Western Gailes Golf Club
Welcome to Western Gailes. If you enjoy the challenge of links golf, Western Gailes will test your skills to their limit. Regarded by many as the hidden gem of Scottish links it is a course which we believe should be in every golfer's "must play" list.
The club dates its history back to 1897 and offers the golfer a blend of the traditional and modern. The course presents a fair challenge with very few "blind" shots. The architect has used the natural contours of the land but has also been severe in the placement of bunkers. Major hazards include the beach to the west of the course, the railway line to the east, three burns and a testing breeze off the Firth of Clyde. The course is highly rated in various league tables of worldwide courses. It has frequently been used for final qualifying for the Open at Royal Troon and Turnberry and has hosted the Curtis Cup and eight Scottish Amateur Championships.
But it's not just the course that makes Western Gailes so special. The Clubhouse, which sits above the links with views across the Firth of Clyde to the Isle of Arran, Ailsa Craig and beyond, is the perfect place to relax after testing your skills on the course.
We pride ourselves in treating visitors as members of the club during their visit. All connected with the club are pleased to welcome visitors and wish to ensure that they experience a memorable visit.
The reputation of Western Gailes as one of the game's finest and more exacting courses has spread worldwide as evidenced by its numerous visitors from around the world including golfing legends from this and the last century. The great Harry Vardon arrived at Western Gailes in June 1903 celebrating his fourth Open victory. In 1923 its attractions were being lauded by the then US Open Champion Gene Sarazen who played the course with three other outstanding professionals. Greats from the second half of the 20th century such as Gary Player, Tom Watson and Tony Jacklin have also visited, while from the modern game Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson have all tested their mettle over this classic links course.
The course is situated between the railway and the sea, so typical of the classic Ayshire links courses, with both being very much in play for the errant golfer. It is also special amongst seaside courses that are no more than two holes wide, in having its clubhouse in a more or less central position leaving seven holes to the north and eleven to the south.
The course is never other than an excellent test of true links golf. Any change in the strength or direction of the wind, that usually varies between south-westerly and north-westerly off the adjacent Firth of Clyde, provides new challenges that are compounded by the undulating terrain and finely contoured greens cleverly located and set in the folds of the surrounding sand dunes. Together with the line of dunes running down the coastal stretch from the 5th to the 13th holes, the out of bounds wall from the 14th onwards, the plentiful supply of pot bunkers plus the meandering burns, all combine to present variety and a memorable challenge.
