This beguiling links with a magical allure and captivating front nine is blessed with stunning views out to the islands of Jura, Islay and Gigha
Machrihanish Golf Club Championship Course Review
Top 100 Ranking 2021/22 – 64
Previous Rankings
2019/20 – 56
2017/18 – 53
2015/16 – 50
2013/14 – 50
2011/12 – 37
2009/10 – 32
Summer Green Fees
Round: £45-£75
Visitor Times: 9am to noon and then 13.22 onwards – tee times available online
Medal Tee: Par 70 – 6,226 Yards
Website: www.machgolf.com
Changes since previous ranking
No significant changes advised.
Machrihanish Golf Club Championship Course Review
For many, the Old Tom Morris course at Machrihanish, away from it all on the Kintyre Peninsula, is a ‘must visit’ links in the same bracket as Royal Dornoch 240 miles north-east.
This Old Tom Morris links is as natural as they come (Photo: Kevin Murray)
Anyone who has made the journey will testify that it is one well worth making for way more than the chance to finally stand on the famous 1st tee and gaze across the beach to the curving fairway beyond.
Related: Top 100 Courses UK and Ireland
Machrihanish is far from a ‘best 1st hole in golf’ one-trick pony, though. The links terrain is among the most natural you will encounter anywhere.
There’s a stretch of truly memorable and hugely enjoyable holes through the tumbling dunes from the 3rd all the way to the turn, all the while accompanied by stirring views out to the Inner Hebrides.
That 3rd hole is a particularly splendid par 4 played to a well-bunkered green with those distant islands on the horizon.
The 3rd starts a run of incredible holes through the dunes (Photo: Kevin Murray)
Perfect terrain for golf
After the turn, there are still great holes aplenty a little further from the shore, with the 232-yard par-3 16th a bit of a shock to the system late on, especially if you encounter it in to the wind and are standing there with driver in hand, doubting even that is enough!
Yes, the short par-4 finale may not be the strongest finishing hole around, but golf is a game of give and take, so the chance of a closing birdie will be very welcome if you have succumbed to the 16th. Not every course has to finish with a severe test, with Machrihanish very much in the Prestwick mould on this front.
There are views out to the Inner Hebrides for much of the front nine (Photo: Kevin Murray)
Indeed, Prestwick is a good comparison, and not just for that and the Old Tom Morris connection. Machrihanish is very much a reminder of the early art of laying out a course to fit the existing terrain rather than adjusting the terrain to suit the designer’s desires – a layout as natural as they come.
In 2018 a devastating clubhouse fire, which razed the building to the ground, sent the club reeling. But the silver cloud will be a new purpose-built 21st-century clubhouse due to open in 2021.
Yet more good reason to visit this magical links that, in some ways, provides a living link to the game’s past. Machrihanish is good for the soul, no matter how you play.
Assessor Feedback
It’s something of a pilgrimage to reach the Kintyre peninsula and connoisseurs who make it are well-rewarded.
A stunning location, which the front nine takes full advantage of.
Excellent use of the land for the vast majority of the course, with vast swathes of marram grass set on bank upon bank of windswept dunes.
GM Verdict
This beguiling links with a magical allure and captivating front nine is blessed with stunning views out to the islands of Jura, Islay and Gigha.
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