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From our Directory of the most recommended golf courses
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club
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Founded in 1780, the 6th oldest golf course in the world, the course is located in Aberdeen, Scotland, about 1.5 hours north of St Andrews. The "Royal" title was conferred in 1903. A series of notable architects including Robert, Tom, and Archie Simpson (Carnoustie), and Willie Park, Jr had hands in creating the course. It's classic links, 9 holes straight out, 9 back in to the ancient clubhouse. The fairways are narrow, with the marram and heather high, many fairway and green undulations running out as the best links do. A few blind shots, gorse, long bents, an occassional burn, tees on the top of dunes, greens in hollows and flats, and fairways snaking through the dunes and grasses. One of the toughest courses I've played, but it was in a good wind, otherwise it might be the second toughest course I've played.
Posted by: JayM
Jan 11th, 2011
Royal Aberdeen kicked my ass, as well as the asses of the other members of our group. Fairways were walked off at 14-paces wide. For the most part, our group subscribes to the logic of “long and wrong” as opposed to “short and straight.” Aberdeen definitely required the tee ball to be straight, with trouble off the fairways only a few yards, resulting in many lost balls and not as much fun. We played in what the locals call a “summer breeze,” but to us Yanks we were struggling to move the ball forward in the air. No one broke 90 except for Steve, who went low, medalling with a 79. As most of the group can tell you, that’s some pretty good shooting.
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Posted by: ralphg
Aug 31st, 2010
Wonderful course. Played a couple of rounds in wind and increasingly- heavy rain, but even without these I reckon it's one of the toughest links around. The first is relatively straightforward, but the lovely second reminds you that accuracy is everything, its slim fairway snaking through the dunes: a few feet off and you're lucky if you find your ball. Quite a lot of the front 9 makes the same demands...really excellent holes. Although turning into the wind toughens up the back nine, there are one or two more generous fairways: that said you'd need a couple of very good hits to reach the 18th green with much more than a gentle breeze against. And as for the greens, just outstanding...can't remember any better. Very friendly pro and bar staff...altogether great way to spend a day. Not cheap, mind, so perhaps worth including next-door (and very good) Murcar on any tour.
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Posted by: GeorgeM
Aug 1st, 2010
Few golf courses have impressed me more than Royal Aberdeen. This is links golf at its absolutely finest, played it for the first time this week on a 36 hole day combined with Cruden Bay. The golf course was in perfect shape, showing off its curves and rough in the most seductive way. A crisp wind was blowing--just enough to let me know how mean-spirited the golf course could get if I dared think I could better it. Terrific layout, and quite a challenge whether the wind's blowing or not, friendly welcome in the clubhouse, nice lunch in the grill room overlooking the course.
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Oct 6th, 2008
I will preface my assessment of the course with our experience. We were making it a 36 hole day, and after finishing our round at Cruden Bay, jumped in the van and arrived at Balgownie in time for the afternoon round. We were dead tired, and decided to only play nine and make it a scramber to conserve our energy. Little did we know that it is an out and back golf course so by the time we realized that #9 was at the end of the property, and we had to retrace our steps back to where we began, we were so tired we didn't even play the back nine. It was a difficult course, tight fairways with little room for error, with the wind assisting in larger errors. Quite a history here as the 6th oldest club in the world, designed by a series of architects over the years indlucing Willie Park Sr, and three Simpsons, Robert, Archie, and Tom. The club was bestowed its roayl status in 1903 by King Edward VII. The holes weave through the sandhills with lots of undulations of the fairways, and are lined by heavy heather, gorse, bents, the frequent bunkers, burns. just about everything a links course has to offer. There's the occasional blind shots which accompany any good old links course, along with one of the more natural landscapes where a golf course just happen to co-exist we encoutered in Scotland. The back nine is more gentle than the fron, and in some whays wish we could have played it first. Not sure I will be back at RA, to me it was the toughest course we've played in Scotland. It's highly regarding, having hosted the Senior British Open where the cut was 14 over par!, and will host the Walker Cup in 2011, so a lot of high regard for the course. Great, classy clubhouse, and wonderful reception by the staff and members we met.