Former Open Champion and course designer Willie Park believed Glasgow Gailes was one of his best creations. More recently, former Open and Masters champion Sandy Lyle said that the course was one of the world’s truly great tests of links golf.
There may be no spectacular views of the sea or sky-high sand dunes that you find at other seaside courses in the UK. However, there is plenty of heather and gorse – two other links favourites – to be avoided. The heather is a beautiful sight when in bloom, as long as you aren’t searching for your ball in it.
The layout is fair and traditional, with greens well protected by strategically placed bunkers. It opens with a fairly gentle par 4, where avoiding the fairway bunker from the tee is the first task of the day. The last good birdie chance comes at the 17th, a relatively short par 4. The approach is played semi-blind due to the ridge in the fairway, but if you can find the green then you should have a makeable putt.
All in all, Gailes Links has excellent variety and mix of holes. It’s easy to see why it has been chosen to host so many important amateur and professional events down the years.
Play Gailes Links as part of our Links Golf Cup Ayrshire.
