The Machrie

The Machrie Golf Links was designed by Willie Campbell in 1891, and is on the Isle of Islay, a remote, desolate, island in the lower Herbrides, Scotland. You must take one of the Caledonian Mac Brayne ferries at Kennecraig after driving 3.5 hours from Glasgow down the Kintyre peninsula. Half the joy of playing Machrie is the journey. Driving down Kintyre, passing Loch Lomond, Loch Fyne, Inverary, Lochgilpahead, and through the mountains and glens of the peninsula, we almost were looking more forward to the drive back than our golf game. Little has changed from the original layout, and at 6250 yards you may be led to believe it couldn't be much of a challenge. The course was created from the land, the greens are sited on the natural contours and plateaus of the land. The routing is through grass covered sandhills, small to large, and contains only 6 bunkers. The green complexes, have been placed in amphitheatres, plateaus, and at the tops of ridges. At Machrie, there's probably the top all-blind hole in the world, if there's such a thing. The 7th is a 395 yarder, from the tee shot, located well below the fairway, there's no idea of where the fairway lies. The second shot provides you with a sweeping view of the beach at Laggan Bay, the Atlantic, and the Paps of Jura. The second shot is blind as well, somewhere over a ridge on line with a sandhill directly behind the green. It's a classic links venue, thinly discovered, but worth the long, but pleasant trip. Plan on staying at the hotel on the grounds, known only for his location near the golf course