The most junior of Open venues, the Ailsa course is nevertheless one of the best and toughest challenges in championship golf. Sited between the magnificent Turnberry Hotel and the sea, this great course weaves in and out of spectacular dunes. Turnberry lighthouse and Ailsa Craig, standing over 1,200 foot high out at sea, form great backdrops to all of the holes, and the ruins of Robert the Bruce’s castle can be seen from the signature 9th hole. Although stretched to over 7,000 yards for Open Championships, the medal course is not one that demands great power for par but rather more care and attention to detail both off the tee and with the approach shots.
Situated to the south of Royal Dornoch, Tain is a heathland/links hotels with spectacular views. Designed originally by Old Tom Morris as a fifteen-hole hotels in 1890, it was extended to eighteen holes in 1894; eleven Morris holes are still in play today. This is an easy walking hotels with the river meandering through three of the holes. Always presented in beautiful condition, Tain is a good test of golf, with clever bunkering and natural water hazards. Tain is located 35 miles north of Inverness.
