Best golf courses: Scotland - North

Scotland - North: the table below provides brief details about the top golf courses in this country or region. Each golf club has been visited and/or researched by Where2Golf. Click on the course name below to discover more. The course ratings below range from 5 highest, to 2 lowest. They attempt to provide an indication of the golfing experience you might expect at the course (based on its design, condition and surroundings). Hover your cursor above the Rating Key for the rating definitions.
5-PLUS: In the world’s elite - has few peers; one of our top-rated 5s!
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Original nine-hole layout dates from 1877. Extended to 18 holes by Old Tom Morris (1886). Later improvements made by John Sutherland, Donald Ross (born in Dornoch) and J.H. Taylor.

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Parsinen & Hanse

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Mark Parsinen & Gil Hanse

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Designed by James Braid, assisted by Cecil K. Hutchison (1919).

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

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

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

James Braid

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Old Tom Morris

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
(Closed in 2019)
Dundee
Steel, Donald

Visitors?

(Closed in 2019)

Nearest city

Dundee

Designer

Donald Steel & GK Smith

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Tarbert
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Tarbert

Designer

Original design by Old Tom Morris (1891), refurbished by Gordon Irvine & Martin Ebert (2006-08).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Nicklaus, Jack

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Jack Nicklaus

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Thomas, Dave

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Dave Thomas

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Designed by James Braid, assisted by Cecil K. Hutchison (1919).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Dundee
Park Jr, Willie

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Dundee

Designer

Much of the current Montrose Links layout is credited to Willie Park Jr (1903).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Robertson, Peter

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Current course designed by Scottish course architect Peter Robertson (1936).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Dundee
Park Jr, Willie

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Dundee

Designer

Much of the current layout is credited to Willie Park Jr (1903).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Old Tom Morris

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Original design by James Braid. Extension and alterations designed by John Stark (1980).

4-star: Above average course - well worth a visit.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Original design by Dr Alister MacKenzie; substantially revised by James Braid.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

James Braid

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Tarbert
Local golfers

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Tarbert

Designer

Laid out by local golfers.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Macpherson, John

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Originally a 9-hole layout, extended to 18-holes in 1924 by its long-serving greenkeeper John Macpherson.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

James Braid designed the current layout in 1932. Golf was probably played on the Chanonry Peninsula from at least 1700 onward, and a club formed in 1793.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Dundee
Simpson & Braid

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Dundee

Designer

Original design by Bob Simpson (1895); redesigned by James Braid (1933/34), and upgraded by Martin Ebert of Mackenzie & Ebert (2015).

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Sayers, Ben

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Original design by Ben Sayers (1907). Renovation by Mike Clayton, Mike DeVries and Frank Pont (of CDP Golf Design) (2024).

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Sayers, Ben

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Current nine-hole "Old" course laid out by Ben Sayers (1913). Extended to 18-holes in 1979.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Various

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Originally laid out as Dornoch's 12-hole Ladies course (1899); later replaced by a new design (1923). Expanded to 18 holes by Donald Steel and Robin Hiseman (1999). Parts of the Struie will be revised again with the advent of the new clubhouse in 2025.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Park & Braid

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Original nine-hole course laid out by A.C. Brown (1890); extended to 18-holes by Willie Park Jr (1911) and modified by James Braid (1921).

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Braid, James

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

James Braid

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Thomas & Alliss

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Dave Thomas & Peter Alliss

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Inverness
Vardon, Harry

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Harry Vardon

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Wkends restrictd
Inverness
Smith, Fraser & Braid

Visitors?

Wkends restrictd

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

George Smith and J J Fraser with alterations made by James Braid.

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Fort William
Salvesen, Johnny

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Fort William

Designer

Johnny Salvesen designed the current course in 1993 with input from Jimmy MacDonald (head-greenkeeper at Royal Lytham at the time). They significantly revamped what had originally been a private course, played on since around 1900.

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Dundee
Morris, Old Tom

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Dundee

Designer

Original layout by Old Tom Morris of St Andrews (1871); later alterations by James Braid (1926) ... 13 of today's holes and greens are in much the same location as in Morris's original 1871 layout.

3-star: Good course – an enjoyable test for your game.
Visitors welcome
Perth
Fernie & Hutchison

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Perth

Designer

Original course designed by Willie Fernie (1908); modified by Major Cecil K. Hutchison (early-1920s).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Inverness
Steel, Donald

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Donald Steel (a coincidence that Andrew Carnegie made his fortune in steel!). Modifications by Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie & Ebert (2006).

Unrated: Well regarded course not yet visited by the Where2Golf team.
Inverness
Doak, Tom

Visitors?

Nearest city

Inverness

Designer

Tom Doak

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Tournaments

124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

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

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