Scotland is globally recognised as the home of golf.
So any golfer, amateur or pro, should experience a golf tour of Scotland at least once.
And with 550 golf courses around the country, there is a lot of choice for the golfer in Scotland.
The Old Course
No golf tour in Scotland is complete without a round on the Old Course in St Andrews. Rated as the best golf course in Scotland, and possibly the entire planet, the Old Course is a classic Links course.
The Old Course is a challenge to all golfers, no matter how experienced they are. That is one of the reasons the Old Course has hosted the more Open Championships than any other golf course.
Follow in the footsteps of golf’s greats by visiting the Old Course during you golf tour in Scotland.
Dumbarnie Links
Dumbarnie Links in Leven is a fairly new course, opening to the public in 2020.
But it has quickly gained a reputation as a fun yet challenging course, with a few fast Par 3s, as well as some dog legged Par 5s that give you options on how to best approach the green.
Less than a year after opening, Dumbarnie Links was chosen to host Women’s Scottish Open – a major vote of confidence in the new course.
Carnoustie Golf Links
Carnoustie Golf Links is considered to be one of the most difficult golf courses in the world.
This natural seaside links course offers beautiful views of the sea, which should help you deal with any frustration the course may cause.
The signature hole at Carnoustie is the 6th. This long par 5 includes some large bunkers, which can be difficult to avoid.
If you have the skills and nerves to take on Carnoustie, this should be part of your golf tour of Scotland.
Ladybank Golf Course
Rated as on of the best island golf courses in Scotland, Ladybank Golf Course was originally built as a six-hole course in 1879, before being extended in 1910 and 1962.
The small greens that are a Ladybank trademark mean that accuracy is all-important. The natural shelter of the treeline and relative flatness of the course makes this accuracy a bit more easier to achieve.
Booking golf tours in Scotland
At Hawkwood Country Estate, we cater to the golfer.
We offer luxurious accommodation, short game area and driving range where you can practice your game and private hydrospas where your muscles can recover after a day on the course.
With our golf concierge service, we can help you arrange tee times on some of the best golf courses in Scotland.
Find out more about the luxury accommodation at Hawkswood Country Estate.
The Old Course in St Andrews is the oldest and most famous golf course in the world.
Golf was first played on the links area that would become the Old Course in the early 15th Century.
In 1552, the Old Course was opened to the general public. Of course, it wasn’t known as the Old Course until 1895, when the New Course opened in St Andrews.
Over the years, many of the most celebrated golf course architects the world has ever seen have redesigned and added to the Old Course, creating the challenging links course we know today.
The course has numerous challenging hazards, many of which have been given ‘affectionate’ nicknames by golfers.
These include The Road Hole Bunker on the 17th hole, called “the most notorious golf hazard in the world”. The Hell bunker on the 14th hole is 250 square meters. The Stroke bunker on the 12th hole is so called because if a golfer goes into it, they are guaranteed to lose a stroke.
The most experienced golfers find the Old Course to be a challenge, but one they shouldn’t miss.
Indeed every golfer should play on the Old Course at least once, and no trip to St Andrews is complete without a visit to the course.
At Hawkswood Country Estate, we cater to golf trips.
Our golf concierge service can help you book tee times, hire golf equipment and travel to the course in our luxury Mercedes mini coach.
After a day on the course, you can relax in your own private hydro-spa, before having a night’s rest in one of our luxurious bedrooms.
If you are looking for a golf trip to St Andrews, book Hawkswood Country Estate today.
Scotland is known for some of the oldest and most iconic golf courses in the world.
However, a new kid on the block is quickly becoming a favourite of golfers everywhere.
The Dumbarnie Links in Upper Largo isn’t your typical links course. Rather than a front and back nine in a loop, every hole in Dumbarnie faces a different direction. This means the course offers a unique challenge as players will face different wind conditions with each hole.
The course also offers stunning views of Largo Bay and the Firth of Forth.
The Dumbarnie course was designed by former Ryder Cup player turned course architect Clive Clark. He has designed 35 courses across the USA and Europe.
Before it opened in 2020, Dumbarnie Links was one of his most anticipated designs. And it has more than lived up to the hype, winning Best New Golf Course at the 2021 World Golf Awards. In 2023, the course won Scotland’s Best Golf Experience at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards.
The standout holes in the Dumbarnie Links are the third, eleventh and 17th. All are designed for big hitters. However, you can’t just hit and hope, as each hole is peppered with challenging bunkers.
The 17th in particular offers a difficult choice – play safe on the fairway on the left, or play straight over the heavy rough and bunkers for a chance to land on the large green.
These are holes you’ll want to play again and again, on a course that can change how you have to play everyday.
Golf trips with Hawkswood
At Hawkswood Country Estate, we have been catering to golfers for years.
Our luxury self catering accommodation is located just seven miles from Dumbarnie Links.
With our golf concierge service, we can help your party arrange tee times at Dumbarnie Links, or many other famous Fife golf courses.
We can transport you to the course in our Mercedes minibus.
You can also perfect your game during your stay at Hawkswood Country Estate. You’ll have access to our driving range and short game areas to practice a wide range of shots.
You can even train with Peter Whiteford, a former European Tour professional, who has coached players of all levels.
Book a golf trip in Fife with Hawkswood Country Estate, and get ready to take on one of the newest, and most challenging, golf courses in Scotland.
At Hawkswood Country Estate, we cater to many golf trips every year.
After all, we’re located just 10 minutes drive from St Andrews – the home of golf.
But before you take on the famously challenging courses in St Andrews, you’ll want to make sure you’re at the top of your game.
These golf training tips can help you prepare for the toughest golf courses in St Andrews.
Work on your short game
If you can’t putt well, you’ll never reach your potential as a golfer.
While a good drive is important, most shots are wasted on the green.
At Hawkswood House and The Roundel, we have short game areas where you can perfect your approach play and putting.
Each area gives you the chance to practice a wide range of shots and lies, until you’re ready to take on the most challenging holes in golf courses in St Andrews and around Fife.
Learn to drive
Not because you need to use a golf buggy, but a good drive is the foundation of a good round of golf.
All Hawkswood Country Estate, all our guests have access to our 270-yard driving range.
Here you can work out any issues with your swing and build up the power needed for the perfect drive.
Get professional coaching
While working at our short game areas and driving range can help you work on your golf game, a professional coach can help you see issues you may not have recognised.
At Hawkswood Country Estate, we can arrange coaching with Peter Whiteford, a former European Tour professional, who has coached players of all levels.
As well as being the coaching professional at Hawkswood Country Estate, Peter is the coach of the Fife men’s golf team.
He’ll help you identify and improve any problems with your golf game.
Take the stress out of golf trips
When you plan a golf trip, you no doubt want to focus on the games, and let someone else do the admin.
At Hawkswood Country Estate, our golf concierge service can handle everything for you.
We will help you book tee times at some of the most iconic golf courses in Scotland.
We can also transport you to many of Fife’s celebrated golf courses in our luxury 16-seater mini coach.
We can help you arrange golf club hire through www.golfgearhire.com.
So all you need to think about is playing the perfect round.
Work on posture
Your stance will affect your swing, so the correct posture is very important.
To make sure you’re in the right stance, stand with the club pressed against your thighs, bend forward from the hips, and slightly bend your knees.
Your arms should hang straight down. Grip the handle and check the club is at a 45-degree angle to your forearm.
This is the perfect setup stance.
Align your clubface
Shots often go astray because the clubface is misaligned.
To deal with this, place an alignment stick just outside the ball, so it creates a 90-degree angle with the target line.
Align the leading edge of the club with the stick.
Improve putting accuracy
A simple but effective way to improve putting accuracy is to put something in the hole that is slightly smaller (such as a soft drink bottle).
You should then aim for the bottle. Once you can hit it consistently, remove it.
The hole will seem to be a much larger target.
Practice, practice, practice
The most effective way to improve your golf game is to play as much as you can.
Regular golf trips to Hawkswood Country Estate will give you the chance to play some of the most challenging golf courses in Scotland.
Contact us to arrange golf coaching or to book a golf trip.
Time flies when you’re having fun. And while running Hawkswood Country Estate for the past 10 years has been a challenge at times, we wouldn’t change a thing.
January 2024 marks 10 years since we opened Hawkswood Country Estate for holiday rentals. And we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our loyal customers.
So we’ve decided to celebrate our anniversary by rewarding you – our valued guests.
If you book two nights between January 1st and March 10th 2024, you’ll get a third night with our compliments. We’ll even have a bottle of fizz waiting for your arrival.
As a family, we have been working to restore the building at Hawkswood Country Estate for a long time.
We started working to restore Hawkswood House and The Roundel in 2007.
Over the years, both buildings had been used as dog kennels, a cow shed and stables. Both were crying out for restoration.
The now iconic Roundel Room had been boarded up and needed serious work on the roof. We’ve now restored the panoramic views of the Fife countryside that our guests can savour in the Roundel Room.
It’s not an overstatement to say that Hawkswood House was a total wreck back in 2007.
The first step was to evict Balaro the Belgian horse that was living in the house. The right arch window in the kitchen was formerly his stable door.
The work began to restore the house to its former glory. The house was extended by 10 metres at each end, and many internal walls had to be demolished and replaced.
We bought Bowhill House in 2016. While it didn’t quite need the same amount of work as the Roundel or Hawkswood House, it still needed a complete interior renovation.
Bowhill House opened as the third exclusive use property at Hawkswood Country House in 2022.
We are proud of the amount of work the family have put into each luxury accommodation at Hawkswood Country Estate.
So whether you are a regular guest or staying for the first time, we’d love for you to sample the fruits of our labour.
And with a complimentary third night when you stay for two nights between January 1st and March 10th 2024, there has never been a better time to stay at Hawkswood Country Estate.
Contact us to discuss your stay or to book.
*Stay between January 1st 2024 and March 10th 2024 for two nights and get a third with our compliments. New bookings only. This offer is only available when booked on the phone or with our contact form. Can be used in conjunction with other offers.