Region · Scottish Islands
Golf in Scottish Islands
18 courses that need a ferry — Askernish and the Machrie at one end, honesty boxes on Colonsay and Gigha at the other. The cheapest golf in Scotland and some of the best, usually on the same island chain.
18 courses reviewed · green fees from £10 to £185
Island golf is the only category on this site where the green fee tells you almost nothing about the round. The best course here — Askernish on South Uist — costs less than a municipal tee time in some English cities. The cheapest, on Colonsay, is paid into a box on a post. And the courses at either end of that range are both worth a ferry.
Askernish is the reason to come. Old Tom Morris laid it out on the South Uist machair in 1891, it was effectively lost under the dunes for eighty years, and it was rediscovered and restored in the 2000s — eighteen holes, par 72, on some of the purest natural linksland in Britain. The Machrie on Islay is the other headline: Willie Campbell's 1891 course on the Big Strand at Laggan Bay, redesigned by DJ Russell in 2017, with nine distilleries on the same island. Shiskine at Blackwaterfoot on Arran is the third, and the oddest — twelve holes, par 42, laid out by Willie Fernie in 1896, with blind shots and a reputation that has nothing to do with its length.
The north has its own pair. Stromness on Orkney is eighteen holes at the harbour mouth looking over Scapa Flow to Hoy, with seven par 3s and not a single par 5 on the card. Whalsay in Shetland is the most northerly course in the British Isles — clifftop holes at Skaw, reached by a second ferry from Laxo — and Shetland Golf Club at Dale is Britain's second most northerly eighteen, where the simmer dim makes midnight golf a real proposition rather than a slogan.
Then there is the honesty-box tier, which is the most distinctive thing about golf in Scotland and barely exists anywhere else. Colonsay is eighteen holes of Hebridean links for £10–£15, paid into a box. Gigha's community-owned nine is £15 half a mile from the ferry slip, with free club hire on site. Tobermory's nine holes sit on the hillside above the painted houses on Mull. None of them has a starter, a dress code or a tee sheet.
The headline courses
The Scottish Islands courses that visitors come for, ranked by editorial weight rather than green fee.
Hidden gems
The four budget and lesser-known clubs in Scottish Islands that earn the visit but rarely make the brochures.
All 18 courses in Scottish Islands
The headline 5 and the 4 hidden gems above, plus 9 more clubs we've covered across Scottish Islands — from championship venues to municipal pay-and-plays.
- Brodick Golf Club
Brodick, Isle of Arran · parkland · 18 holes
£20–£50
- Orkney Golf Club
Kirkwall, Orkney · parkland · 18 holes
£25–£50
- Harris Golf Club
Scarista, Isle of Harris · links · 9 holes
£25–£40
- Isle of Skye Golf Club
Sconser, Isle of Skye · links · 9 holes
£30–£40
- Lamlash Golf Club
Lamlash, Isle of Arran · heathland · 18 holes
£30–£35
- Shetland Golf Club
Dale, Gott, Shetland · heathland · 18 holes
£15–£35
- North Uist Golf Club (Askernish Siar)
Sollas, North Uist · links · 9 holes
£15–£20
- Skeabost Golf Club
Portree, Isle of Skye · highland · 9 holes
£0
- Ardfin
Isle of Jura · parkland · 18 holes
£0
Scottish Islands courses — map view
18 courses plotted. Click any pin for name, type, and green fee. Scroll or pinch to zoom.
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When to play
May to September, and the further north you go the harder that window closes. The Hebridean machair courses — Askernish, North Uist, Harris — play best from late spring once the machair has dried, and they are genuinely exposed: the wind off the Atlantic is the defining feature of a round at Askernish and it does not have a mild season.
Orkney and Shetland get the compensation that makes the trip: by midsummer the light barely goes. Shetland's simmer dim gives usable light past midnight in late June, and both Stromness and Whalsay are playable at hours that make no sense anywhere else in Britain. The other side of that bargain is winter — by December the same latitude gives you a few hours of grey, and island golf north of Orkney is effectively finished from November to February.
Arran, Bute, Cumbrae and Gigha are the shoulder-season islands. They are close to the mainland, lower-lying and milder, and Brodick, Lamlash and Millport all take play through the winter. If you want island golf in April or October without gambling the whole trip on a forecast, that is the cluster to aim at.
Where to stay
The ferry timetable decides this, not the hotel. Most of these islands have one crossing a day in each direction outside high summer, which means an island round is usually an overnight stay rather than a day trip — and that is the single biggest planning difference between this region and every other one on the site.
Arran is the exception and the easy introduction: the train from Glasgow Central is timed to meet the 55-minute Ardrossan crossing, Brodick Golf Club is five minutes from the pier, and there are three courses on the island. Millport on Great Cumbrae is easier still — a train to Largs, a ten-minute ferry and a bus across the island, and you are on a James Braid layout. Both can be done and undone in a day from Glasgow.
For Islay, Mull, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides, book the ferry before the bed: car spaces on the Islay and Harris crossings go months ahead in summer, and a booking that does not include the car is a very different trip. Our stay-and-play guide covers the accommodation side; the ferry pages linked below carry the crossing times and the fares.
Off-course in Scottish Islands
Whisky on Islay, Neolithic Orkney, the Arran Coastal Way and dark skies from Shetland to Blackwaterfoot — the non-golf half of an island trip is usually the reason the rest of the party agreed to it. Here is where to look across the network.
Isle of Arran
Scotland in miniature, and the only island with three courses on this page — Brodick, Lamlash and Shiskine's twelve holes at Blackwaterfoot.
On TripSCOTIsle of Islay
Nine distilleries and one golf course. The Machrie sits on the Big Strand at Laggan Bay, a short drive from Port Ellen.
On TripSCOTArran ferry — Ardrossan to Brodick
A 55-minute crossing with the train from Glasgow Central timed to meet it. Brodick Golf Club is five minutes from the pier.
On TripSCOTOrkney Mainland
Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar and two 18-hole courses — Stromness over Scapa Flow and Orkney Golf Club above Kirkwall.
On TasteSCOTIslay whisky
The distillery map for anyone building a golf trip around the Machrie — Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig are all on the Port Ellen road.
On OutdoorSCOTArran Coastal Way
The 65-mile walk round the island, for the non-golfing half of the party or the day the Shiskine ballot goes against you.
The three island rounds you can play without a car
The standing objection to island golf is the logistics, and for the Outer Hebrides and Shetland that objection is correct — you need a car once you land. These three do not need one, and between them they make a strong case that island golf is far more reachable than its reputation.
Millport, Isle of Cumbrae. Train to Largs, walk five minutes to the slipway, ten minutes on the ferry, then the bus that meets it across to Millport. The course is James Braid's 1913 layout on the high ground of Great Cumbrae, founded in 1888 as The Cumbrae Golf Club, and it is £20–£50 depending on season and day. Glasgow to first tee is comfortably under three hours, and you can be home the same evening.
Brodick, Isle of Arran. The Glasgow Central train is timed to meet the Ardrossan ferry, the crossing is 55 minutes, and Brodick Golf Club is five minutes from the pier — the most accessible island course in Scotland for anyone arriving by CalMac. Lamlash, on the hillside above the bay with Holy Isle in front of it, is a short bus ride further and quieter. If the ballot at Shiskine is against you, these two are the reason the trip still works.
Tobermory, Isle of Mull. Oban is the end of the West Highland Line, the Craignure crossing is 46 minutes, and the bus runs up the island to Tobermory. Nine holes on the hillside above the painted houses of the harbour, paid into an honesty box. It is one of the great rounds of its kind and it involves no car at any stage.
What the three have in common is that the ferry is a scheduled public service with a train timed against it, not a logistical problem to solve. That is worth knowing before you write island golf off as a week's commitment.
Handicap certificates
Which Scottish Islands courses require a handicap certificate, and what the standard visitor limits are. Requirements occasionally change — confirm with the club before booking.
None of the courses in our Scottish Islands selection impose a formal handicap certificate requirement. Visitors of any playing standard can book and play.
Getting there
By car
- From Glasgow to Ardrossan
- 48 min — for Arran — the CalMac crossing to Brodick is 55 minutes on top of the drive
- From Glasgow to Largs
- 48 min — for Millport — the Cumbrae ferry is ten minutes, then a bus across the island
- From Glasgow to Kennacraig
- 2 hr 30 min — for Islay and the Machrie — the crossing to Port Ellen is a further 2 hours 15
- From Oban
- 0 min — the pier for Mull (46 minutes to Craignure), Colonsay and Barra — no drive at all if you come by train
By train
- Ardrossan Harbour station →
The platform is on the Arran pier. Glasgow Central to Brodick is one train and one 55-minute crossing, no car needed.
- Largs station →
Five minutes' walk to the Cumbrae slipway for Millport — the easiest island round in Scotland to reach without a car.
- Oban station →
End of the West Highland Line and the pier for Mull, Colonsay and the Outer Isles. Tobermory and Colonsay both start here.
Stays Nearby
Where to stay near Brodick
Hotels, B&Bs and self-catering within easy reach of Brodick. Tap any property to check rates.
Rates and availability via Stay22. We may earn a small commission if you book — at no extra cost to you. How affiliate links work.
Scottish Islands golf — common questions
The questions visitors ask us most often about playing in Scottish Islands.
Which Scottish island golf course is worth the trip?
Askernish on South Uist, if you only make one. It is an Old Tom Morris links from 1891 that was lost for eighty years under the machair and restored in the 2000s — genuinely one of the great links discoveries, and it charges a fraction of what a mainland course of that pedigree would. The Machrie on Islay is the other one: Willie Campbell's 1891 layout, redesigned by DJ Russell in 2017, with nine distilleries within driving distance.
What is the cheapest island golf course in Scotland?
Colonsay — eighteen holes of remote Hebridean links paid for through an honesty box. Gigha's community-owned nine-holer is the same idea half a mile from the ferry slip, with free club hire on site, and Tobermory on Mull is a third. Between them they are the best argument on this site that a green fee and a good round have very little to do with each other.
Can you play island golf without a car?
On several of them, yes. Millport is a train to Largs, a ten-minute ferry and a bus. Brodick on Arran is five minutes from the pier that the Glasgow train is timed to meet. Tobermory is walkable from the Mull ferry bus, and Gigha's course is half a mile from the slipway. The Outer Hebrides and Shetland courses genuinely need a car once you land.
What is the most northerly golf course in Britain?
Whalsay, on the island of the same name in Shetland — eighteen clifftop holes at Skaw, reached by the ferry from Laxo. Shetland Golf Club at Dale, three miles from Lerwick, is Britain's second most northerly 18-hole course and the one where the simmer dim makes midnight golf a real proposition rather than a marketing line.
Read more about Scottish Islands
More from Scottish Islands
Colonsay Golf Club — £80/yr
The lowest annual club membership in Scottish Islands in our database. Compare every club's fees in the cheapest-memberships database.
The architects1 Old Tom Morris courses here
Scottish Islands carries work by the architects who shaped Scottish golf. See who designed what.
Plan your trip
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