Cullen Links Golf Club

The village (and former royal burgh) of Cullen lies on the Moray coast, around twenty miles west of Elgin. Famous for a culinary delight known as Cullen Skink – a traditional soup made from smoked haddock, milk, potato and onion – it was once a thriving centre for fishing but nowadays its harbour is used mainly by pleasure craft.

The golf club was formed in 1870, with Old Tom Morris setting out the original 9-hole layout alongside Cullen Bay. Thirty-five years later, Charlie Neaves, the professional at Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth, was called in to advise on the expansion to an 18-hole layout.

The additional land came from the Town Council, which rented the ground on the plateau next to the links from a local farmer. Ten new holes were fashioned in total, with one of the old holes lost to the new development.

An account at the time described the development as follows: “the new course is in striking contrast to the old one. The players had few hazards to encounter, and it was plain sailing from first to last. The present course is truly a sporting one, and abounds in hazards of such character that an inexperienced player will find himself punished.

Some holes on the top plateau require careful play. No doubt that in years to come, and with the course in steady use, a good many faults will be remedied, but the course will always remain a good test of golf.”

Today, the course measures just over 4,600 yards, playing to a par of 63, with ten par threes and only one par five on the scorecard. Quirky doesn’t really come close to adequately describing some of the holes that are played here, especially those located around the 80-foot high red sea stacks on the back nine.