The King's Course at Gleneagles, located in Auchterarder, Scotland, is a stunning golfing location. As one of three courses at the Gleneagles Resort, it offers a challenge to all golfers.

Created by James Braid and opened in 1919, the King's Course is a masterpiece of golf course design, which has tested the skills of golfers, both professional and amateur.

With a rich history of hosting prestigious tournaments and its timeless design philosophy, the King's Course stands as a testament to the beauty and enduring appeal of classic Scottish golf.


Book to play on the NCG Top 100s Tour at the Kings Course at Gleneagles.
Visit the Gleneagles website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.

The King's Course was designed by James Braid, a legendary Scottish golfer, five-time winner of the Open Championship and course architect. The course was officially opened for play in 1919, just after World War I, as part of the Gleneagles Hotel and Golf Resort. Its construction and design were influenced by the desire to create a course that would be both enjoyable and challenging for golfers of all skill levels.

Over the years, the King's Course has hosted several prestigious tournaments and events. In 1936, the King's Course hosted the Curtis Cup, a women's amateur golf competition between teams from the United States and Great Britain and Ireland. This event brought attention to the course and showcased its beauty to a global audience. 

The King's Course was the venue for the Scottish Open in 1987 and 1999, attracting top professional golfers from around the world. These tournaments further solidified the course's reputation as a championship layout.

Like many classic golf courses, the King's Course has undergone periodic renovations and maintenance to keep it in top condition while preserving its original design philosophy. These updates have included improvements to drainage systems, bunker refurbishments, and tree management.

The Gleneagles King's Course has left a lasting legacy in the world of golf. Its historical significance, architectural excellence, and its ability to provide an enjoyable yet challenging round of golf continue to attract golfers from around the world.

The King's, the premier course at Gleneagles, itself the premier resort in not just Britain but across all of Europe, opens with an all-world classic. Under 400 yards and with an invitingly wide fairway to hit with your first swing of the day, it takes something fairly ugly not to feel ‘in’ the hole after your drive. But while the tee shot is forgiving, the second is a devious challenge, the acutely elevated approach played to a target atop a hill so steep that it would never be the site for a green today. It would be at least partly flattened.

It is predictably easy to come up short and run up a quick six on this par 4, but the view from the elevated 2nd tee can help soothe any angst. It offers an especially good panorama across the glens and now is a much more inviting shot by virtue of the increased playability the resort has been promoting, with rough on the left here being cut back to provide a much wider target.

"The Kings course is what made Gleneagles famous and I think we are on the right journey to make it even greater." - director of golf Gary Silcock, formerly of The Belfry and La Manga, tells NCG.

Indeed under the new ownership of the Ennismore, Gleneagles has been on a curve of improvement. For those who visited previously, that will seem basically impossible to actually do, but it genuinely is notably even better these days. It has extended across the resort, from refurbished restaurants and bars to starting the hotel’s own food range. The courses, naturally, have been part of this investment.

"The King's would not be designed that way now with modern equipment, so golfers get to play the ‘old way’ and I think we are managing the course and experience just as it was always supposed to be," Silcock said.

The courses have been on a journey for all of them to play different. Previously, they were all maintained in the same manner and just different in length and topography. In the last few years they have evolved. The first major change was bunkering on the Queen's and King's; new bunker liner allowed bunkers to revert to how James Braid designed them. The reduced man hours in maintenance allowed the team to move fairways back to the original design and there is 40 per cent more to hit now.

The stellar first par 3 to a table top green at 5, the part-blind drive at 7, the cool short 8th and the down and up 9th then complete a hard-to-beat front nine.

The fairways on the King's and Queen's have now had more focus in cut height (8mm) to provide tight lies as you would play on a links, while this also provides longer drives, something our members have enjoyed. With the ball now running, the bunkers that once were in the rough our now in the fairway are getting more use.

"We now feel that all three courses offer something different for everyone, all three have always been world class but now they look and feel different."

After the stellar opening pair, highlights come quickly on the King’s, Scotland’s finest inland venue. The rollercoaster 3rd is the next, with a fairway dominated by large mounds and deep hollows then a marker post to fire your approach towards given the green that is totally obscured by a high ridge. 

The classy first par 3 to a table top green at 5, the part-blind drive at 7, the cool short 8th and the down-and-up 9th then complete a hard-to-beat front nine. It is matched by a high-calibre closing stretch. The 13th is called ‘Braid’s Brawest’, the name he used to give his favourite hole; here it is a strong par 4 with a fascinating S-shaped fairway across the glacial terrain. Next comes the all-world classic of 14 – one of the most brilliant sporty two-shotters in Scotland – which is a downhill bunker-dominated hole and then a cute par 3 to an angled narrow green guarded by nine bunkers takes you to the strategic sloping 17th.
 

The grandeur of the hotel is now in full view as you steer your last drive down the deeply corrugated fairway before returning to the flat landscape alongside the 1st for the final putt of the day. As Trevino said, “If heaven is as good as this, I sure hope they have some tee times left”

The Gleneagles King's Course is located at the Gleneagles Hotel and Golf Resort in Auchterarder, Perthshire, Scotland. It is situated in the picturesque Scottish countryside, making it a popular destination for golfers seeking a classic Scottish golf experience in a beautiful natural setting.

The surrounding Perthshire countryside is ideal for hiking, with numerous trails and paths that offer stunning views of the landscape. Nearby attractions include Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument, and the town of Perth, each offering a glimpse into Scotland's rich history. St. Andrews, one of the world's most famous golf destinations, is about an hour and a half drive from Gleneagles.

The Gleneagles Resort welcomes golfers of all skill levels year-round, without requiring a handicap certificate.


Book to play on the NCG Top 100s Tour at the Kings Course at Gleneagles.
Visit the Gleneagles website here.
Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.