Glencruitten - Argyll & Bute - Scotland

Very happy to see Glencruitten on the site ! An ideal place to play if en route from Machrihanish, The Machrie or Arran to the more numerous delights of the Highlands. We played in late Spring for a pittance, so didn't begrudge the damp conditions, and as always in out of the way Scotland we received a great welcome. Super fun, you'll get more exercise per yard than any other golf course other than Stewart Island, and don't forget some seafood on the harbour before heading North or South.

Now, that is a golf course! Heading back from days at Machrihanish to Glasgow Airport, we stopped at Glencruitten. Check your blood pressure medication to make sure it's up to date. I played with a friend...and on the first hole, the starter said, which was a clue to what was coming...."it takes 3 good shots to get on in 2!" And, by golly, he was right. Up the hill...no, way up the hill. Then, down the hill....no waay down the hill. Over and over. I likened it to trekking for gorillas. Fun, sometimes exhausting, and always interesting. Great grass and scenery. Try it. Nice Scots from Oban abound here...and it's great Scotch to drink too!

Glencruitten is a fascinating golf course I whole-heartedly recommend anyone should play.

It’s certainly not a course for the faint-hearted, in more ways than one, but will give you the chance to manufacture an infinite amount of different shots unlike you will get to experience anywhere else, especially on your ‘run of the mill’ type course.

And whilst it’s a course that I can imagine some people (the unadventurous) wouldn’t like… I absolutely loved it.

Despite its modest length of just 4,434 yards the course plays much longer than this which is in large part due to its par of 62, as well as a number of uphill shots; some of which bring a wide smile to your face.

Glencruitten is certainly a hard walking course – there’s no disguising that – with many changes in elevation during the entire round. I can’t really recall a flat hole, but this is what makes it so exciting, at times amazingly crazy and quirky golf…

The layout and routing of the course is bewildering and how such a fun and challenging course was designed over this stunning terrain, in the heart of Glencruitten Estate, is a real credit to the designer; the famous James Braid. I would have loved to have been there in the early 1900’s to observe how it was routed.

Glencruitten also came across as a really friendly club. We were welcomed warmly and after chatting to a group of members it was clear they are very proud of their unique course.

If one is ever staying in Oban playing here is an opportunity not to be missed but Glencruitten is also a course I would recommend you travel further afield from to sample. It’s an absolute gem of a golf course in Argyll.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

My trip to Glencruitten was a long time in the making as it had been muted for up to 5 years but for one reason or another, always put off “till next year”. However nature intervened forcing our hand to find an alternative venue after our proposed lowland double dunt was shelved due to a forecast of heavy rain. A quick plan B was initiated and thanks to Teeofftimes, we were off on a 2 hour drive chasing the weather up the west coast to Oban. I was warned that Glencruitten was a bit eccentric in places but nothing can quite prepare you for what unfolds, with the only course I can compare it with, further north in the Highlands at Strathpeffer Spa. Par of 62 with 10 par threes would be laughed out of designer school these day's but it works here and although it has to be classed as holiday golf don’t be fooled, as potential muggings lurk in every nook and cranny awaiting errant shots. The tone is set from the opening hole, the longest hole on the card, which culminates at a hidden green accessed via a funnelled uphill corridor, a feat repeated more spectacularly at the 12th. Hidden greens are also utilised to great effect on another 4 holes. The other method of defence is the burn, which comes into play, in varying degrees, on no less than nine holes no more so on the brilliant 9th, a par 3 which is also hidden from the tee and the fourteenth, a short but very taxing par 4. If I had to pick one hole however, it would be the sensational short, knob to knob, 120 yard 15th which looks like something that should be in a Roger Dean calendar or album cover. Before you know it the 3 hours of fun are over but those 180 minutes will leave an indelible imprint on you and although I will contend that Glencruitten will not be everyone’s cup of tea I will be willing to bet that once played, never forgotten. MPPJ

I’ve been wanting to return here for a long time so when a proposed visit to another course fell through this morning due to bad weather, I took the opportunity to drive a couple of golfing chums to a drier spot up the A82 and A85 and introduce them to Glencruitten’s golfing delights

Since I last played here in 2001, the 6th hole has been extended to a short par four so the overall par has increased to 62, with ten par threes now played during a round. The overall yardage has also increased by almost 200 yards so it measures 4434 yards from the white tees but a standard scratch score of 63 for the course indicates this is no easy track, believe me.

So much for the statistics as they’re not what matters here.

Focus on the fantastic topography and you’ll enjoy three hours of undiluted fun on a layout that no modern day architect would ever contemplate designing. Blind or semi-blind approach shots (at holes 1, 3, 8 and 10 ) and thrilling downhill tee shots (at holes 2, 4, 5, 9, 13 and 18) are highlights during a round that also features old fashioned crossing fairways at holes 5 and 6 then 12 and 14.

Apart from the holes around the clubhouse, it’s a wee bit hilly on the estate but the effort involved in climbing one hole is immediately rewarded with a descent at the next hole so go with the flow and enjoy the switchback ride.

Jim McCann.

Three out of our visiting fourball gave this course a big thumbs up. Great views everywhere and some challenging shots you have to manufacture. About as far away from US dartboard golf as you could get. Lots of elevated tees and greens that make you really think about club selection. Average age of our party was 57 and we all got around fine despite what you may read elsewhere. My 3 stents coped admirably!

While Bryan Adams had his 'Summer of 69' we in Scotland last had a Summer in 2006. You know, blue skies, sunshine, warmth, that kind of thing. Well one such day found me attempting the north face of the golf course at Oban. Maybe it was the heat, maybe the altitude, but either way, this was one of my least - enjoyed of the 300 or so Scottish courses I have played to date. Not that it was all bad; I have several lovely photos to remind me that, when the sun shines, Scotland is a fine place to be. Golf-wise the scene was set at the opening hole where you are required to play a completely blind second shot up a hill.The second drops a good 100 feet . And so it goes. Up hill and down dale (though it mostly seemed to be up). I did like the 4th and 16th - two terrific (flat!) holes but overall Glencruitten is not a course I can see myself playing/climbing again.

We turned up to play Glencruitten thinking we could enjoy a very gentle stroll on a course measuring less than 5,000 yards. How wrong could we be! James Braid designed the course and it's a great bit of architecture carved through some very hilly terrain. Many of the holes are either to elevated greens or from elevated tees and from that respect it is great fun even if we were all exhausted by the end of it! The course was in great condition and the members extremely friendly. Glencruitten is a course like no other – it is totally unique and therefore so memorable that it has our vote to be considered as a great little gem. Ian

I was delighted to find Glencruitten’s nomination as a gem on the website. There may be plenty of good courses in Scotland as a whole but in the western Highlands they are few and far between and this is one of them. Measuring only 4,255 yards, it has eleven – yes 11! – par threes (three in a row from the 5th and the 9th), two par fours under 300 yards and another three under 360 yards!

So what relevance does an old fashioned golf course like this have in the modern golfing era? Well, if it was good enough for a professional game between Braid, Taylor, Vardon and Fernie in 1910 then it’s good enough to play in the new millennium, I say!

Laid out on flat links land it would be a pitch and putt course but located as it is in a craggy glen with blind shots, elevated tees, pulpit greens, burns and sloping greens, it is the 18-hole equivalent of Shiskine, in my golfing book – check the club’s website for photos at the 3rd, 9th and 15th to get some idea of the terrain. It’s old fashioned golf at its very best which should be played for the sheer enjoyment.

Glencruitten may be a long way off the more well-trod golfing tracks (I like to side track, occasionally!) but if you are ever in the Oban area, set aside a few hours where you can step back in time to an era when golf really was fun to play.

Jim McCann