No 34 - Machrihanish
Top 100 golf courses: Machrihanish
34 MACHRIHANISH
Architect: T Morris
2006 position: 22
Stats: 6,235 yds; par 70; SSS 71
GF: £25-£90
T: 01586 810213
W: machgolf.com
The course at Machrihanish may have one of the most famous and dramatic opening tee shots in British golf, but it is also one of the hardest to get to by road.
The first eight holes are outstanding, and the back nine starts well with two monumental par 5s at 10 and 12.
However, the closing stretch is perhaps a little less memorable, especially the final two.
It may cost you a little in terms of both time and money just getting to this remote links, but the rewards are well worth the effort and all for a very modest green fee.
The journey down does instil a real feeling of anticipation. SP
+ Spectacular setting; world-famous 1st hole played across the Atlantic
- Relatively inaccessible; closing holes weaken the overall package
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Reader comments
Add your commentsNovember 13 15:12
STEVEN KEMLO
Played here in one of the clubs opens it was £15 worth of purgatory ,this is one mean course so much so i think this is my favoutite course i've played.
The day we played it , it was raining hard and 30 mph winds right into our face on the first with a daunting tee shot ove the sea after nailing one over then nailing a 3 wood then 6 iron found myself on the front of the green its only 425 yards this was to the tone for the day the way this course winds its way around with no two holes the same is incredible the only down side is the last two holes which are in my opinion not in character with the course.
My favourite hole was the 5th a blind tee shot to the right hand side of the fairway then a mid iron brought my first par of the day, all in all well worth the 4hour drive to get there.
November 13 15:36
Iain Ross
I agree with the comments about the first 8 holes.......18 holes like those would be magnificent. A short cut to Machrihanish is to go via Arran which has 7 gems of courses of it's own. Best of all is 12 hole Shiskine Golf & Tennis Club at Blackwaterfoot which in the past has made it into the Golf Monthly top 100. Combine any 9 of these 12 holes with the first 8 at Machrihanish and the 13th with it's reverse sloping green and that would be something really special.
Hope Shiskine gets back in the top 100 again soon. One new course that is sure to feature soon will be the new Castle Stuart course on the coast by Inverness designed by the Kingsbarns course designer. Expect it to go into the 100 even above Kingsbarns soon. Spectacular!