Royal Aberdeen (Balgownie Links)

Royal Aberdeen, founded 1780, is the sixth-oldest organised golf club in the world. The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen — as it was known until the royal grant in 1903 — is also the club that wrote the modern rule of play giving each player five minutes to find a lost ball, a rule still in the modern code today.

The course at Balgownie, two miles north of the city, is a classic out-and-back links. The front nine plays north along enormous dunes — among the highest dunes on any Scottish course — with the tide in view from most fairways. The back nine returns inland through gorse, with the wind typically helping coming back. The 8th, a long par 3 played from a high tee down towards a green tucked at the base of the dunes, is the photographed hole.

Visitor green fee is £225 in 2026. Members' club but with reasonable visitor access — book ahead via the club's reservations team, typically two weeks before the date. Handicap certificate required (24 men, 36 women). The clubhouse is a Victorian stone building with a serious, traditional atmosphere. Pair Royal Aberdeen with neighbouring Murcar Links (a 5-minute walk north) for a 36-hole day on the Aberdeen dunes.