Largs Golf Club

Largs Golf Club sits on the hillside above the town of Largs, looking across the Firth of Clyde to the Isle of Great Cumbrae and, beyond it, the Arran peaks and the Kintyre peninsula. Founded 1891, the course occupies ground that rises sharply from the coastal town to give the upper holes one of the more panoramic views available from any parkland course on the Clyde coast.

Par 70, around 6,100 yards. The routing is divided between the lower ground close to the town — flatter, conventional parkland — and higher moorland-edged terrain on the upper holes where the views open and the wind off the Firth becomes a factor. The 7th and 8th, played along the top of the hillside with Cumbrae directly below and the Arran silhouette on the far horizon, are the holes that stick in the memory. The descent back to the clubhouse on the closing holes returns through the lower woodland.

Visitor green fee is £30–45. Largs is the ferry point for Great Cumbrae island — CalMac sailing takes 10 minutes, with Millport Golf Club on the far side, a 9-hole links that makes a natural afternoon complement to a morning at Largs. The 1263 Battle of Largs (the last major Norse raid on Scotland) is remembered in the town's Vikingar! centre.

The Ayrshire coast north of Irvine — Largs, Fairlie, Skelmorlie — is underplayed relative to the famous Troon–Prestwick–Turnberry corridor further south. Largs is the natural base for this stretch: ferry connections to the islands, a town with hotels and restaurants, and a private club that gives a complete round without the costs of the championship venues.