Tip-Top Teeing Off
Join A-list celebs and experience world-class golfing in Gleneagles
FOR some golfers it’s good to have impressive, distracting scenery as an excuse for a bad score. This might work best on one of the three 18-hole courses at Gleneagles.
The fairways look over some of the most beautiful and diverting scenery in Scotland, as well as a providing a challenging test of skill from tee to green.
Gleneagles is undoubtedly a jewel in the golf crown of Scotland, with the main courses – the King’s, the Queen’s and the PGA Centenary – attracting golfers from around the world.
“Each of our three championship courses offer a very different, but equally fantastic playing experience,” says says Gleneagles’ joint managing director and keen golfer, Conor O’Leary.
“Every time I stand on the first tee, I’m aware of the many golfing legends who have walked our fairways over the years.”
The venue for the recent Solheim Cup competition between female golfers from the United States and Europe, the Centenary course calls for a mix of golf and hill-walking, as it sweeps up into the nearby Ochil Hills.
As the course takes you west, the mountains above the Trossachs come into view, most notably Ben Vorlich.
The King’s Course was the first of the three to open, with the first tee-off taking place in 1919. Its charm and challenge are reflected in the names of some of the holes – Tappit Hen, Wee Bogle and Silver Tassie.
The course was even voted sixth by readers of American Airlines’ luxury magazine Celebrated Living, in their Platinum list of international golf courses.
The Queen’s Course is the shortest of the three, at just shy of 3km (1.8 miles). However, with hidden greens, dog legs and scattered bunkers it’s as big a challenge as the other two magnificent courses.
A weekend at Gleneagles playing all three courses is one of the biggest treats you could give yourself. However, if that thought is too daunting, there is a further nine-hole wee course, which might be more to your liking. It was recently renamed the PGA National Academy Course, and offers golf for players of every level.
“This year has seen us celebrate 100 years of golf at Gleneagles – from the first international match between American and British professionals in 1921 to the 2014 Ryder Cup and the 2019 Solheim Cup,” Conor says.
“As we look back with pride, we are also looking
Spectacular scenery abounds