The Machrie Golf Links
An 1891 links on a whisky island, rebuilt for the modern game. The Machrie sits above seven miles of beach on Laggan Bay, Islay, where Willie Campbell's Victorian original was reimagined by David J Russell and reopened in 2017 with a luxury hotel behind the first tee. Remote, romantic and far better than it has any need to be.
Photograph: Another Place, The Machrie, via Google.
The verdict
Islay is famous for eight whisky distilleries and a links that golfers once whispered about like a secret. The old Machrie was a cult classic of blind shots and wild bounces, loved and cursed in equal measure. David J Russell's rebuild, reopened in 2017, kept the duneland drama and the sense of edge of the world isolation while removing most of the blindness, keeping only a handful of Campbell's original greens in a routing that flows naturally through the sandhills above Laggan Bay.
What remains is one of Scotland's great golf escapes rather than a box to tick. You come by small plane or ferry, stay at the hotel on the links, play 36 holes in the long island light and drink something peaty afterwards. The golf itself is genuinely good, a par 72 that rewards the running game and punishes greed, but it is the whole island experience that earns the trip. For couples and small groups it is close to perfect.
The Machrie at a glance
- Opened
- 1891
- Redesign
- DJ Russell, 2017
- Type
- Links
- Par
- 72
- Yardage
- About 6,782 yds
- Green fee
- Near £185
Design history, par and yardage verified June 2026 from the resort and course databases. The Machrie plays to a par 72 of around 6,782 yards from the regular back tees, stretching a little over 7,000 yards at full championship length. The indicative 2026 visitor green fee is around 185 pounds, including the Wee Course and practice facilities, with resident rates lower. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
The golf worth the trip
Russell's routing makes brilliant use of ground that golfers have walked since 1891: tumbling fairways pinched by marram banks, greens set in natural amphitheatres, and the constant company of Laggan Bay's surf beyond the dunes. Width off the tee replaced the old course's claustrophobia, so the examination has moved from finding the fairway to choosing the right half of it. Miss on the wrong side and the firm turf feeds your ball away from the flag; find the correct angle and the same slopes gather it in.
The wind decides everything, as it should on an island in the open Atlantic. On a calm morning the course is a gentle, generous host. When the southwesterly gets up, the exposed holes along the bay become a fight, and the low flighted shot under the breeze is worth six clubs of carry. The greens stay true in any weather, and the par 3s, played across hollows and dune gaps, are as good a short hole set as you will find in the Hebrides.
Around the main course sit the Wee Course, a six hole short loop made for evening matches with a dram, and a practice setup far beyond what a remote island has any right to own. Pair the trip with Machrihanish and Machrihanish Dunes across the water on Kintyre and you have Scotland's great west coast pilgrimage.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | A resort links, part of Another Place, The Machrie; visitors welcome with a tee time and hotel residents get priority and reduced rates |
| Green fee | Around 185 pounds for a visitor round in 2026, including the Wee Course and practice facilities; resident rates lower (indicative) |
| Booking | Book directly with the resort online or by phone; tee sheets are rarely crowded outside peak summer weeks, but the flights and ferries fill first |
| On the day | A walking links with trolleys and a relaxed dress code; the Wee Course and the Hebrides putting course fill the evenings |
| Getting there | Fly Glasgow to Islay in 45 minutes, the airport is five minutes from the first tee, or take the CalMac ferry from Kennacraig with a car |
| Best months | May to September; June gives near endless daylight and the calmest seas for the crossing |
Access and indicative green fees verified June 2026 from the resort's published rates; they change without notice, so always confirm directly before booking with the resort or your trip planner. Check tee time availability.
Where to stay nearby
The answer is on site. The Machrie hotel sits directly behind the links with 47 rooms and lodges, a bar facing the 18th green and a restaurant good enough that you will not miss the mainland. Staying there turns the trip into the full island ritual: golf in the morning, a distillery in the afternoon, the Wee Course before dinner.
Beyond the resort, Port Ellen and Bowmore offer guest houses and small hotels within twenty minutes, handy if the lodges are full in whisky festival week at the end of May, when the island books out months ahead. Distillery pilgrims will want a day for the Kildalton coast, with Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg lined up along three miles of shore.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts on Islay.
Build an Islay and west coast golf trip
We pair The Machrie with Machrihanish and the Ayrshire links, time the flights and ferries so nothing is wasted, and book the hotel and the drams. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
The Machrie questions
What is the par and length of The Machrie?
The Machrie is a par 72 links measuring around 6,782 yards from the regular back tees and a little over 7,000 yards at full championship stretch. Multiple tee options bring it back to a friendly length for holiday golf.
Who designed The Machrie and when was it redesigned?
The original links was laid out by Willie Campbell in 1891. David J Russell comprehensively redesigned it, keeping only a handful of the original greens in a new routing that removed most of the famous blind shots, and the rebuilt course reopened in 2017 alongside the new Machrie hotel.
How much does it cost to play The Machrie?
The indicative 2026 visitor green fee is around 185 pounds, which includes access to the Wee Course and the practice facilities, with reduced rates for hotel residents. Fees change by season and year, so always confirm directly before booking.
How do you get to The Machrie on Islay?
Fly from Glasgow to Islay's airport, five minutes from the course, or take the CalMac ferry from Kennacraig to Port Ellen or Port Askaig with a car. The hotel sits directly on the links, so most golfers stay on site and build whisky distillery visits around the golf.
Related
The Tee Sheet
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Design history, par and yardage verified June 2026; indicative green fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.