Gailes Links is a fine links golf course, based on the western coast of Scotland, in the same region as Ayr, Royal Troon and Prestwick, a golfing paradise.

It is a true test of your golfing ability, both long and narrow at times and with wispy rough and plenty of bunkers, you never have a moment’s rest.

Add to that the wind coming off the sea and the railway line that runs along the side of the golf course, and it is an incredible place to spend an afternoon playing 18 holes.
 

Book to play on the NCG Top 100s Tour at Gailes Links.
Visit Gailes Links' website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.

Gailes Links' history starts well before the course and club were founded. It goes back to the Glasgow Golf Club, which was first founded in 1787. A century on, and its members started looking for a second site to play as the golf club was becoming too crowded.

They eventually settled on the land that Gailes Links now calls home, with the club being founded in 1892. Two years later, trains started stopping outside the club to make it easier for golfers to get to the course on the Glasgow-Ayr line.

Willie Fernie was also brought in to revamp the course and update its lay-out at around the same time, with Willie Park Jr redesigning the course shortly before the First World War. The lay-out remains as he drew it up to this day, only with some of the holes being lengthened to deal with improving technology in clubs and balls.

The oldest open amateur strokeplay event in golf takes place at Gailes Links each year - the Tennant Cup. The club has also played host to the Home Internationals, Scottish Amateur and PGA Championships, and has been a host of Final Qualifying for the Open Championship as well.

Gailes Links is a par-71, 6,903 yard course laid out by several of the greats over the years. Willie Fernie designed the original lay-out, with Willie Park Jr then making changes to it in 1912. That lay-out remains to this day.

The course opens with a gentle dog-leg left par-4, with the clubhouse on your right hand side as you tee off. Out of bounds from the driving range also comes into play further down the hole, but a fairway wood or long iron should leave a short iron or wedge into a large green. Birdie on the first?

The 2nd is 400 yards from the back tees, before you come to the hardest hole on the property, the 467 yard par-4 3rd. A slight dog-leg to the right with three strategically placed bunkers down the left side of the fairway, beware of all the heather down the right as you steer clear of the bunkers. The tough holes keep coming, as the 4th is the longest par-4 at Gailes Links, measuring over 470 yards. The hole is arrow straight with several bunkers guarding it from fairway to green. 

The par-5 5th runs the opposite way, with the 4th on its left. That is the safer miss on this 593-yard hole. Don’t go right, as you’ll struggle to find your ball in the thick heather and gorse. The first par-3 on the course measures in at just 152 yards before the par-4 7th takes you away to the far corner of the property. Two short par-4s bring the front nine to a close, both of which provide birdie opportunities. 

The back nine then kicks off with two par-4s which are both over 400 yards, before the par-3 12th measures 220 yards from the back tees. A thin green awaits, with a bunker on the front left and front right. Another reachable par-4 for the big hitters follows, as 330 yards, but beware if you go for the green, as there are six bunkers guarding it, five being pot bunkers in a line down the right side. 

The par-5 14th plays at over 560 yards, and requires a blind approach to the green. A par is a very good score considering there is some guesswork on your second or third shots. The 152 yard 15th is the last par-3 on the golf course, as Gailes Links concludes with three 400+ yard par-4s. Don’t go right off the tee on 16, as you’ll find yourself on the railway track and having to tee up again. The track runs all the way down the right side of the 16th. Coming home, the last two par-4s are tricky but can yield opportunities. Par both and you’ll be happy walking back into the clubhouse.

Gailes Links is located in a truly wonderful region for golf, on the western coast of Scotland, just north of Ayr. The likes of Dundonald Links, Ayr, Kilmarnock, Royal Troon and Prestwick are within a stones throw in this golfing paradise.

Ayr is the nearest city, located just 15 miles south from Gailes Links. Glasgow is just a 45 minute drive, with Glasgow Airport, the biggest in the region, also being a similar distance for international visitors to the region.

During the summer months, a green fee at Gailes Links is £145. If you bring a four-ball to the links, it will cost the group £460, working out to £115 per person, making it £30 cheaper as a four than if you were to come individually.

A four-ball playing in the afternoon, after 2pm, would only cost £320, working out at just £80 per person, a bargain for such a high quality test of golf.

Book to play on the NCG Top 100s Tour at Gailes Links.
Visit Gailes Links' website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.