Scotland - the Home of Golf

Welcome to Scotland, the home of golf, where more than 550 golf courses populate the country from head to toe!

As far back as the late 14th century, Scotsmen were trying to put little balls into distant holes with clubs that would be unrecognisable to today’s professionals. Fast forward nearly six hundred years and golf, the sport the Scots invented on the rugged turf of the East Coast, is now a multi-billion dollar industry and the biggest amateur sport in the world!

Over 550 golf courses in Scotland and counting . . .

Today there are more than 550 golf courses in Scotland, indeed, some parts of the country are so studded with golf courses that it seems like they are the very fabric of the land. In a short stretch of coastline running from Largs in the north, down to Ayr in the south, there is an endless procession of fairways and greens, including some of the finest links courses in the world: Turnberry, Royal Troon, Kilmarnock Barassie, Old Prestwick, Bogside, Glasgow and Western Gailes . . . and that’s just Ayrshire!

Scottish golfers

Of course, Scotland has produced more than its fair share of world-class players over the years: Paul Lawrie, Colin Montgomerie, Sandy Lyle.

But one of the most legendary of all is Ayrshire-born Sam Torrance OBE. Winning 21 European Tour titles over three decades, Torrance went on to become one of Europe’s most inspired and beloved Ryder Cup captains, when he led the side to victory over the Americans at The Belfry.

No one is more vocal about Scotland’s golfing charms than Torrance, ‘I know I’m a little biased here,’ he said, ‘but is there any golf course in the whole world more photogenic than the Ailsa links at Turnberry? I think not. Let‘s face it, perhaps the greatest ever Open was played at Turnberry in 1977 when Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson went at it in what became known as the “Duel in the Sun”.’

Information kindly provided by www.scotland.org

For more information on golf in Scotland, go to the VisitScotland golf website.

For more information on the game of golf, visit the R&A website.