Stonehaven Golf Club

Stonehaven Golf Club sits on the clifftops above Stonehaven Bay, 15 miles south of Aberdeen, with views along the Kincardine coast and the prominent mass of Dunnottar Castle — a fourteenth-century fortress on a sea-girt rock 1 mile south of the course — visible from the higher tees. Founded 1888, the course is a compact 18 holes of par 66 across dramatic clifftop ground that makes efficient use of limited terrain.

The shorter par reflects the clifftop geography rather than any shortage of ambition — several holes play across the cliff edge, with the sea and the coastal rock formations below. The 14th, played along the cliff above a series of sea stacks that appear at low tide, is the photographed hole; the 11th and 12th are the strategically demanding pair. The wind off the North Sea is the primary defence.

Green fee is £35–50, which is exceptional value for a clifftop links in this condition and setting. Visitor access is walk-in friendly outside busy weekends. For golfers driving the Aberdeenshire coastal circuit south from Aberdeen, Stonehaven is the obvious first stop before continuing to Montrose or the Angus links. Pair it with a visit to Dunnottar Castle after the round — the castle and its history (it held Scotland's crown jewels during Cromwell's siege) are worth an hour of any history-minded golfer's afternoon.