KINTYRE in 4 Rounds & 3 Drams
The remote Kintyre Peninsula on the West Coast of Scotland is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Isle of Arran and Islay, pointing due south to Northern Ireland. The off the beaten track location, links golf and malt whisky offer something special for golfers with a sense of adventure. This off season we wanted to experience Kintyre firsthand and where better to start than Campbeltown.
Travelling to Kintyre
Taking the Low road we drove past the banks of Loch Lomond and through the ‘‘Rest and be Thankful’ mountain pass. It is just over a 3-hour drive from Glasgow to Campbeltown, a dogleg left and a long iron down the A83 and you’ll soon arrive. Stop at the Georgian town of Inveraray on the banks of Loch Fyne to break up the journey.
For those looking for a faster route, there are 45-minute Loganair direct flights from Glasgow to Campbeltown. Tickets will cost you approx £100 return. The aircraft are small so double check luggage restrictions. From April 25th 2024 the large Calmac car ferry from Ardrossan to Campbeltown is planned to restart taking just over 2.5 hours across the Firth of Clyde Estuary.
There is also The Kinytre Express, a smaller 12-seater passenger ferry running Ballycastle – Campbeltown – Islay from 29 March until 30 September 2024.
Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club
It was a crisp clear January morning to play Machrihanish Dunes or ‘Mach Dunes’. David McLay Kidd created a natural links, far from a modern day highly manicured course. The designer behind Bandon Dunes and The Castle Course, St Andrews, Kidd paid homage to mother nature, incorporating the SSSI dune habitats into the layout. On a 275-acre site only 7 acres were disturbed!! The fairways are shaped exactly as they were the day building commenced. Mach Dunes really gets going from the driveable short Par 4 at the 4th Hole and cleverly makes best use of the landscape, it felt like the majority of the holes from the 4th -17th have you hitting directly towards the sea. Mach Dunes is an endurance test at times so bring plenty golf balls, but it has been made less severe in recent times. Once you appreciate the design philosophy it is a highly memorable links to tick off.
The Machrihanish Golf Club
Our afternoon was followed by another 18 at The Machrihanish Golf Club, a traditional links dating back to 1876 and ranked in Scotland’s Top 20. The expansive Old Tom Morris greens were superbly firm and rolling well for January. The course is famous for having the best opening 1st tee shot in the world and I have to agree that hitting the ball over Machrihanish Bay beach was a heart in the mouth moment. The front nine plays out closest to the beach, we particularly enjoyed the challenge of the 3rd Hole named Islay. After a blind tee shot over the crest of the hill the fairway opens up to a well protected green with 4 bunkers and the backdrop of Islay and the Paps of Jura. The back 9 plays more inland beside Campbeltown airport and 9 Hole Pans course, but rest assured this is not Heathrow! Unspoilt, fair and classic would best describe The Machrihanish Golf Club. A brand new clubhouse awaits as your 19th Hole.
Undiscovered Kintyre courses - Dunaverty
If you have time during your Kintyre tour then I recommend Dunaverty Golf Club , 20 minutes south of Campbeltown on the very southern tip of Mull of Kintyre. What a location for this Par 66 course which has 7 Par 3’s and will have you crossing bridges and hitting along coves. You can almost touch County Antrim, Northern Ireland only 12 miles away. The weather did not permit us to play Dunaverty this time but we enjoyed the clubhouse’s homemade soup of the day and picked up a souvenir.
Carradale Golf Club
For those who want to fit in an extra 9 holes if you are taking a ferry from Arran – Kintyre then I recommend Carradale Golf Club. Located 30 minutes north of Campbeltown on the Kilbrannan Sound this beautiful 9 holer overlooks Arran and Ailsa Craig. We had a lot of fun at Carradale and perhaps their 6th Hole called Pudding Bowl was our favourite one of the entire trip, especially from the Medal tee box.
Campbeltown Malt Whisky - Springbank
Campbeltown may be the smallest of Scotland’s whisky regions today with only 3 working distilleries but in times past it was the distillery capital of the world with 37!! During the trip we visited Springbank Distillery, conveniently located just off the high street, a family owned handcrafted whisky dating back to 1828. Springbank are masters of their craft producing a single malt from malting to bottling, with 100% of the process contained on-site. The traditional malt floor requires turning every 4-6 hours 24 hours a day - that’s a shift! I can highly recommend the in-depth tours on offer - my thanks to Finlay and Craig. Fortunately, we picked up the last bottle of Springbank 15 from the distillery shop, a well-balanced oily, salty, 100% sherry cask whisky finished with a hint of peat. This is a common characteristic of Campbeltown malts which are not generally as peated as their Islay counterparts. Although if you like peat try Springbank’s Longrow tribute whisky.
More Whisky
Glengyle Distillery is the newest old distillery in Campbeltown. The Mitchell family, owner of Springbank, re-introduced Glengyle and the Kilkerran in 2004 after nearly 80 years of non-producing. This ensured Campbeltown was recognised once more as one of the 5 official whisky regions in Scotland, since a minimum of 3 distilleries are required for this prestigious title. Glen Scotia Distillery makes the third Campbeltown distillery owned by Loch Lomond Group. If you don’t have time to visit the distillery Cadenhead’s Tasting Room tucked away on Bolgam Street is a gem of a place to sample whiskies at Scotland’s oldest independent bottler. The Ardshiel Hotel in Campbeltown has a legendary whisky bar with over 700 malts to choose from, many rare and exclusive.
The Village at Machrihanish Dunes
Our choice of accommodation was the 4-star The Royal Hotel in central Campbeltown offering guests grand en-suite bedrooms overlooking the Harbour. I very much enjoyed a hearty breakfast of the ‘eggs Inveraray’ and a pint in the hotels Black Sheep Pub while chatting to a few locals. The Royal Hotel is part of The Village at Machrihanish Dunes owned by the USA based Southworth Developments. The Village also offers stay/play accommodation located directly next to the first tee of The Machrihanish Golf Club at The Ugadale Hotel & Cottages, offering a range of rooms and 2-bedroom self-catering homes, Old Clubhouse Pub and Kintyre Restaurant. A shuttle service is available for residents to travel the 10 minutes to Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club or into Campbeltown.
Kintyre Guest Houses
If you are looking for a B&B option then the 4-star Grammar Lodge in Campbeltown is used to welcoming golf tourists having even hosted a past USA Ryder Cup captain. Proudly No1 on Tripadvisor and located in the converted old Campbeltown Grammar School, you will find high ceiling en-suite rooms, large breakfast room and friendly service. Located up Saddell Bay is Drumfearne Guesthouse & Tearoom in Carradale where you can expect quiet surroundings, exceptional home baking, full breakfasts and dinner.
Dining Out
The leading restaurant in Campbeltown is Number Forty Two, chef Gordon McNeil has created a seafood menu to showcase the best catches of the day from Kintyre. Our langoustine starter hit the mark and is another reason to stay in town.
Future developments
The future of Kintyre looks bright with ground broken on a second 18-hole course, complete with hotel and lodges at Machrihanish Dunes. The new course will be focussed more on a resort-style links experience to complement the more difficult Mach Dunes. Additionally 3 more distilleries are expected to open in the Campbeltown region, catapulting the number closer to the original 37!! So plenty to fill a standalone Kintyre golf and whisky itinerary in the coming years.
