Golspie

Golspie Golf Club is based in the Scottish Highlands, making it one of the northernmost locations on the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list.  

 

The course plays along the coastline of the North Sea, with three holes featuring the beach on their left. It is a layout that has been fiddled with throughout its history, which dates back to 1889. 

 

The great James Braid, five times an Open Championship winner, redesigned the layout in the 1920s, and it remains much the same to this day. It is only 6,000 yards from the tips, but the sea breeze will make it a tougher test than the scorecard suggests.  

 

 

Visit Golspie's website here.

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1889 saw the founding of Golspie Golf Club, but reports suggest that the sport was played on the land before then. 11 years earlier, a 17-man competition had taken place. 

 

Originally, the course was a 9-holer, but it was extended to 18 holes in 1905, and soon after, the great James Braid would make his mark on the land. 

 

The five-time Open Champion was brought in to make suggestions in 1926, adding a number of bunkers to the course, as well as moving some of the greens.  

 

In recent years, the North Sea has had an effect on the course, flooding some of the lower-lying parts. Minor changes, none of which have affected the nature of the course, have been implemented to prevent this from happening again. The course has also been lengthened over the last few years as well.
 

As well as having great architectural merit, Golspie is now impeccably presented, and the views of the North Sea just add to the charms of the course. The layout passes from meadowland to links to woodland to pasture and back to links – and there might even be a touch of heathland around the turn as well. It measures little over 6,000 yards and begins with an inland feel yet the sea is soon close by.  

 

The first two holes are inland, before you start playing along the coast at the 3rd. The opening hole at Golspie is one of three par 5s on the property. It is less than 500 yards, but anything pulled left on your approach to the green could signal danger, with out of bounds and a road awaiting those bad shots. The 2nd is one of five par 3s on this Par 70 layout, and there is a generous green to aim for on this 160-yard hole. The 3rd fairway is split in two, making golfers decide whether they will try and reach the second part of the fairway with their drives. Again, anything left is in danger, this time because of the beach and the North Sea. 

 

The second of three par 5s comes at the 4th, when it becomes apparent that Golspie is much more than a pretty holiday course. Running parallel to the beach, you must either play short of, or carry, a piece of rough ground 80 yards short of the green exactly where you would least like it to be. 

 

Then comes a wonderful short 4, within reach yet intolerant of a drive that is nearly good. The green, slightly sunken, is tight against the beach and protected by a hillock on the other side. Lay up and your approach is blind from an uneven fairway. The 6th provides a little bit of respite. At just 150 yards, this is one of the shortest holes at Golspie, as you move away from the North Sea once more.  

 

Another short 4 soon follows, this one uphill and over a crest to a billowing green that invites an imaginative chip with just about every club in the bag an option. Now the links land is left behind, which in most cases would signal a downturn in quality. Not here though – the next four holes might just be Golspie’s best. Two tough par 4s feature trees, gorse and heather, and a short hole is played downhill to a cute green with water in front. Then there is a clever two-shotter where the smart play is to throttle back from the tee to the widest piece of fairway.  

 

12 and 13 are both relatively short par 4s, but holes where finding the fairway is imperative. The 14th is the final par 5 at Golspie and is played with the road along its left side. Unusually, the 14th also takes you back to the clubhouse, before you do a small loop of the final four holes. 15 takes you back south, and it is the longest par 4 on the card, before you reach back-to-back par 3s.  

 

The view from the 16th tee is one to savour. A conundrum is posed by an elevated green on two distinct levels. In the wind, this must be fiendishly difficult. The next, over 200 yards and blind, is a classic Braid hole. Cross the broken ground in front of the tee and you find a generous landing area short of the large and flat green. The work is not done yet though – the last is another long par 4, and also the most difficult, due to a pointed hill in the middle of the fairway at driving distance. Thankfully, as at 17, there is some respite in the form of a welcoming final green.
 

Where is Golspie Golf Club located? 
Golspie Golf Club is one of the northernmost locations you will find on the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list. It is an hour north of Inverness and based in the Scottish Highlands. The club sits just off the A9 – which runs from Falkirk to Scrabster – and runs along the coastline of the North Sea. 

 

Golspie does have its own train station, which is less than a mile from the entrance to the golf club. Trains run between Inverness and Wick, but they are infrequent. For international visitors, Inverness Airport is the closest major international airport to Golspie. It is around an hour’s drive from the venue, and it is the third busiest airport in Scotland.

 

Are there any other NCG Top 100s: Scotland venues nearby?
Golspie is one of several courses in the area that claim a spot on the NCG Top 100s: Scotland list. Brora, Tain, Skibo Castle and Royal Dornoch - home to the Championship Course and Struie Course - are all within 20 miles of Golspie.

What golf facilities does Golspie Golf Club offer?
There is no driving range as such at Golspie, but there is some space down the left side of the first fairway where golfers can hit balls and find their range. A putting green by the 1st and 15th tees awaits those looking for some final touches and confidence before taking to the course.  

What are the green fees at Golspie Golf Club?  
The price of a green fee at Golspie changes throughout the year, depending on the season. It is also different depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend. 

 

For more information on current green fees at Golspie, visit their website here. 

 

  

Visit Golspie's website here.

Go back to the NCG Top 100s Homepage.