Amazing Aberdeen has something for everyone, golfer or not  Golf International Inc. One of the beauties of a golf trip to Scotland is you don't have to drive all over the countryside in search of the best courses. Almost by design (perhaps the Scottish Tourist Board at work looking after their visitors) links courses crop up in very convenient clusters with only a few miles separating them. Often a selection of 10 or even more top quality links courses can be played from a single base, with most located within a 10 or 20 minute drive of your hotel. In Scotland, wherever you find one good links, there will be others close by.  Cruden Bay has been called gloriously quirky and unfair. It's a quirk of nature that most commonly occurs in Scotland and a few places in England. It doesn't happen in Ireland where interminable drives are accepted as being necessary to get from one links course to the next and it doesn't happen in Wales. The less time spent driving on the road, the more time you have available for golf, which is probably the main purpose of the trip. Scotland has been truly blessed in this regard and boasts 6 main links clusters; they center around St. Andrews, the capital city of Edinburgh, the resort town of Troon in the southwest, the Highlands capital of Inverness, Dundee in Carnoustie Country and less familiar to most visitors, around the Granite City of Aberdeen. The shining jewel in the Aberdeen crown is Royal Aberdeen's Balgownie Links, a dramatic concoction of massive sand dunes, almost 100 merciless bunkers and an even less sympathetic North Sea wind. Originally laid out by the Simpson brothers of Carnoustie in 1888, it was James Braid who extended and re-bunkered the course in the 1930's -- blame him for the devilishly deep pot bunkers that infest the course. Playing Royal Aberdeen for many will be a dream come true. The course is among Scotland's top dozen layouts and the front 9 is rated as the most testing in all of Britain, but don't get so carried away you forget to make a turn at the 9th hole. The front 9 at Royal Aberdeen runs directly into the back 9 at neighboring Murcar Golf Club, with little in the way of discernible signage to indicate the fact. But Murcar is another prime links that belongs on everyone's must play list, though it's probably better to start from the first tee.  Murcar -- a testy challenge the locals like to keep to themselves. Murcar may lack the pedigree of its next-door neighbor, it's also a little shorter and it may never carry a Royal seal, but in no way do these minor issues detract from the level of golf it provides. Check with the locals and many will tell you Murcar is a superior layout to Royal Aberdeen. They share very similar duneland and the North Sea wind is as cantankerous on one as it is the other, so you will have to play both and make your own determination. Cruden Bay Golf Club is a name fast becoming familiar to growing numbers of visitors to the Aberdeen area. Once tagged a hidden gem, the popularity of this exceptional links, sitting just a brief 30-minute drive from Aberdeen's city center, has eliminated the hidden part of the label, though it remains a true gem of a course. Dating from 1899, this is one of the very few Scottish courses designed by the great English architect, Tom Simpson, but what a masterpiece he produced. It would be hard to find a more character-filled links anywhere -- Cruden Bay is eccentric and at times quirky, but it is pure links golf from start to finish with blind holes, burns, well protected greens, deep, greenside bunkers and cunningly placed fairway bunkers. Above all, this is a fun course and for the real links fan, a spectacular, never to be forgotten experience. For any who may be less enamored by links golf, you'll probably find the nearby whisky distilleries more appealing. It's only a few miles further along the coast from Cruden Bay to discover a pair of genuine hidden links gems, deserving far more attention from visitors and the Scots alike.  Royal Aberdeen -- one of Scotland's premiere links layouts. Peterhead Golf Club is a slice of golf's history; formed in 1841, it's the 18th oldest golf club in the world. The course was originally laid out by two-time British Open Champions, Willie Park and could be one of the most natural links course in the entire country. Deceivingly short, the demands presented will test the abilities of even the most accomplished links golfer. Parish records show that golf has been played on nearby Fraserburgh Links since 1613 although it took another 158 years before Fraserburgh Golf Club was officially founded in 1771, making it the world's 7th oldest. This is where the Moray Firth and the North Sea converge, creating a unique microclimate where Mother Nature becomes even more cantankerous than usual. Be prepared for a bumpy ride up, over and around Fraserburgh's substantial sand dunes and an experience reminiscent of how golf must have been more than a century ago. For any with a yearning to play a few true hidden gems, the area surrounding the city of Aberdeen is awash with them, but there is far more than only golf to the Aberdeen story. Aberdeen is the gateway to Scotland's whisky country and the distilleries of the Scottish Highlands. Within half an hour's drive of the city center some of the oldest whisky distilleries in the country are to be found, including Fettercairn, Royal Lochnagar and Glendronach. No true whisky connoisseur should resist the temptation to venture a further 20 minutes or so north, into the Speyside region, the epicenter of Highland malt whisky production. More than half of Scotland's remaining distilleries are to be found here, including the crème de la creme of single malts -- The Macallan, Glenfiddich and Glenlivit.  Golf was first played at Fraserburgh in 1613.
If salmon fishing sounds appealing, you couldn't have found a better place. The River Dee, long considered Europe's best salmon fishing river, enters the North Sea at Aberdeen after an 80 mile journey through the Grampian Mountains and countryside. This is the river that traditionally records the greatest number and size of salmon taken from any Scottish river. World renowned by fly-fisherman for its salmon, sea trout attract those with a preference for rod and reel in equally large numbers and the season very conveniently fits in with the golf season, lasting from early February until the end of September. Fortunately for whisky lovers, the whisky season is a year round affair. Any stay in or near Aberdeen, also has some special attraction for those with an interest in Scottish history and ancient castles. This northeast corner of the country is home to an impressive collection of some of the best-preserved castles in the British Isles and Aberdeen marks the start of a trail that incorporates 13 of the very best. Dating from the 13th to the 18th centuries, they span a range of Scotland's most unique castles. From the fairytale magic of Craigievar Castle to the rugged splendor of Kildrummy Castle, to the elegant timelessness and country house grandeur of Leith Hall, it's an amazing collection. Visit just a few, or take them all in, the Castle Trail is easy to follow and clearly marked with road signs. The area surrounding Aberdeen is certainly one of the most intriguing in Scotland and still little known to many American visitors. For a few ideas on how to make the area a part of your Scottish golf trip, click here. © 2007 David Brice / Golf International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Golf International -- Providers of quality golf travel arrangements since 1988. |
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