Golf in Glasgow & the West

Glasgow's reputation for rain is not entirely undeserved — the west of Scotland catches the Atlantic weather first, and the parkland courses hold water more than the free-draining links of the east coast. May to September is the reliable window; the moorland courses on the higher ground (Cathkin Braes, Hilton Park, Strathaven) drain better than the low-lying parklands and are the safer bet after a wet spell.

The advantage of an inland, suburban golf scene is that it is genuinely four-season. The municipal courses stay open year-round, winter green fees drop to a few pounds, and you are never far from a clubhouse fire. Winter golf in Glasgow is a real local pastime rather than an endurance test — temporary greens on the parklands, full course on the better-drained moorland.

Weekday mornings are the visitor's friend at the private clubs. Most of the members' courses — Pollok, Haggs Castle, Whitecraigs, Williamwood — keep weekends for members but welcome visitors midweek with a phone call. The municipals take all comers, any day.

The case for Glasgow is value, so here is the value itinerary — a week of good golf around the city for less than a single round on a famous links.

Start on the survivors of Glasgow's municipal cull to see how little city golf can cost. Littlehill in the north is the last full 18-hole muni Glasgow Life runs — book online from around £6 off-peak — and the nine-hole Knightswood is even cheaper. Add Strathclyde Park out in Lanarkshire and you have three rounds for roughly the price of one twilight at a name course. (Worth a look too: Golf It!, the R&A's free community facility on the old Lethamhill site — a driving range, short course and putting greens aimed at getting the city back into the game.)

Then spend on the parklands that earn it. A weekday visitor round at Cawder (two courses at Bishopbriggs) or Crow Wood (Muirhead) gives you proper, well-conditioned parkland without a member's introduction. If you can get on through a contact, Pollok and Haggs Castle are the south-side pair worth the effort, and Glasgow Golf Club at Killermont is the historic prize.

Finish on the moor and the Clyde for the views. Cathkin Braes on the southern ridge looks back over the whole city to the Campsie Fells; Cardross sits above the Clyde estuary with the hills of Argyll across the water. Neither is expensive, both are memorable, and together they make the point that Glasgow golf is far better — and far cheaper — than its near-total absence from the visitor brochures suggests.