Spey Valley Aviemore

About the course

Spey Valley lies on the edge of Aviemore in the Scottish Highlands, within the Cairngorms National Park, on ground beside the River Spey. The fairways run through heather, silver birch and pine, with open moorland around the course and the mountains on the skyline. It is home to one of the longest holes in Scotland: the par 5 5th measures 635 yards from the back tees, so few golfers reach the green in fewer than three shots.

The course was designed by Dave Thomas, the Welsh former tour player turned architect, and opened in 2006 as part of the Macdonald Aviemore resort. It hosted a Challenge Tour event on ten consecutive occasions from 2009 to 2018, and among the winners in that time was Brooks Koepka, who won here in 2013 on his way to the PGA Tour and his major championships.

The routing is an old-fashioned out and back, which means the wind usually helps on one half and hurts on the other. Water comes into play on several holes, so the line off the tee often has to allow for water as well as the trees. The 8th is a sharp dogleg left through woodland, with out of bounds waiting for anyone who tries to cut too much of the corner, and the 16th is a long par 3 of more than 200 yards with water to the right. Heather is the main penalty for a missed drive, and from the forward tees the course becomes a much more manageable length.

Why we recommend it

Spey Valley offers a full Highland setting, with the River Spey beside several holes and the Cairngorm mountains as a backdrop. It is a long, demanding course from the back tees and has hosted European Challenge Tour events, but the forward tees make it playable for most handicaps. Part of the Macdonald Aviemore resort, about 50 km south of Inverness, it is a good stop between Edinburgh or Perthshire and the courses around Dornoch.

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