Pitlochry Golf Course

The verdict

Pitlochry is golf with a view, and what a view it is. The course climbs hard out of the town for its opening holes, the architects shrewdly sending you uphill early so the reward is a high plateau with sweeping vistas over the Tummel Valley and the surrounding Highland Perthshire hills. Willie Fernie of Troon laid out the original eighteen in 1908, and Major Cecil Hutchison refined the layout in the 1920s into the course played today. It is short on the card at just under 5,700 yards and a par of 69, but it is long on character.

For the traveling golfer this is a joyous, scenic, energetic round in one of the prettiest corners of Scotland, sometimes called the Switzerland of Scotland for good reason. The early climb earns its keep, and from the heights the golf is a delight of tumbling fairways, clever short holes and that constant Highland backdrop. Play it as the scenic highlight of a Perthshire trip, ideally on a clear day, and let the setting do half the work. Few courses send you back to the clubhouse smiling quite like this one.

The holes worth the trip

Pitlochry asks for fitness and judgment before it asks for power. The defining feature is the opening climb, a sequence of holes that lifts you from the town to the high ground where most of the round is played, so the smart visitor takes the ascent steadily and saves energy for the golf above. Once up, the course rolls across the plateau with tumbling fairways, sharp changes in elevation and small greens that demand a deft touch, all framed by the hills of Highland Perthshire.

The challenge is one of touch and imagination rather than length. The short holes are excellent, several of them played across or along the slope with the valley falling away, and the par 4s reward a player who can flight the ball and judge the run on ground that is rarely flat. Distance control on the approaches is everything, with greens that sit at varied levels and slopes that gather or repel depending on the line. Keep the ball in play, respect the contours, and the scoring is there.

What stays with you is the scenery and the sheer fun of it. This is not a championship marathon but a spirited, beautiful round that captures the romance of Highland golf, a course where the walk, the views and the golf combine into something memorable. On a Perthshire trip it is the round that lifts the spirits, and many a visitor lingers on the high holes simply to take in the view.

Where to stay nearby

Pitlochry is one of the most popular touring towns in the Highlands, with a fine range of hotels, guest houses and inns, a famous theater and the whisky and scenery of Highland Perthshire on the doorstep. It makes a relaxed and central base, and Perth and the A9 corridor put a wealth of other golf within an easy drive.

Pitlochry is best played as the scenic high point of a Perthshire circuit. The natural pairings are the celebrated heathland of Blairgowrie Rosemount and its sibling Blairgowrie Lansdowne to the south, with the moorland majesty of Gleneagles King's completing a memorable inland trip.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Highland Perthshire.