Top 10 Golf Courses in Renfrewshire 2015
Renfrewshire Best in Region rankings updated
The Renfrewshire region lies to the west and south of the City of Glasgow, sharing boundaries with the golfing administrations in Dunbartonshire, Ayrshire & Arran and, of course, Glasgow. Twenty-three clubs are governed by the Renfrewshire Golf Union, which organises competitions for golfers within the area and selects representative teams to compete in regional matches against other Scottish Golf Union districts.
We maintain a Top 10 chart for Renfrewshire and have just completed a survey to update our rankings for this strong golfing district. East Renfrewshire holds onto the number 1 position, which was to be anticipated perhaps as it has long held a prominent position in our Scottish top 100 listing. A James Braid design from 1922, East Ren (as it’s known locally) is one of the finest moorland courses in Scotland and well deserves the top spot in the regional standings.
Rising two places to number 2 in our new listings is Ranfurly Castle, another fabulous moorland track which has been in operation for over a hundred years, ever since 1905 in fact when Andrew Kirkcaldy and Willie Auchterlonie laid out the fairways. Set on high ground above Bridge of Weir, the course has more than a whiff of Gleneagles about it with gorse, heather and ferns framing the fairways.
Bonnyton also climbs two spots to number 5 and it’s yet another moorland track that makes a mark in our latest listings. Originally commissioned by Bonnyton Moor Golf Club, the course was designed by Alister MacKenzie and inaugurated with an exhibition match between George Duncan and Abe Mitchell against Walter Hagen and J.H. Kirkwood in 1923. The course changed ownership in 1957 and is only now, more than half a century further on, gaining proper recognition for its architectural heritage.
There are two new entries in the rankings. At number 7 we have Renfrew, an early 1970s design from Commander John Harris, who laid out the tree-lined fairways of this lush, parkland course within the Blythswood Estate, on the east bank of the River Cart, at the point where it enters the Clyde. The other newcomer enters at number 8 and it’s Whitecraigs, another parkland track located within the Netherton estate in Giffnock, where James Braid made modifications to the layout in the late 1930s.
