This was our eighth Scottish golf journey, but our first built around Aberdeen. Four Winged Foot friends flew into Edinburgh, collected a van and travelled north for seven days of golf, using the Sandman Signature in central Aberdeen as a single base. Montrose provided an enjoyable opening stop on the drive north. From Aberdeen we ranged south to Edzell, north to Cruden Bay and Balmedie, and only a short distance to Royal Aberdeen. The golf was deliberately repetitive in the best sense. Cruden Bay and Royal Aberdeen were each played twice, allowing first impressions to mature. Cruden Bay became the most distinctive and hospitable overall day; Royal Aberdeen emerged as the finest pure course and the most complete golf experience. Trump International offered the clearest contrast: the original course was a demanding and memorable finale, while the New Course felt over-designed and considerably less rewarding. What made the week successful was not simply the quality of the courses. The caddies, professional-shop teams, clubhouse staff and the easy warmth of the smaller clubs mattered enormously. The trip confirmed that Aberdeen is not just a staging point for golf. Its granite architecture, working harbour and North Sea character gave the week a sense of place, while meals at the clubs, the New Inn in Ellon and The Silver Darling added a welcome social dimension away from the Golf
Northeast Scotland proved ideal for a golf journey of this kind. The courses are close enough to create a coherent itinerary but different enough to avoid repetition. The landscape moves between Angus farmland, towering dunes, granite city and working harbour; the clubs range from historic and formal to quirky and intimate; and the people consistently made visitors feel welcome.
The original Trump International course provided a fitting final round. It was a long and demanding walk, with the wind exerting a major influence, but the vistas, greens and quality of the golf placed it close to Royal Aberdeen in my assessment and far ahead of the New Course.
A final breakfast and first tee
We checked out of the Sandman and drove directly to Trump International for breakfast. With the luggage and clubs already in the van, the day had a different feeling from the earlier rounds. This was both a golf day and the beginning of the journey home.
Our tee time was 9.10 am. Anyone planning the course should allow at least four and a half hours, particularly when walking. The routing covers a great deal of ground and the dunes provide repeated changes of elevation. On this occasion, however, the time and effort were worthwhile.
The name and the reality
The resort now calls this the Old Course to distinguish it from the second layout. It is not old in any historical sense. Martin Hawtree’s course opened in 2012, making it younger than almost every other venue on our itinerary. The label is useful only within the estate.
That does not diminish the golf. The original layout is a very good course and clearly the stronger of the two at Balmedie. Where the New Course often felt over-engineered, the Old made much better use of the drama of the dunes. It was still bold and modern, but the holes had greater coherence and the challenge felt more closely connected to the landscape.
The wind as architect
The wind was a major factor throughout our round. At roughly 6,300 yards from the white tees, the course was quite long enough. Yardage on a links is never an absolute measure, and into the wind even a familiar distance can demand an entirely different club and shape of shot.
That was where the course came alive. The wind forced decisions, exposed uncertain strikes and made the broad property feel properly coastal. Unlike some of the manufactured difficulty we had encountered on the New Course, this challenge was dynamic. The same hole would ask a different question on another day, and the golfer had at least some control over the chosen answer.
A landscape on a grand scale
The vistas were spectacular. The course moves through enormous dunes with repeated glimpses of the North Sea and long views across the property. The scale is part of the experience, but here it served the golf more successfully. Elevated points created anticipation, and the corridors between dunes gave individual holes a strong identity.
This remains a substantial walk. The terrain and green-to-tee movement require energy, and a golfer should not schedule the day too tightly. Yet the changing views helped carry us through it. The course continually provided another ridge, another opening towards the sea or another hole framed by dunes. The journey felt demanding rather than merely long.
Excellent greens and a useful caddie
The greens were in excellent condition. Their pace and consistency allowed the challenge to come from the contours and wind rather than from uncertainty in the surfaces. After a week of very good course presentation, they stood comparison with the best we had played.
Graeme was an excellent caddie. His advice was particularly valuable in the wind, where the apparent line and the effective line can be quite different. He helped with club selection, landing areas and the inevitable decisions about how much the ball would move. As with the best caddies during the trip, he added local judgement without taking ownership of the round.
An 89 and a measure of relief
I shot 89 and was relieved. The combination of wind, length and the accumulated miles of the week made the score feel respectable. I also thought a slightly better number had been available. That is a familiar golfer’s contradiction: relief at surviving a demanding course followed almost immediately by a list of shots that should have been saved.
The round confirmed my hierarchy among the principal courses. Royal Aberdeen remained perhaps the finest pure test, and Cruden Bay the most distinctive and romantic experience. The Trump Old Course sat close to Royal Aberdeen in overall quality and miles ahead of its newer neighbour. It was challenging in a way that usually felt earned.
A course that suited the final day
We collected lunch to go and then headed south on the A90 and M90 towards Edinburgh Airport. That made the early tee time and four-and-a-half-hour minimum important. The course can work on a departure day, but only if the flight or onward plans leave a generous margin.
As a conclusion to the golfing part of the trip, it was very effective. The course demanded concentration until the end, the wind supplied a proper Scottish examination and the setting provided the visual scale expected of a final chapter. We left tired but satisfied, which is not a bad way to finish a week of links golf.
Would I return
Yes. I would return to the Old Course and would recommend it as part of a serious northeast itinerary. It is expensive, physically demanding and surrounded by marketing that can distract from the golf, but the course itself is strong enough to justify attention.
I would again choose sensible tees, book a caddie and expect at least four and a half hours. In wind, 6,300 yards was enough. The purpose of returning would not be to prove otherwise, but to see how a very good modern links changes when the direction and strength of the wind change with it.
A demanding modern links, spectacular in scale and good enough to make the long walk worthwhile.
Useful links
• Trump International Scotland Official resort website
• Old Course Tour Official hole-by-hole presentation
• Book a Tee Time Current booking options
• Caddie Services Caddie and practice information
• The Dunes Restaurant and Bar Clubhouse dining information
Series note
This is the sixth course portrait in the Aberdeen Golf Odyssey series for A Golfer’s Blog. It completes the course-by-course sequence and focuses on the final round; the separate trip overview carries the onward transport and farewell details.