European Renaissance

Over the past decade, Europe has thrived from a golf course architecture point of view, with a number of high quality layouts coming online. The well-travelled Andrew Marshall picks six of the best

Castle Stuart Golf Links

Highland Classic

Castle StuartThe brainchild of Mark Parsinen, the American who gifted the world Kingsbarns, this cracking layout overlooks the Moray Firth and various well-known Inverness landmarks – the Kessock Bridge, Chanonry Lighthouse, Fort George and Castle Stuart itself – and enjoys similar topography to majestic Royal Dornoch further north, with an old sea cliff creating two tiered plateaus with six holes running alongside the water. The course has been designed with wide fairways to offer plenty of lines of play on ground that is just perfect for links golf.

One of the many great things about Castle Stuart, which was co-designed by the highly rated Gil Hanse, who has been awarded the Rio de Janaeiro Olympics golf course design project, is that you get a real sense of seclusion and most of the time you are not aware of any other golfers out on the course. The views all around are fabulous, especially from the fabulous art deco 1930s-style clubhouse that sits proudly overlooking the course. Castle Stuart Golf Links, now the home of the Barclays Scottish Open, is a modern-day classic.

Contact: castlestuartgolf.com

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Written by Andrew Marshall

Click here to see the published article.

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