Kintyre neighbours · Which to play
Machrihanish Golf Club vs Machrihanish Dunes
Two links side by side at the end of the Kintyre road — the Old Tom classic, or the modern dunes?
| Machrihanish Golf Club | Machrihanish Dunes | |
|---|---|---|
| Green fee (2026) | £95–£125 | £75–£125 |
| Location | Campbeltown, Argyll | Campbeltown, Argyll |
| Region | Argyll | Argyll |
| Type | Links | Links |
| Holes / par | 18 · par 70 | 18 · par 72 |
| Designer | Old Tom Morris (1879) | David McLay Kidd |
The verdict
Which should you play?
Getting to Machrihanish is a mission — the length of Kintyre, or a wee plane from Glasgow — so most who make it play both, and they're wonderfully different. Machrihanish Golf Club (Old Tom Morris, 1879) opens with one of the greatest first tee shots in golf, a drive across the Atlantic beach, and rolls out into classic old-school links. Machrihanish Dunes (David McLay Kidd, 2009) next door is the modern, minimalist course, routed through wild SSSI dunes with almost no earth moved — rugged, natural and occasionally eccentric.
The old course is the must-play for its history and that opening drive; the Dunes is the fascinating modern companion that shows you what links looks like when nobody bulldozes it. If it's one round, play the original. If you've come this far, play both — you won't be back next weekend.
Pick this one if…
Machrihanish Golf Club
You want the historic links and the famous opening drive across the beach.
Pick this one if…
Machrihanish Dunes
You want the wild, modern, minimalist dunes course as your second Kintyre round.
Green fees are the clubs' published 2026 visitor rates, shown as a range from the cheapest to the dearest tee time. They change; always confirm on the course profile before you book. We don't take a cut of your green fee — the verdict above is ours, not the pro shop's.
More: which should you play?