Machrihanish (Championship)

About the course

Machrihanish Golf Club lies near the southern tip of Kintyre in Argyll, a few miles west of Campbeltown, where the links runs along the sweep of Machrihanish Bay and faces the open Atlantic. On a clear day the islands of Islay and Jura are visible across the water, and the course has a natural, barely shaped look, as if the holes were simply found among the dunes.

The club was founded in 1876 as the Kintyre Golf Club, and Old Tom Morris extended the original layout to eighteen holes in 1879, remarking that the land seemed designed for golf. J.H. Taylor made alterations in 1914, and Sir Guy Campbell made the last significant changes in the 1940s.

The front nine is generally seen as the stronger half, a sequence of holes that wander through the dunes with blind shots and sudden views. At the third, the drive is played blind over the sixteenth green before the fairway opens out with the Paps of Jura on the horizon, and the fourth is a short par 3 to a small, well-defended green.

The back nine has its own quirks, including par 5s at the tenth and twelfth and consecutive par 3s at the fifteenth and sixteenth. The course is not long, at a little over 6,200 yards, but par 70 is hard to match when the Atlantic wind blows. The turf is firm and fast, and the bounce of the ball across the humps and hollows is a large part of the game here.

Why we recommend it

Machrihanish is a journey to the end of the Kintyre peninsula, and the opening tee shot across the beach of Machrihanish Bay sets the tone for a round through wild, natural dunes. It feels remote and unspoilt, which is exactly its appeal for golfers who have already played the famous names. The short flight from Glasgow to Campbeltown saves a long drive, and Machrihanish Dunes and Dunaverty nearby make a few days here worthwhile.

Photo gallery

Video