GOLF ESCAPES

GB&I: Scotland
Three key reasons
to head for D&G
Stranraer is a seaside classic in
Scotland’s Top 100 ranking.
Year-round golf
With an unusually mild Scottish climate
thanks to the warming influence of the
Gulf Stream and many of the courses
enjoying excellent drainage due to
their coastal locations, D&G is a
genuine year-round destination. OK, in
the winter it will be chilly, but follow up
a crisp round with a hearty meal and a
warming malt and you have the perfect
recipe for an out-of-season (very good
value) golfing adventure. Then, with 17
hours of daylight at the height of the
summer and great tee time availability,
you can cram a lot of top-quality
Scottish golf (still at great prices) into a
holiday in Dumfries & Galloway.
The brilliant last hole at
Colvend, an undiscovered gem.
Castle Douglas.
Dumfries & Galloway. Cut and paste
Brighouse Bay into Fife and it would cost
10 times the green fee – that is how good it
is (and how cheap it is). It offers the thrills
of Kingsbarns without the price tag. Miss
it off your itinerary at your peril. The
aforementioned Portpatrick (Dunskey) is
another thrilling adventure on the clifftops,
and Wigtownshire County is another.
Thornhill, 14 miles north of Dumfries,
is now an 18-hole woodland-parkland with
bags of class; it was the course on which
Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart learnt
the game. Lochmaben, Lockerbie,
Kirkcudbright and Newton Stewart are
four more parklands that will also not
disappoint. There is also a fabulous
modern heathland at Lagganmore in the
west and a mature moorland at Moffat.
The variety really is extensive.
Driving ranges and par-3 courses await at
Solway Links Pay and Play near Dumfries,
Craigieknowes near Dalbeattie, Tongland
Family Golf Centre near Kirkcudbright and
Green Valley Golf Academy. They combine
accessible par-3 courses with club hire and
friendly advice to help novices get up and
running. Castle Douglas, Hoddom Castle,
Sanquhar and the nine-hole Par-3 courses
at Portpatrick and Brighouse Bay all give
beginners and families a warm welcome.
Golf in Dumfries & Galloway is high
quality yet refreshingly relaxed. This friendly
corner of Scotland – where great value,
accessible golf on some of Scotland’s true
hidden gems – is waiting to be discovered. n
Incredible value
As we note above, green fees in D&G
are very, very good value anyway. And
the Gateway to Golf Pass makes them
even more reasonably priced. A threeround
pass costs from £90 and a sixround
pass from £130 (additional
charges apply to some courses). To
purchase, go to www.visitscotland.
com/dumfriesgalloway-golfpass
WIN a golf break in Dumfries & Galloway
VisitScotland is ofering you the chance to win:
• A two-night bed & breakfast stay for two people, with dinner on one night, at The King’s Arms
Hotel, Castle Douglas
• A round of golf for two at Southerness Golf Club
ENTER NOW AT WWW.VIsITscOTlANd.cOm/gOlfdumfRIEs
Dalbeattie.
Variety of accommodation
Knowledgeable golfer-friendly hotels
are waiting to welcome you, such as
the Cairndale in Dumfries, Kings Arms
in Castle Douglas, and Selkirk Arms in
Kirkcudbright. In addition, the Cally
Palace in Gatehouse is an opulent hotel
with its own picturesque golf course,
laid out around the hotel and the
prettiest cricket ground in Scotland.
There are also a wealth of guesthouses
and self-catering properties in D&G.
GOLF ESCAPES 2015 17