Machrihanish Golf Club Championship Course Review

Nov 27, 2018

With stunning views to the islands of Jura, Islay and Gigha, it's a captivatingly beautiful place to play golf

Machrihanish Golf Club Championship Course Review

Green Fee Range: £55-£75

Medal Tee: Par 70 – 6,226 Yards

Visitor Times: 9:00, noon and 13:22 onwards – tee times available online

Website: www.machgolf.com

Machrihanish Golf Club Championship Course Review

Old Tom Morris extended this famous Kintyre links from 12 to 18 holes in 1879, and in so doing created one of golf’s most iconic opening holes where you drive across the beach. Machrihanish is almost as ruggedly natural now as it was then.

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Innumerable books and articles over the years have extolled the virtues of one particular golf hole or another as one of the finest of its type in golf.

Machrihanish has one such offering, and it comes right at the very beginning. The 1st hole, The Battery, is played from behind the pro shop at the edge of the beach.

The golfer has to decide how much sand, or depending on the tide, how much of the sea, he is willing and able to take on.

It’s a thrilling start, and when negotiated successfully, extremely rewarding. The 2nd is also special, played over a meandering burn up to a raised green with bunkers waiting short and left.

A view of the 1st at Machrihanish (Getty Images)

The thrills of the opening two continue throughout the front nine with the 5th a tough hole played to a sloping fairway.

The back nine is perhaps a little less exciting, but it still has plenty of charm. Unusually, there are back-to-back short holes late on in the round, but they are very different from one another.

Although the drive down to Machrihanish from Glasgow may take a little while, it’s extremely pretty and more than worth the effort.

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