The Best Golf Courses in Aberdeenshire
The northeast of Scotland is one of the great undiscovered links coasts, where the world's sixth oldest golf club sits beside towering dunes, a dramatic modern links runs three miles along the North Sea, and a string of historic, value packed courses welcomes visitors without fuss. Most are open to play, so we have ranked the ten best courses in Aberdeenshire, with our verdicts.
Photograph: Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, via Google
How we chose
We ranked these courses on the quality of the links, their design pedigree and history, and the experience of playing them on this windswept North Sea coast, then weighed access, which in Aberdeenshire is refreshingly open. Unlike the famous links regions further south, the northeast lets visitors onto almost all of its best courses, usually with a simple advance booking, and at prices that look like a bargain beside St Andrews or the Ayrshire coast. That accessibility is a big part of why we rate it so highly for a trip.
The result runs from a championship links among the oldest in the game to historic village courses that have been played since the eighteenth century. The three headline names, Royal Aberdeen, Trump International and Cruden Bay, are world class and sit within a short drive of one another, and the supporting cast of Murcar, Fraserburgh, Peterhead and the parkland courses fills out an easy week. Base in or near Aberdeen, play the marquee links and the hidden gems, and enjoy one of the least crowded great golf coasts anywhere.
The 10 best golf courses in Aberdeenshire
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, Balgownie Links
The best course in the northeast and one of the great links of Scotland, Royal Aberdeen's Balgownie is the sixth oldest golf club in the world, founded in 1780. Its celebrated front nine runs out through a magnificent valley of towering dunes, the back nine returns along a high plateau into the wind, and it has hosted the Walker Cup and the Scottish Open. A classic, exposed, beautifully natural links and a must play. Welcomes visitors.
Trump International Golf Links Scotland
The dramatic modern entry, Martin Hawtree's links opened in 2012 along a three mile stretch of giant dunes on the Menie Estate at Balmedie, north of Aberdeen. Big, bold and spectacular, with some of the largest sand hills in British golf and around 7,400 yards from the tips, it has climbed the rankings quickly and is a thrilling, full bodied test. Welcomes visitors.
Cruden Bay Golf Club
The most charming and most quirky links in the region, redesigned by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler in 1926 in a fishing village north of Aberdeen. Blind shots, vast dunes, a famous valley of holes and a sense of fun set it apart, and it is beloved by connoisseurs and ranked among the best in Britain and Ireland. A round you remember hole by hole. Welcomes visitors.
Murcar Links Golf Club
Right next door to Royal Aberdeen, Murcar is a classic links of huge dunes, burns, whins and heather, established in 1909 and refined over the years. Not the longest, but its tight fairways, penal rough and rumpled ground make it a genuine test and a perfect companion round to Balgownie for a links rich day on the coast just north of the city. Welcomes visitors.
Newmachar Golf Club, Hawkshill
The best inland golf near Aberdeen, the Hawkshill Course at Newmachar is a long, well wooded Dave Thomas parkland design with water in play and a championship pedigree, a worthy change of pace from the coastal links. A reliable, testing round and a good wet weather alternative when the wind is up on the coast. Welcomes visitors.
Meldrum House
A handsome parkland course in the grounds of a baronial country house hotel at Oldmeldrum, north of Aberdeen, threading through mature woodland, lochs and the estate's old trees. Refined, scenic and paired with one of the finest hotels in the region, it is the most luxurious inland golf base in Aberdeenshire. Welcomes visitors and hotel guests.
Fraserburgh Golf Club
One of the oldest clubs in the world, established in 1777, Fraserburgh plays over Corbie Hill at the far northeast tip of the coast, a natural, rolling links full of dunes and character and remarkable value. Historic, uncrowded and a delight to play, it is the kind of hidden gem that makes an Aberdeenshire trip special. Welcomes visitors.
Peterhead Golf Club
A fine, underrated links at the mouth of the River Ugie at Peterhead, with dunes, the river and the North Sea all in play and a routing shaped over the years with input from James Braid. Quiet, traditional and excellent value, it is a worthy addition for golfers exploring the historic links of the far northeast. Welcomes visitors.
Stonehaven Golf Club
South of Aberdeen, Stonehaven is a short but spectacular clifftop course perched above the North Sea, with several holes playing along and across the cliffs and views to the harbour town and Dunnottar Castle. More fun than fearsome, it is one of the most scenic and most enjoyable value rounds in the region. Welcomes visitors.
Inchmarlo Golf Centre
Inland on beautiful Royal Deeside near Banchory, Inchmarlo offers mature parkland golf among the trees and the rolling country of the Dee valley. A relaxed, scenic round away from the coast, it rounds out an Aberdeenshire itinerary for groups wanting to combine the links with the soft landscapes of the Cairngorms foothills. Welcomes visitors.
Founding years, designers and history verified June 2026 from club and ranking sources; access policies and green fees change, so always confirm visitor days and current rates directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Plan your Aberdeenshire golf trip
Tell us which of these appeals and roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge matches the courses to your group, secures the visitor days at Royal Aberdeen, Trump International, Cruden Bay and Murcar, books the stay and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.
Aberdeenshire golf questions
What is the best golf course in Aberdeenshire?
By the consensus of rankings, Royal Aberdeen's Balgownie Links is the best course in Aberdeenshire, a classic links founded in 1780, the sixth oldest golf club in the world, whose celebrated front nine runs out through towering dunes. Its closest rivals are the modern Trump International Golf Links at Balmedie and the much loved, quirky Cruden Bay to the north. All three are visitor friendly and within a short drive of one another, which makes Aberdeenshire one of the great undiscovered links coasts.
Can visitors play the best Aberdeenshire courses?
Yes. Unlike many of the world's great links regions, Aberdeenshire's headline courses, Royal Aberdeen, Trump International, Cruden Bay, Murcar Links and the historic value links at Fraserburgh and Peterhead, all welcome visitors on set days, usually with advance booking and sometimes a handicap requirement on the championship courses. It is an accessible, well priced links coast compared with the famous names further south, which is part of its appeal.
How many great links are near Aberdeen?
An extraordinary number for a single stretch of coast. Within about forty minutes of Aberdeen you can play Royal Aberdeen and Murcar Links side by side, Trump International just to the north at Balmedie, and Cruden Bay a little further on, with the historic links at Newburgh, Peterhead and Fraserburgh beyond. It is one of the densest and least crowded links coasts in the world, ideal for a multi day golf trip.
When is the best time to play golf in Aberdeenshire?
Late spring to early autumn, roughly May to September, is the prime golf season in the northeast of Scotland, with the longest days, the firmest links turf and the best chance of settled weather, though the North Sea wind is a constant companion year round. The shoulder months of April and October can offer good value and quieter courses. Always confirm visitor days and rates directly before booking.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Founding years, designers and history verified June 2026. Rankings are our editorial judgement. Last reviewed June 2026.