Cruden Bay Golf Club

Overview: The entry for Cruden Bay Golf Club is listed at 6263 yards. The course climbs and drops through dunes above the North Sea, combining blind drives, plateau greens, streams, gorse, rough and wide views toward the beach and Slains Castle. It is not a course where length alone settles the score: the right line is often hidden, and a shot that looks safe can leave an awkward approach from a sloping lie. The natural movement of the land gives the holes their rhythm, with the course shifting from open coastal ground to more enclosed dune corridors before returning toward the shore.

History: The Great North of Scotland Railway Company commissioned a course in 1894 to complement the Cruden Bay Hotel, and the links fully opened in 1899. Old Tom Morris designed the original course with help from Archie Simpson, and the opening was marked by a professional tournament won by Harry Vardon. Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler redesigned the course in 1926, retaining many original greens and much of the basic routing while creating the layout that golfers recognise today. Small changes to tees and bunkers have followed, but the course's core character remains tied to its early dune landscape and the mix of traditional and eccentric holes.

Did You Know? The first opening tournament in 1899 included Harry Vardon, James Braid and Ben Sayers, and Vardon won the final. The 14th is known for its blind approach and sunken punchbowl-style green, a feature that makes Cruden Bay stand apart from a conventional championship links.