Britain & Ireland

Scotland

Borders

Located in the heart of the Scottish Borders, the Roxburghe course is set within a 50,000-acre estate formerly owned by the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe. A charming Jacobean mansion doubles up as a clubhouse and a stylish hotel. Within the estate, some three miles away, lies the Duke and Duchess's home, Floors Castle, the largest inhabited castle in Scotland. It's truly an exquisite setting.

The Duke, a keen golfer, commissioned former Ryder Cup player Dave Thomas to design the course and it opened for play following an exhibition match between Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie in 1997. The course bears Thomas's hallmarks, large, well-shaped greens and deep bunkers. The Roxburghe is certainly one of his best designs, sitting nicely alongside the 

. The Scottish Seniors Open was staged at the Roxburghe from 2001 to 2005: David Oakley, Denis Durnian, Nick Job, Terry Gale and Bill Longmuir proved worthy Roxburghe winners.

Scoring well requires stout driving from the numerous elevated tees to the generous fairways. We suggest that you select your tee box carefully. There are four positions, ranging from 7,111 yards at the back, to a more leisurely 5,660 yards from the forward tees. The course makes good use of the natural features of the land, including the various elevation changes and the salmon rich River Teviot. The signature hole is undoubtedly the 14th, a stunning par five, aptly named "Viaduct". The river and a steep bank run along the left, guarding the full length of the hole, whilst the imposing viaduct watches silently on. It's a serious challenge, which belies its stroke index of 15.

The Roxburghe is certainly located at "The Gateway to Scottish Golf" and it will definitely provide a memorable test of golf for all standards. The setting is very special indeed - a delightful historic estate, with a fine golf course and a tasteful, understated hotel. Take the opportunity to visit Floors Castle and gardens, which are open to visitors. They're a real joy.

In 2018, a German property developer concluded a multi-million pound deal for the hotel and golf course. Dusseldorf-based 12.18. Investment said it planned to spend around £30 million in a redevelopment which would add fifty-seven more rooms, a spa and sixty lodges on the surrounding estate. The new facility reopened the following year as Schloss Roxburghe.

Roxburghe

Located in the heart of the Scottish Borders, the Schloss Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Course is set within a 50,000-acre estate, formerly owned by the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe.

We think it's worth pointing out that the exclusive village of Cardrona is the first new community development in the Scottish Borders since the 18th century. It's a brave new building programme in an area that is rich in history with its standing stones and abbey ruins.

The Cardrona course is situated in the heart of a truly magnificent country setting where the valley meets the gushing River Tweed. It's hard to classify the course. Some holes have a moorland feel, while others feel more like parkland and some are American-styled.

Dave Thomas designed this 6,856-yard par 72 course and it opened for play in 2001. Cardrona bears Thomas's hallmarks - numerous large, sculptured bunkers and huge, subtly contoured, but sometimes narrow greens. Thankfully, there's little in the way of artificial mounding around the edges and consequently the course blends nicely into the natural landscape.

There are some fine holes, especially those on the front nine, which follow the meanderings of the river. And we have two favourites. The 6th is a great driving hole and you'll need to hold your nerve on the tee to avoid finding the magnetic burn, which has a habit of attracting golf balls. If you can do this and play a sensible second shot on this 527-yard par five, you'll be pitching on with your third and hoping for a birdie. Measuring 402 yards, the 7th is probably the signature hole and it requires an accurate drive, with trees on the right and bunkers to the left. The approach shot is even more of a challenge, to find the elevated and well-protected green.

Cardrona

The Cardrona golf course is a combination of mature parkland and woodland, with spectacular views of the Tweed Valley... everything is in harmony with its surroundings.

Hawick Golf Club was established in 1877 and boasted a membership of thirteen in its first season. The course on Vertish Hill, just south of Hawick, originally consisted of eleven holes, though it was extended by one hole two years later. It wasn’t until 1894 that a full 18-hole layout came into being. The current length of the course is 5,933 yards, consisting of fourteen par fours and four par threes.

There are some wonderful views to be had from the elevated position of the course and this becomes more evident as the routing rises from the 4th tee on the hole called “Well” then continues around the natural contours of Vertish Hill.

The difficult, 445-yard, par four, 6th hole, named “Hunter” is normally played against the prevailing wind and par is a very good score here. The course then levels out and more or less follows the same contour of the hill for a few holes.

The spectacular views continue until the 390-yard, par four, 11th hole, appropriately called “High” which climbs further up the hill. When the 437-yard, par four, 15th hole, “Gallery” is played, the highest point on the course has been reached and this time the Borders scenery is even more dramatic than before!

From here, the only way is down, with two short par fours “Pit” and “Burgess” played before arriving at the 210-yard, par three, final hole. From an elevated tee position on the 18th, the tee shot has to find a tricky green, located close to the road at the back.

Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Tony Jacklin are all honorary members at Hawick and Faldo holds the professional course record of 64.

Hawick

There are some wonderful views to be had from Hawick Golf Club's elevated position and this becomes more evident as the routing rises from the 4th tee...

Think of the Scottish Borders in a sporting context and the first thing that springs to mind is Rugby Union. There’s a long tradition of competing with the oval ball in these parts with much local rivalry among the Border town rugby teams. However, golf has been played just as keenly for well over a hundred years and Peebles is one of the top Borders courses.

Peebles Golf Club was established in 1892 and the original course to the south west of the town can still be seen in outline. In 1934, the current Kirklands course in the north west of Peebles was redesigned by the renowned golf course architect Harry Colt though it has been altered in places down the years due to the encroachment of housing around the periphery of the layout. In more recent times, a modern clubhouse was constructed in 1998 and opened by Prince Andrew.

Peebles is a challenging upland golf course of 6,160 yards which is set out in rolling Borders countryside. It is famed for its lush fairways, velvet green putting surfaces and stunning surroundings in the Tweed Valley. The Scottish Girls Strokeplay, Scottish Boys Team and Scottish Girls Amateur Championships have all been held at Peebles in recent years.

The opening four holes are all uphill and tough – the 2nd hole called “Sunny Acres” in particular – when played into the prevailing westerly wind. This is balanced by an easier stretch towards the end of the outward half when holes eight and nine lead back down the hill towards the clubhouse.

The back nine start out up the hill from the clubhouse, reaching the highest point on the course at the 377-yard 14th. From there on in, it’s largely downhill to the home green where a birdie putt at the 541-yard “Green Mantle” might just conclude the round in fine style.

“Peebles for Pleasure” is the local town motto and that certainly holds true for the many visiting golfers attracted to play on the Peebles golf course.

Peebles

Peebles Golf Club is famed for its lush fairways, velvet green putting surfaces and stunning surroundings in the Tweed Valley.

The course at Torwoodlee Golf Club is situated just outside the Borders town of Galashields, where an inaugural 9-hole layout was set out many years ago on the banks of the River Gala by Willie Park Junior. Subsequently, when land became available on higher ground to the south of the property, on the other side of the old Waverly Railway Line, additional holes were added to complete a full 18-hole layout.

A round on today’s course begins beside the fast running waters of the Gala, where holes 1 to 3 rise gently up to the recently refurbished footbridge that crosses the new Edinburgh-Tweedbank railway line. Holes 4 to 13 are then played out across somewhat hilly terrain on the opposite side of the tracks before the routing brings golfers back across the rail line to the final five fairways which lie within the locus of the original course.

In truth, it’s a picture postcard setting for a golf course which offers a fine parkland challenge from the medal tees, where the standard scratch score is rated as one over the par of 69. With five par threes on the card and only two par fives, the overall yardage amounts to just over a modest 6,000 yards. A number of the holes are played uphill, however, so don’t be deceived into thinking Torwoodlee might be a golfing pushover.

A couple of holes are worth highlighting on this delightful parkland track: the first is the 355-yard 6th (“Bowland View”), where the tee shot plunges down towards the green from the highest point on the course, the second is the 420-yard 13th (“Buckholm View”), which doglegs down to a putting surface that’s shared with the 8th hole, one of two double greens on the course.

Torwoodlee

The course at Torwoodlee Golf Club is set on the banks of the River Gala, deep in the heart of Border country, and its fairways are routed through a varied landscape of woodland and parkland.

Eyemouth Golf Club nestles on the rugged Berwickshire coastline, just five miles north of the English border, and its course sits near the centre of Eyemouth’s pretty little fishing village. The fairways all lie close to the coast but nine of them are more parkland in nature as they occupy a cliff top setting, where there’s little sandy soil available to create firm and fast playing conditions.

The club was formed in 1894 and for a hundred years members enjoyed their game of golf played over a 9-hole course. The opportunity to expand the layout to 18 holes arose in the mid-1990s, when the local council approached the club with a plan to run a new road through the course, allowing easier access to the harbour area and the fish market.

Almost one and a half million pounds was raised for the new development from the Sports Council, the R&A, the local authority and lottery funding, with the new layout designed by local architects Bain and Swan. After a period of upheaval, the new 18-hole was unveiled to an expectant membership in 1997.

The upgrade was radical. The only green remaining from the old course is the 8th, which used to be the 5th and the 7th hole along the coast was formerly the 5th, only it’s now played in reverse. Most of the additional nine holes were laid out to the south of the property, linking back to the higher ground at the clubhouse via the right doglegged 16th.

The new layout features a couple of extraordinary holes, one on each nine: the dramatic par three 6th, “A-Still-No-Ken,” requires a heroic 170-yard carry to the green across a rocky coastal inlet, and the gargantuan par five 13th is reckoned to be Scotland’s longest hole when played from the 656-yard back tee.

Eyemouth

Featuring its famous all-carry par three 6th hole (named “A still no ken”) which plays along the cliff tops, Eyemouth Golf Club is a formidable test of golf.

Located in part of the Hirsel Estate – the ancestral home of Lord David Douglas-Home, son of the former Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home – the course is laid out over rolling Borders terrain right on the border between England and Scotland.

Although founded in 1948, it took another fifty years before members of Hirsel Golf Club were able to play on a full 18-hole layout when the course was extended to its present 6,024 yards.

The River Leet features on several holes, though its presence is pleasing to the eye rather than threatening. Of more danger is the out of bounds to be found at no fewer than eleven holes on the card. There are also a few blind tee shots and blind approaches to contend with around the course, adding interest to the round.

The four par three holes are worthy of mention. The first on the front nine is the 3rd; a 243-yarder called “Bell”. It takes a fair old blow from the tee to get close as the hole plays uphill and the green is entirely blind. The next two short holes – “Kingfisher” and “Spa Well” – are the 7th and 10th which are both protected by water to the front of the green. The 177-yard 14th, named “Cheviot” plays to a two-tiered green with three bunkers in front.

Conditioning of the Hirsel course is famed, so much so that some who should know a good course when they play one have called it “the Augusta of the Borders”.

Hirsel

Hirsel Golf Club is laid out over rolling Borders terrain right on the border between England and Scotland.

Designed by local professional Alex Cleghorn, the course at Woll Golf Club started out as a 9-hole affair when it first opened for play in 1993. New owners took over eight years later and they immediately resolved to expand the course to a full 18-hole layout. By 2004, the additional nine was in use, with the old holes at 3 to 9 re-sequenced as the new 12 to 18.

The reconfigured course now measures just over 6,000 yards from the back tees, playing to a par of 70, with three par fives – two of them played back-to-back at the 12th and 13th – and five par threes on the scorecard. The club decided to upgrade its greens to USGA standard in 2014 and began this process on six of the original holes.

The par threes are all feature holes, with ponds in play at the 133-yard 5th and 166-yard 17th. “Hare’s Back” at the 8th and “Roman Cundy,” the downhill 11th, are both pleasing on the eye but the best of the short holes is the 155-yard 15th (“Saddle”), playing to an elevated green that’s protected by a couple of bunkers to the front of the putting surface.

Woll

Designed by local professional Alex Cleghorn, the course at Woll Golf Club started out as a 9-hole affair when it first opened for play in 1993...

The Scottish Borders, known to many for its rivers, reivers (raiders) and rugby, is an area that also makes its mark in the sporting world of golf.

 looks after the interests of 21 clubs in this south east corner of Scotland, with eight of these clubs owning 9-hole courses.

Torwoodlee was the venue for the Scottish Club Championship in 2005 (when local club Cardrona won the competition) and 

 hosted the Scottish Area Team Championship in 1999, an event which saw Lothians claim its eighth title.

The two most famous courses in the Borders are both Dave Thomas creations. 

, close to Peebles, followed six years later. Although 40 miles apart, many golfers still think it worth the hour’s drive to play each course in one 36-hole visit.


 rankings were last updated in November 2019. Click the link to read the story.
