Machrie Golf Links
'No mere golfer deserves it, this extraordinary combination of beauty, solitude, and freedom' James Finnegan, author: Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens.
There are many reasons why you have to come and play the Machrie Golf Links, not least to discover why so many golfers find it a bewitching and exalting experience. Laid out in 1891 by pioneering designer Willie Campbell, and respected among golfing cognoscenti, The Machrie is now getting a wider name for itself as one of the world’s top links courses.
When Campbell first saw the land being proposed for the course, he said it was ‘the best ground for a golf course that I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.’ In fact, apart from some minor modifications, this challenging course has changed little in over 100 years, and has a fascinating history.
At 6250 yards long, we like to think of the Machrie course as a subtle beast with a sense of humour. In the natural sand dunes lurk its wicked teeth, and a capricious temperament sometimes provoked by winds of varied strengths and direction. Immaculately maintained by Simon Freeman and his team, the range of classical features are kept to the highest standards, using the best in modern green-keeping technology.
Course History. The Machrie course started life in 1891, under the creative direction of Willie Campbell. Campbell was a colourful and talented character, a legend in the world of golf. His achievements ranged from playing as a professional, through course design, to acting and co-designer and course manager of the Brookline Course in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The Machrie Links rose to prominence in 1901 when the great triumvirate of James Braid, John Henry Taylor and Harry Vardon played a competition for a prize of £100, reputed to be the largest prize of its kind at that time in the British Isles. It attracted considerable public and press interest.
Over the years, the essence of the course design has been carefully preserved, but with delicate touches of improved husbandry to coax the best out of this natural wonder.