Ayrshire Courses - recommendations please!

[patricks148]

Western Gailles should be avoided, especially if you have any women in your party. The frostiest welcome in golf and the most overrated course in Scotland.

i could not disagree more with you, i think its great course, way better then anything else local except the open venues. plus i've always been well looked after on any visit, it oozes old school charm.
as for ladies getting a frosty welcome last time i was there, in the bar were a large group of American ladies having a great time and gettintg royaly looked after

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Western Gailes was perfectly fine when we played there last September(wife and 3 guys). The wife did the bookings etc as well, friendly staff.

Clubhouse was really nice, was no one around almost when we played there. Course wasn't in top condition for an over £100plus course but a nice course layout and some cracking holes. Would play it again.

Sorry OP other than WG and Troon, old preswick(all overpriced), did not play any others in that area, so cant help any further with your decisions.

 

[williamalex1]

Darnley on the Troon municipal courses a bit scruffy about the edges but a really good test of golf. Ayr Belleisle as a public course has a decent reputation but I've not played it.
West Kilbride is not spoken about as much as some of the other courses but was absolutely superb when I played it earlier this year. A wonderful links course with great views over Arran.

West Kilbride and Dundonald are good shouts. Not sure but isn't Bellisle closed or closing.
Getting a game on a Saturday may be difficult as most play their medal then, unless it's after the comps finishes.

 

[Whereditgo]

Irvine Bogside I seem to remember as being a quirky, tight course with super fast greens - really enjoyed it ,even in a gale.

Old Prestwick was fantastic, the history of the place can't help but get the golfing juices flowing.

Dundonald Links, a great course with the holes all pretty much isolated from one another from memory - great entertainment on the 18th green too as a couple of American Investment bankers had a proper set to in the group in front of us!

 

[HeftyHacker]

Thanks again for the replies guys.

Done a little digging and it looks as though visitors can get on on a Saturday afternoon for some of the courses mentioned above, but within limited times. Not too much of an issue for us as we'll be getting the ferry over from Arran in the morning anyway and sunset isn't 8:50ish so a mid afternoon round would suit us.

I'll keep looking but given the range of responses it doesn't look as though we can go too far wrong. This will be the first trip of its kind for us and we're going into it with a pretty open mind so I'm sure we'll be happy wherever we end up.

 

[patricks148]

Bar staff were fine. Doorman and starter not so much. Who knows, might just have been me they didn’t like.

Have discussed the course on here before so won’t knock the thread off course. It’s massively overrated IMO but that’s not the same as saying it’s bad.

what massivley overrated from the ladies tee's?

 

[patricks148]

Does that not count?

in that case lets just say its the most over rated course in Scotland..... from the ladies tee's?

 

[patricks148]

Since the course rating lists don't tend to make that distinction neither does my opinion of the courses I play.

shirley the course ratings do from every tee, why not give it a try from one of the main tee;s rather than just dismiss it ??

 

[Golfnut1957]

what massivley overrated from the ladies tee's?

What sort of reply is that? She doesn't rate the course and you suggest she tries it from the men's tee. What would you suggest if I said that I don't rate it, try it from the ladies tee?

I've played plenty of courses highly rated by acquaintances that I've thought were so poor I determined never to visit again. I should have played them from the reds.

 

[patricks148]

Apologies to the OP, I really didn't want to drag your thread down this rabbit hole.


"The main tees". That phrase just sums up the unconscious bias that is such a problem in golf. Incidentally, I would have preferred to play from "the main tees" had the starter not insisted I stick to the forward ones.

Sorry that my low opinion of the course upsets you but, after all I've said about the place, why would I pay good money to go back?

it doesn't upset me in the slightest, i just disagree.

 

[casuk]

Cant believe no one mentioned barrassie (kilmarnock), theres a good few around that neck of the woods that are decent courses, I played girvin a little municipal and was one of my most enjoyable rounds iv had this year, personally be looking at dundonald and western gail's first

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Cant believe no one mentioned barrassie (kilmarnock),

Post #3 ?

 

[HeftyHacker]

Bit of an update...

After some searching and conferring we settled on Dundonald, mainly due to availability and price. Managed to get a twilight round for 16:10 (sunset being 20:50 that day) for £120 on the Saturday.

Works quite well for us timing wise and means we can have a relaxed morning on Arran before heading over.

Some of the older courses may appeal more in a few years but we're all relative newcomers to golf so the history may have been lost on us a little anyway. We're just excited to be playing somewhere that has held high level events in recent years and it'll be a bit of a step up from what we're used to. Hopefully playing the likes of Silloth and then Machrihanish courses prior to it will give us the warm up we need!

Thanks again for all the replies, much appreciated.

HeftyHacker

 

[casuk]

Enjoy mate