“Scotland is known as the Home of Golf and is renowned for its fascinating history, rich culture and heritage and but above all, our golf courses are situated amid some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Throughout Scotland there is a huge choice of golf courses to suit every skill level, offering quality, value for money, and above all, a fantastic and unique golfing experience. You are never too far from a golf course with more than 400 courses less than an hour from a city or an airport. Furthermore, the average green fee is £45 which is only around $70. Every golfer in the world should experience golf in Scotland at least once in their lifetime. Up and down the country Scotland offers unique coastal courses and magnificent links golf, complemented by breathtaking parkland, heathland and moorland golf courses, many of which have been designed by renowned golf architects and played by the golfing elite; another reason for cementing Scotland’s golfing reputation. Scotland of course boasts the famous greens of Turnberry and The Old Course. But we are not ones to rest on our laurels and new courses are being added to Scotland’s amazing collection all the time. Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, set hard against the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, is the first 18-hole links golf course to be built on the west coast of Scotland in 100 years, while Castle Stuart in the Highlands is a championship links course overlooking the Moray Firth and well-known landmarks that are synonymous with Highlands. With more than 550 courses populating the stunning scenery the length and breadth of the country, you will never be stuck for quality or choice. With all this and more, there is always a reason for visiting Scotland.” Phillip Riddle, Chief Executive VisitScotland

Maybe the game of golf wasnt invented in Ireland but to most visitors it seems that way. After all, there are more golf courses per square mile in Ireland than in any part of the world. A golfing visit to Ireland will be the trip of a lifetime for many reasons. First, links courses sparkle like an emerald necklace around the coastline of Ireland. It is subjective to pick the best from so many great courses but here are a few: Royal Portrush, Portstewart. Royal County Down, Baltray, Portmarnock, The European Club, Old Head, Waterville, Ballybunion, Tralee, Lahinch, Doonbeg, Connemara, Carne, Enniscrone, Murvagh, Ballyliffin and Rosapenna. Second, the past two decades have brought world class resorts with the finest facilities and championship level courses, including The K Club, Lough Erne, Druids Glen, Mount Wolsely, Killeen Castle, Glasson, Galgorm Castle, Slieve Russell, The Heritage, Powerscourt, Adare, Fota Island, Dromoland Castle and many more. Third, visitors can enjoy over 400 private golf clubs scattered throughout Ireland where greens fees offer excellent value and local members make you feel at home. Not least, the 19th hole is a great opportunity to meet local golfers. An old saying puts it like this: There are no strangers in Ireland, only friends you havent met before. The successes of Irish golfers on the international circuit has also put the spotlight on the great golf found throughout the Island. Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Shane Lowrey and others have been not just successful competitors but wonderful ambassadors for Irish fun and hospitality. I hope you and your friends will come to experience golf in Ireland for yourselves. I can assure you a warm welcome and some wonderful memories. Joe Byrne Executive Vice-President Tourism Ireland

“My new go-to resource for planning a trip to golf’s homeland . . . Immaculately designed and crammed with beautiful photography.” —Brian Kendall, Canadian Golf Traveller Every golf course around the globe has one thing in common—they are all unique. No two courses are ever the same. Golf is the only major sport that offers a different experience wherever you go. The aim of this guide is to offer a golfer all the information they would require to enjoy a great round of golf at the best courses Scotland has to offer. You will find all the essential information you need here—from par score, yardage, and cost of a round to booking procedure and how best to play the course. Universally regarded as the birthplace of the modern game, Scotland boasts some of the finest courses in the world: Royal Troon; Turnberry; and the fabled Old Course, St Andrews, to name just a few. These are the courses all keen golfers would wish to play given the opportunity. “Very well written and treads a deft line between the scholarly and the light-hearted . . . I closed the book wanting to hop on a train, travel up to the Auld Grey shores and play golf: you can’t pay a travel book a higher compliment than that.” —Will Trinkwon, Golfshake.com “A book where pure enjoyment leaps from every page.” —For the Love of Books “There are few golfers in the world who don’t yearn for a Scottish golf trip one day and this book will most definitely whet your appetite and help you plan that special trip.” —UK Golf Guy

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “One of the best golf books this century.” —Golf Digest Tom Coyne’s A Course Called Scotland is a heartfelt and humorous celebration of his quest to play golf on every links course in Scotland, the birthplace of the game he loves. For much of his adult life, bestselling author Tom Coyne has been chasing a golf ball around the globe. When he was in college, studying abroad in London, he entered the lottery for a prized tee time in Scotland, grabbing his clubs and jumping the train to St. Andrews as his friends partied in Amsterdam; later, he golfed the entirety of Ireland’s coastline, chased pros through the mini-tours, and attended grueling Qualifying Schools in Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Yet, as he watched the greats compete, he felt something was missing. Then one day a friend suggested he attempt to play every links course in Scotland and qualify for the greatest championship in golf. The result is A Course Called Scotland, “a fast-moving, insightful, often funny travelogue encompassing the width of much of the British Isles” (GolfWeek), including St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Prestwick, Troon, and Carnoustie. With his signature blend of storytelling, humor, history, and insight, Coyne weaves together his “witty and charming” (Publishers Weekly) journey to more than 100 legendary courses in Scotland with compelling threads of golf history and insights into the contemporary home of golf. As he journeys Scotland in search of the game’s secrets, he discovers new and old friends, rediscovers the peace and power of the sport, and, most importantly, reaffirms the ultimate connection between the game and the soul. It is “a must-read” (Golf Advisor) rollicking love letter to Scotland and golf as no one has attempted it before.

A guide to golf courses tee times, lodging, and transportation in Scotland, including 13 itineraries.

Lowe takes us along the rugged eastern coast, from St. Andrews up to Montrose and Cruden Bay and Royal Aberdeen, "from heather, whin and sand, to points north," to Nairn and Dornoch. Then to the west coast, to Prestwick and Troon. It's not only the courses themselves that Lowe illuminates along the way, but the winding roads, the ancient villages, the farms and whiskey distilleries, and the people who call this land their home as well. Each step of his pilgrimage is given its due.

Seaside links courses offer golfers unmatched challenges and enchanting scenery. And while they can be found in many parts of the world, the links of the British Isles are the most famous in their class. Donald Steel takes readers on a tour of seventy-five spectacular greens along windswept beaches and sheer cliffs of Britain and Ireland. These links prove true the old belief that courses are for expanding a player's abilities, rather than defining and confining them as in so many other sports. Steel offers up destinations like St. Andrews, Royal St. George's, and Formby, Ballybunion, and Muirfield among the seaside playing fields that have been the home to championship tournaments and amateur aspirations. With scorecards, maps, color photos, and helpful hints for most holes, this guide is an essential reference tool for the traveling golfer. It tells the history of the courses it covers and provides information on the designers who built them and the pros who have set their records. Brian Morgan's stunning photography handsomely captures the majestic layout of the courses. From the deceptive lengths to the treacherous traps, his visual log of the courses prepares golfers for the beauty and challenges that await them. His award-winning and world-renowned pictures have appeared in golf journals on both sides of the Atlantic and in several exhibitions.