Cullen Golf Club

Cullen Golf Club is one of the most photogenic and idiosyncratic links courses in Scotland. Founded 1879, the course is laid out across two levels — a cliff-top section and a beach-level section — connected by a steep path that descends through a gap in the rock. The 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th holes play around and through enormous natural sea stacks rising from the sand.

Par is 63 across 4,610 yards. Twelve par 3s, six par 4s, no par 5s. This is not a championship test; it is a holiday round, and one of the most fun afternoons of golf you can have in Britain. The 6th — Cathedral Rock — plays a short iron at a green tucked behind a 60-foot freestanding sea stack, and you'll want a picture afterwards.

Visitor fees of £35–£45 make this one of the better-value coastal rounds anywhere in Scotland. The clubhouse is small, friendly, sells coffee and bacon rolls, and is genuinely happy to see you. No booking required outside of summer weekends. The course closes briefly in winter when high tides flood the bottom holes.

The town of Cullen itself is worth an afternoon — Cullen Skink (the smoked-haddock chowder named after the town) at the Three Kings Inn, and the Cullen viaduct walk for non-golfers. Pair the round with Lossiemouth (45 min west) or Royal Tarlair at Macduff (30 min east) for a Moray coast day.