We stayed at Nethy Bridge on our little road trip from Gullane, St Andrews, Cruden Bay and Pitlochry in August 2021, and played Boat of Garten. Probably not on the typical overseas tour, but this is a really interesting golf course.
This is from the club’s website:
When it comes to golf in the Scottish Highlands, Boat of Garten should be first on every visitor's itinerary. Designed by one of the grand-masters of golf course architecture, James Braid (1870-1950), “The Boat” is set alongside the River Spey in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, only 10 minutes drive from the bustling village of Aviemore. The course is not only renowned as a demanding test of sporting skill but also as a magnificent setting for the game. Braid’s design features 18 completely individual holes, cleverly and sensitively shaped fairways lined by birch trees, heather and broom, maximising the natural landscape and producing a beautiful and challenging course.
Here’s a link to the website: https://www.boatgolf.com/cms/
The area is really cool, with the imposing Cairngorms as a magnificent back drop to the course. You can stay in Aviemore, but preferably in Boat of Garten at The Boat House, or in Granton on Spey where there are several decent hotels. We stayed at The Nethy Bridge hotel: it’s a little tired, bit run down and needing a lot of investment to restore to former glory. There is a great coffee store in Nethy Bridge. https://www.nethyhouse.co.uk/
This is a link to some general information on the area: https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/boat-of-garten-p236911
Here’s a couple of pics I took. We were once again very fortunate with the weather on our little Scottish tour.
I really enjoyed playing here. I scored an 82, playing from the white tees which are rated 69 and 120. So, on paper I should have scored much better, but I found the course really quite tough. It’s up and down, with several blind shots, and many of the fairways seemed convex; the rough is so fluffy that it’s easy to hit right under the ball. The greens were a little disappointing: one or two were under repair, but there were patches of what looked like anthracnose damage to several.
Nice little clubhouse with friendly staff, and a good spot to have lunch before playing.
I hope I get a chance to come back and play here again.
For those not interested in golf, there’s plenty of hiking around, and of course there’s fishing. This store in Granton on Spey will even teach you how: https://www.mortimersofspeyside.co.uk