Destination Guide
Golf Trips to Scotland
Every golfer should do this trip once. It costs more than you think and it's worth more than it costs.
Scotland is the one destination where the golf is the entire point. Nobody flies to Fife in April for the weather. They go because the Old Course, Carnoustie, North Berwick, Muirfield and Royal Troon exist within a couple of hours of each other, because you walk them, and because a links round in a crosswind is a different game from the one you play at home.
It is also the trip that needs the most planning. Green fees at the marquee venues have risen sharply — the Old Course is £355 and Kingsbarns is £486 for 2026 — Muirfield takes visitors on two days a week and is effectively full for the season, and the Old Course cannot simply be booked. Get the admin right twelve months out and it's the best golf trip in the world. Leave it to March and you'll be playing the Eden.
The one. Closed Sundays, walking only, maximum handicap 24 for men and 36 for ladies, and you cannot just book it — see the ballot section below.
Green fee: £355
Twenty-five years old and already on every top-100 list. Sea views from every hole, and the most expensive round in Scotland outside Turnberry.
Green fee: £486
"Car-nasty." The hardest of the Open rota courses and the one that will most accurately tell your group what their handicaps are worth.
Green fee: £360
1832, quirky in the best way, stone walls and blind shots. Most golfers who play it come off saying it was their favourite round of the trip.
Green fee: £320
Up over Gullane Hill with a view across the Firth of Forth to Fife. Three courses on site, so a society can play No. 1 and No. 2 on the same day.
Green fee: £325
Visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, and 2026 is essentially full with a waiting list. Enquire twelve months out or don't count on it.
Green fee: £395 (£605 for 36 with lunch)
2024 Open venue, unforgiving back nine into the prevailing wind. Sources differ slightly on the 2026 rate — confirm with the club.
Green fee: Around £365–£395
Arguably the most beautiful links in Britain, priced to keep the tee sheet for resort guests. Play after 1pm or off-peak and it halves.
Green fee: Up to £1,000 peak; £545 after 1pm; from £315 off-peak
The value round on the Ayrshire coast, with a proper seasonal price ladder and a discount if you're staying on site.
Green fee: £105 winter to £245–£260 peak
Modern links, friendly to a mixed society, and the cheapest good round in East Lothian. Caddies around £60 plus gratuity.
Green fee: £80–£160 by season and day
The other St Andrews Links courses — New, Jubilee, Castle, Eden and Strathtyrum — sit well below the Old Course and are the sensible way to fill an itinerary. We haven't quoted their 2026 fees because the figures we could find were out of date; check standrews.com.
On the prices: these are indicative 2026 visitor rates gathered from course and operator listings, shown to help you budget. Green fees change with season, day of the week and where you're staying — always confirm direct with the course before you commit a group to it.
| Months | Typical daytime | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| April | 7–13°C | Often surprisingly dry, and shoulder-season green fees apply. Cold and windy is a real possibility — pack for it. |
| May–June | 14–17°C | The sweet spot. Statistically drier than July and August, and around seventeen hours of daylight in June means 36 holes a day is genuinely possible. |
| July–August | 16–20°C | Mild but wetter than late spring, and peak green fees everywhere. Busiest tee sheets of the year. |
| September–October | 10–15°C | Still mild in September and fees start dropping — often 20–30% below peak. By late October the daylight is short enough to squeeze a three-round itinerary. |
| Airports | Edinburgh (EDI) for Fife and East Lothian; Glasgow (GLA) or Prestwick (PIK) for Ayrshire |
| Flight time | About 1h20 from London, an hour from Manchester or Birmingham |
| By rail | Edinburgh Waverley to Leuchars for St Andrews; Glasgow Central to Troon or Ayr for the Ayrshire courses |
| Driving | Edinburgh airport to St Andrews about 1h10–1h20. Glasgow airport to Royal Troon about 40–45 minutes. Prestwick to Troon 15–20 minutes |
| East vs west | The east coast — St Andrews, Carnoustie, East Lothian — is meaningfully drier than Ayrshire, which takes the Atlantic weather first |
| Clubs | If enough of the group is driving, take the cars. It's cheaper than four sets of airline golf-bag fees and you'll want the boot space for waterproofs |
Walk to the Old, New and Jubilee. Everything from a Premier Inn to the Old Course Hotel and Rusacks. Carnoustie and Kingsbarns are day trips from here.
East Lothian. Both villages put you on foot from their own links and within fifteen minutes of Muirfield and Craigielaw. Edinburgh is 40 minutes away if the group wants a night out.
Ayrshire. Royal Troon, Prestwick, Western Gailes and Dundonald all within a short drive, and town-hotel prices well below St Andrews for the same quality.
A single-base luxury trip. Expensive, extraordinary, and the group never has to get in a car.
| Tier | Per person | What that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | £700–£1,000 | £100–£150 a night, three rounds on the strong second tier — Craigielaw, Dundonald off-peak, one of the St Andrews Links courses — no caddies. Travel on top. |
| Mid-range | £1,800–£2,500 | £300–£400 a night, one or two marquee rounds — say the Old Course plus Kingsbarns, or Carnoustie plus North Berwick — and a caddie for the big one. |
| Luxury | £3,500–£6,000+ | Old Course Hotel or Turnberry, three headline rounds, caddies throughout. Turnberry's peak green fee alone can be a sixth of this. |
Indicative planning ranges built from current green fees and typical accommodation rates — not quotes. Exchange rates, season and how far ahead you book will all move these. Use them to set expectations with the group, then price the real thing.
Tell us your departure airports, group size, budget and dates. You'll get three complete itineraries — budget, mid-range and luxury — with courses, hotels, flights and booking links, in about a minute.