East Renfrewshire
Earl of Mar
This is parkland resort golf at its most enchanting. The course is
less than 10 years old and was designed by Dave Thomas, across a
charming 250 acre estate. Located 15 miles west of Glasgow city
it is set beside the River Clyde and in the shade of the Erskine
Bridge. Earl of Mar flows around 250 year old sweet chestnut
and beech trees with several holes pressed up against the
river’s edge. It is wonderful stuff, and then there’s the elaborate
bunkering, generous fairways and beautifully contoured greens.
And, considering this is a modern course, it is not that long which
makes it playable for golfers of all abilities. The 5 star Mar Hall
Golf & Spa Resort watches over it all.
East Renfrewshire
Holes wrap around a loch and burst with moorland flavour at East
Renfrewshire, one of the area’s most popular and highly rated
courses. There’s no question that this is one of the finest moorland
courses in Scotland, and one that promises stunning views to
Glasgow and Loch Lomond National Park. Holes are routed in every
direction over bumpy, always undulating and often unpredictable
terrain, so it promises plenty of fun shot making. And, with
scatterings of trees and burns, it demands strategic play. Add in the
location, some 500 feet above sea level, and you will find the wind
is always an important factor. James Braid – yet again – designed the
layout, back in 1922.
Kilmacolm
Earl of Mar flows around
250 year old sweet chestnut
and beech trees with several
holes pressed up against the
river’s edge.
94
More moorland and more delightful golf to be found on this short
par 69 course, south-west of Glasgow, and above the village of
Kilmacolm. With attractive countryside views over rolling hills, it
seems only fair that the course reflects those undulations, with
sweet shapes at every turn and an imaginative routing that keeps
you guessing. The course boasts both its status as the finest village
golf course… and as a ‘miniature Gleneagles’. It is certainly colourful
and entertaining golf as holes weave through gorse, heather and
tree-lined fairways. It is not long – just 5961 yards off the back tees –
but that matters little when smart golf is the name of the game. You
can thank James Braid for that.