Hazlehead Golf Club

Hazlehead Golf Club occupies Hazlehead Park on the western edge of Aberdeen — a large public park that contains three golf courses (the MacKenzie Championship, the Pines, and a 9-hole course), a maze, a children's play area, and one of Aberdeen's most actively used green spaces. The Championship course was designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1927 — the same MacKenzie who subsequently designed Augusta National and Cypress Point, and who was born in Birstwith, Yorkshire, to a family with Aberdeen connections. His fingerprints on the bunkering and green contours are visible to those who know what to look for.

The MacKenzie Championship course is the one to play: par 70, 18 holes, tree-lined parkland with the characteristic MacKenzie strategic bunkering placed to penalise the shot that is almost right rather than obviously wrong. The Pines course is shorter and more forgiving; the 9-hole suits a quick evening round. All three are managed by Sport Aberdeen, the trust that runs the city's sport and leisure facilities.

Green fee on the Championship course is £18–£28 depending on day and season — one of the more striking bargains in Scottish golf given the designer pedigree. Booking through the Sport Aberdeen website or by phone. Hazlehead is the place where Aberdeen's active club golfers play when they're not heading to Royal Aberdeen or Murcar Links; the standard of play in the field on a Saturday morning is higher than the green fee would lead you to expect.