Destination Golf Scotland 2020 * | Page 22

Machrihanish Dunes Machrihanish Dunes If there was a classification for ‘wild golf’ then Machirihanish Dunes would hold the title. This is a young course, designed by David McLay Kidd in the 2000s, yet the land and nature have dictated the terms of the course’s development and layout, right down to the bunkering. Set on a Site of Special Scientific Interest the terrain buckles sharply and constantly… including on the greens. There’s no doubt that the wildness and the sheer scale of the dunes make this a muscular adventure (there are some long green-to-tee walks) but the location and that natural rhythm make the two Machrihanish courses irresistible. There’s no doubt that the wildness and the sheer scale of the dunes make this a muscular adventure. 20 Machrihanish Championship The name alone summons up an air of mystery and romanticism… and the golf course promises that same spirit and beauty. It is as natural as you could hope for, holes rising and falling as if in the swells of an ocean. And the ocean only adds to the drama on this remote spot on the Kintyre Peninsula. Nowhere is this more evident than on the famous 1st hole where the tee sits above the shore and you must drive diagonally across the beach to find the fairway. It’s the sort of thrilling start that marks a course for greatness… but Machrihanish never falters and the variety of hole shapes and beautiful green settings will prove utterly endearing. Nowhere is this more evident than on the famous 1st hole where the tee sits above the shore and you must drive diagonally across the beach to find the fairway.