Tried & Tested In The 2025 Golf Season
The 2025 Scottish golf travel season has come to a close. Now as we put our feet up in the 19th and reflect on the year, here are the highlights we would like to share.
1- Old Head Golf Links
In July we played Old Head of Kinsale in County Cork, Ireland for the first time. After negotiating its 300-foot high cliff top holes the general feeling was Old Head is up there as the most dramatic golf experience in GB&I.
2- The Balvenie Distillery
Ticking off visits to all 5 of Scotland’s whisky regions has been a laborious task!! This May we took the 2.5 Hour Balvenie distillery tour for the first time. The Balvenie is such a well-rounded tour as it's one of the only distilleries to have their own on-site cooperage and traditional malting floor. You’ll be able to have a shot at using the “dipping dog” tool to draw your own whisky straight from the cask for souvenir bottling.
3- Old Petty
We were lucky enough to play the new Old Petty course at Cabot Highlands during its preview play in September. With the official grand opening of Old Petty on 15th May 2026. The Tom Doak design, named after the adjacent Old Petty Church, plays alongside Castle Stuart on the 3rd & 16th holes. Every hole points to varying angles of the compass, so no wind direction is the same. There isn’t another course like this one in Scotland, a mix of modern links and prairie style holes set on the magnificent Moray Firth.
4 – Murcar Links
It may not be an entirely new course, but Murcar Links in Aberdeenshire has a revamped 3rd hole completed in May this year. The 3rd - 9th hole stretch along the North Sea coast is links heaven.
5- Spey Bay Golf Club
Clayton DeVries and Pont radically redesigned this Ben Sayers links course to make it a fully reversible 18-hole layout. Over a century old with a 21st century structure, Spey Bay is owned by thousands of global members via the New York-based LinksDAO, who purchased the club in 2023. Back in May we enjoyed our round and the range of shots required. The mobile halfway house, The Osprey's Nest was a welcome sight on 2 occasions.
6- Discovering Edinburgh
A couple of nights in ‘Auld Reekie’ Scotland’s ancient capital city, Edinburgh is a popular book end to a Scottish golf trip. Robert Howie’s Historic Edinburgh tours are highly recommended. His narrative surrounding the Old Town and Royal Mile is informative as well as fascinating and fun.
The W Edinburgh in the re-developed St James Quarter is a contemporary hotel blending Scottish heritage and modern luxury, inspired by the city's volcanic origins, folklore, and creative energy sets this hotel apart. The bedrooms and entire hotel decor is sleek and stylish, the interior designer should be applauded. Try the signature restaurant SUSHISAMBA and rooftop deck with the finest 360-degree views of the Edinburgh skyline. Our view easily matched the 5 Star rating.
The Spanish Butcher on North Castle Street received some glowing reviews from groups we had in Edinburgh this season, with 1 group returning for their finale dinner. Guests dine on Galician beef, jamón ibérico and freshly caught Scottish seafood.
So, if you are travelling to Scotland or Ireland in 2026, we strongly recommend fitting one or two of these experiences into your program.
