Everyone who has played Cruden Bay raves about the place. So I was over in Scotland in summer 2021- what an amazing summer by the way - and we decided to have a little road trip to Cruden Bay via St Andrews. It takes about two hours from Edinburgh Airport.
We stayed at The Kilmarnock hotel - https://www.kilmarnockarms.com
Here’s a link to the Club’s website: https://www.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk. And this is a link and tel number for bookings: bookings secretary at elaine@crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk or +44(0) 1779 812285.
And here’s a video from 2020 that’s very cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z0HHCQ9j98&list=PLlgwYhmbFpY1L3pYJOLJqH7evvbWuStN8
Some history about the Club: There is evidence, in the form of a ballot box inscribed Cruden Golf Club 1791that a nine-hole golf course existed before the layout of today’s links course. It may have been located at the Ward Hill near Slains Castle, and indeed the Cruden Bay Golf Club of today has in its possession a winner’s medal from a competition played on the Ward Hill dated 1883.
However our unique links course was commissioned in 1894 by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company and fully opened in 1899 as part of the recreational facilities offered by the Cruden Bay Hotel, newly erected and opened in March of that same year. The inner nine hole “ladies course” was also laid out at the same time.
The Cruden Bay Golf Club was formed around 1900, the first Captain being the Rev B Alcock. In 1926 the course was redesigned to the current layout by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler. They also redesigned the St Olaf course which was opened at the same time. The original course measured 5290 yards. By 1908 the course had been extended to 5929 yards, and then in 1926 the partnership of Simpson and Fowler oversaw the redevelopment of the course, although many of Tom Morris’s original greens and basic routing are still in evidence.
The golf course is sensational. In November 2015 we were presented with the Scottish Golf Tourism Award for the top Course in Scotland – high praise indeed! In July 2013 we were awarded the position of 29th in the world from the Golf Course Architecture magazine, by over 240 golf course architects from 28 countries.
There is a gallery page on the Club’s website that has some terrific pictures to enjoy:
Like an increasing number of Clubs, there is an environmental policy statement on the website: https://crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Envionmental-Management-Plan.pdf