Hidden Gem Golf Courses in Scotland
Beyond St Andrews and Turnberry lies a quieter Scotland of empty links, honesty boxes and grazing sheep, where Old Tom Morris and James Braid left masterpieces in the middle of nowhere. Our ranked eight hidden gems, with the verdict on each, the designers and indicative 2026 green fees.
How we chose
Scotland has more great golf per head than anywhere on earth, and the famous names are only the start of it. Drive an hour past the queues at the Old Course and you find links that play across common grazing land, where the green fee goes in an honesty box and the only gallery is a flock of sheep. These are the courses that golf purists travel for, often laid out by Old Tom Morris or James Braid for a few pounds more than a century ago and barely touched since. We have weighed the quality and character of the course first, then its history and the hand of its designer, its setting and condition, and the sheer joy of finding world class golf with no one else around.
The result is a top eight that runs from the far northern Highlands to the islands of the west, led by the timeless Braid links at Brora and the Old Tom Morris gems at Machrihanish and Crail. None is hard to play, all are wonderful value, and most reward the effort of a long single track drive with the kind of golf the crowded courses can only envy. Pair two or three on a road trip and you have the most authentic golf week in the country.
The ranking
Brora Golf Club
The connoisseur's favourite, a James Braid links from 1923 on the Sutherland coast where cattle and sheep still graze the fairways behind low electric fences. Almost unchanged in a century, it is the headquarters of the Braid society and a pure, firm running links of huge charm beneath the northern light. Remote, friendly and astonishingly good value, it is the course every travelling architect wants to see.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Machrihanish Golf Club
Home to the most thrilling opening tee shot in golf, Old Tom Morris's 1879 links on the remote Kintyre peninsula, where the first hole dares you to carry as much of the Atlantic beach as you dare. Tumbling, natural and gloriously old fashioned, it rewards the long drive down to the village with links golf of real pedigree. Paired with the neighbouring Machrihanish Dunes, it makes one of the finest two course corners in world golf.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Crail Golfing Society, Balcomie Links
The seventh oldest golf club in the world, playing over an Old Tom Morris links from 1895 on a rocky headland a short drive from St Andrews. Short by modern standards but full of quirk and sea views, with greens perched above the rocks and the famous Hell's Hole running along the shore. An easy, joyful escape from the Fife crowds that too many visitors miss.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Tain Golf Club
An Old Tom Morris design from 1890 in the gentle farmland and dunes of the Dornoch Firth, often played as the warm up or wind down to a pilgrimage at Royal Dornoch next door. The Aldie burn winds through the closing holes, the turf runs firm and the whole has a relaxed, timeless feel. A superb value Highland links that more than holds its own in famous company.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Askernish Golf Club
The most romantic story in golf, an Old Tom Morris links from 1891 that was lost to the machair for generations and lovingly rediscovered and restored in 2008. Out on the wild Atlantic edge of South Uist, it plays through entirely natural dunes with no irrigation and barely a man made feature, the closest thing to golf as Old Tom found it. A genuine pilgrimage, weather and ferries permitting.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Boat of Garten Golf Club
The Gleneagles of the north in miniature, a heathy James Braid layout in the Cairngorms where birch lined fairways climb to greens framed by mountain and moor. Nicknamed the Boat, it is tighter and more inland in feel than the coastal gems but every bit as charming, with the Strathspey steam railway puffing past the course. A delight on a Speyside trip of golf and whisky.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Shiskine Golf Club
Golf's most charming eccentric, a twelve hole links at Blackwaterfoot on the Isle of Arran with blind shots, clifftop greens and views to the Mull of Kintyre across the sea. Forget par and conventional rules: this is a joyous, quirky round that locals and pilgrims adore, finished with tea and cake in the little clubhouse. Proof that a course need not be eighteen holes to be unforgettable.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Cullen Links
A wonderfully odd little links on the Moray Firth, originally touched by Old Tom Morris and shaped by local hand, where huge sea stacks rise straight out of the fairways and the railway viaduct frames the town. Short, cheap and bursting with character, it plays around and over the great rocks on the beach in a way no architect would dare design today. The perfect change of pace on a Speyside or Aberdeenshire run.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee, summer peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Designers, founding years and restoration dates verified June 2026. Green fees vary by season and many of these clubs run honesty boxes and limited summer hours. Rankings reflect our editorial view. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows.
How to play them
These gems fall into natural road trips. The far north pairs Brora and Tain with the great Royal Dornoch for the finest links cluster in the country, an easy two or three day loop up the A9. Speyside links Boat of Garten and Cullen with the whisky trail, while the west coast adventure runs down to Machrihanish on Kintyre and across on the ferries to Arran for Shiskine and on to the Outer Hebrides for Askernish, the wildest leg of all. Crail sits handily beside the St Andrews courses in Fife for those who want one quiet day among the famous ones.
Summer is the season, when the long northern days stretch golf past ten at night and the ferries run most reliably, though spring and early autumn bring firmer turf and fewer midges. Distances are real and the single track roads are slow, so plan generous driving time between rounds. Tell us how far off the beaten track you want to go and we will route the trip and book the tee times for you.
Plan your Scotland hidden gems trip
Tell us the courses you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Scotland hidden gems questions
What is the best hidden gem golf course in Scotland?
Brora, James Braid's almost untouched 1923 links on the Sutherland coast, is the hidden gem most loved by golf architects and purists, while Machrihanish on the Kintyre peninsula, an Old Tom Morris design from 1879, has perhaps the most thrilling opening hole in the game. Both reward a long drive with world class links golf at a fraction of the cost of the famous names.
Are Scotland's hidden gem courses easy to play?
Yes. Unlike the famous championship links, these courses are generally welcoming and inexpensive, with several run on honesty boxes and limited summer hours rather than long ballots. The challenge is logistical rather than access based, as many sit at the end of long single track roads or require a ferry, so plan driving time carefully. Always confirm visitor hours and green fees directly before booking.
How many Scottish gems can I play in a week?
A well planned week comfortably takes in four to six of these courses alongside one or two famous links. A northern loop might pair Brora and Tain with Royal Dornoch, while a western adventure links Machrihanish with the islands of Arran and the Outer Hebrides. The islands add ferry time, so build in flexibility for weather, and we are happy to route the whole trip and arrange the tee times.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Honesty box links worth the drive, the best of remote Scottish golf and the ferries and seasons to plan around. Every other week.
Hero photograph of Brora Golf Club via Google Places, courtesy Brora Golf Club.