667 453 208
  • Pro shop

    +44 (0)1667 452 787
  • Fax

    +44 (0)1667 456 328
  • Golf pro

    Murray Urquhart

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Seaside links. Relatively flat terrain (except for 3 holes) - easy to walk.

  • Surroundings:

    Coastal duneland.

  • Designer:

    Original layout by Old Tom Morris. Later modifications made by James Braid, Tom Simpson and Ben Sayers (1920).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
6774
6140
5735
Par
72
71
75
SSS or slope
73
71
75

At the same location:

Above distances are for the championship course. Also at Nairn GC is the 9-hole Cameron course (par-29; 1,634 yds).

Location

Latitude:

57.587201

Longitude:

-3.894911

How to get there:

15 miles NE of Inverness

From the centre of Nairn head west on the A96 direction Inverness. After o.5 miles turn right (in front of Nairn Old Parish Church) into Seabank Road. After o.7 miles golf entrance is in front of you.

The Nairn Golf Club

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.

Est. 1887

The Nairn Golf Club: Nestling on the shores of the beautiful Moray Firth, lies one of Scotland's flagship seaside golf courses. Though relatively flat during its opening and closing sections, this classic links layout ranks high on the list of the country's most scenic courses. Ever-present are pleasing panoramas out onto the Firth and across to the soft hills of the Black Isle, and inland to distant Highland peaks.

The first seven holes of this out-and-back layout hug the Firth's shoreline, creating a lateral water hazard on your rightside that stretches for a mile-and-a-half of your outward journey. If you do leak your tee-shots too far right, you'll be comforted to know the beach is not out-of-bounds; it's an integral part of the course. From the 7th green at the end of the opening beachside stretch, the view back along the coast to the clubhouse in the far distance is one to savour.

In addition to the beach, also adding to the challenges are water ditches at the par-4 2nd, 16th and 17th holes, plenty of gorse (whins) and an abundance of stylish ball-swallowing pot bunkering. The only real departure from the layout's gently undulating easy-walking terrain, comes courtesy of the excellent uphill par-4 13th. No sooner are you at the top of the hill (with more views to savour), than the long par-3 14th and short par-4 15th bring you back down again to rejoin the main seaside flow of the course.

If played into a northerly wind, Nairn's closing 4-4-5 stretch may add considerably more than 13 shots to your card. In such a wind, your ball will be blown towards gorse bushes that line the rightside of this closing trio; invariably the further left you aim the further right your ball will be blown.

For well over a century, golfers have enjoyed not only Nairn's views, but its excellent presentation and full array of golfing challenges. Here you'll need some accurate driving between the whins (especially in the middle part of the course), an ability to escape from mischievous pot bunkers that throng the greens, and a deft touch with the putter to tame Nairn's wonderfully firm, fast and true greens.

List of courses: Scotland - North

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance. Proof of handicap required.

Green fees

Visitor fee, 18-holes in high season (all days): May thru' Sept £199; April & Oct: £137.

Contact club for full details, discounts, packages, 2-round tickets, combination tickets with Nairn Dunbar, packages, etc. [Last updated: 2023].

Other information

Players generally walk this course. Caddies available and should be booked in advance.

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

Nairn has hosted many prestigious tournaments, including the Amateur Championship, British Ladies Amateur, Scottish Amateur, Scottish Ladies, British Boys and Boys Internationals. Perhaps the most celebrated of all in recent years was the 1999 Walker Cup, when the GB&I team notched up a convincing win against the ten best amateur golfers from the United States. For more details see Top Golf Tournaments at Nairn Golf Club.

Published ranking

Scotland's 25th best course (Golf World, 2022).
Britain & Ireland's 70th best course (Golf World, 2022).

Where2Stay

  • Golf View Hotel4-star

    63 Seabank Rd, Nairn, Highlands IV12 4RX

    +44 (0)1667 452 301

    Visit website

    The Golf View Hotel and Leisure Club is situated overlooking the Moray Firth with gardens leading down to the seashore and is just 16 miles from Inverness. Many of the 42 bedrooms are sea-facing with traditional interiors that provide you an exceptionally comfortable place in which to stay. A member of the Crerar group of hotels.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Nairn (o.5 km); Nairn Dunbar

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Castle Stuart; Inverness

  • Claymore House Hotel

    45 Seabank Rd, Nairn IV12 4EY

    +44 (0)1667 453 731

    Visit website

    Claymore House is an elegant Victorian villa comprising 13 individually decorated en suite rooms. Located less than a mile from Nairn Golf Club, this comfortable and classically Scottish hotel includes The Snug - a TV-room adjacent to the bar, where you can catch-up on sports events around the world on Sky TV.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Nairn (1 km); Nairn Dunbar

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Castle Stuart; Inverness

Find a course

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Chevron Championship: the women’s major championship season gets underway for the second year at its new Carlton Woods home outside Houston, Texas. World No.2 Lilia Vu defends (April 18-21).

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Scottie Scheffler: narrowly missed out on matching Nelly Korda’s three-in-three, when he placed second at the Houston Open. This followed back-to-back wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players. Like Korda, he remains comfortably ahead in the official world golf rankings.

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Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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