Eastern Scotland: Cruden Bay: Championship Course

Cruden Bay is a golf course about 30 minutes away from Aberdeen in the village of Cruden Bay (chock full of history). Although it’s an ancient golf course, the layout is somewhat unique. Instead of being an out and back layout with double greens, this championship golf course winds a big loop from start to finish..almost the entire course provides spectacular views of the Bay of Cruden.

The land the golf course is currently on was documented to have a battle between the Scots and the Danes in 1012. In 1597, nearby Slains Castle was built. This castle would later be the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula. Stoker was a frequent visitor to the area in the early 1890’s. In 1899 the 18 hole course at Cruden Bay, designed by Old Thomas and Archie Simpson was opened for play. For some reason Cruden Bay wound up being somewhat controversial among our group, with a couple of the guys deeming it the worst we played and saying they wish we had booked something else.

I see it very differently. I personally really enjoyed the golf course and find it to be a must play if you decide to do the Aberdeen loop. I found it to be a unique and fascinating walk with magnificent views. Additionally Cruden Bay has some of the best preserved holes from Old Tom Morris that we played. They demonstrate the ingenuity of having to carve a golf course out of what the ground gives you when you can’t use heavy earth moving equipment. On some holes it’s literally like being transported back in time.

The first couple holes are straightforward if not unremarkable. The fun starts on the third tee box. A blind driveable par 4 with a feature I have never seen on any golf course anywhere. A stoplight.

The next hole is a long par 3 next to the harbor. Depending on the time of year and day you may see a unique feature of Scotland harbors. Because you are so far north, the tide shift is pretty intense, and when the tide is out the boats can be literally just left on the completely exposed silt bottom.

From there you make a right turn and move on to the rest of the golf course looping along the bay of Cruden enjoying views of the water and the old castle wondering what it was like 1,000 years ago when a bunch of men in skirts were fighting one another to the death.

The back 9 has a lot more elevation change. In fact, you will certainly want to make sure you spend some time soaking in the views while on the elevated holes of the back 9. Be sure to have the caddy take a picture of you and your buddies with Slains Castle on the nearby peninsula in the background.

Rankings

Bucket list rank (from 1to 5 buckets): 4 Buckets

Location: 8

Spectacle/ visual: 8

History: 8

New/ancient: Ancient

Playability : 7

Memorability : 8

Buddy-a-bility : We did not stay in Cruden Bay we stayed in nearby Aberdeen

Service/etc: 7–There is a nice restaurant and bar on site with serviceable food. Be sure to read the history of Cruden Bay timeline on the back of the menu.

Value: You did not fly to Scotland to play 39 dollar rounds of golf. $175 is a good deal for the memories

Shopping: 6 The pro shop is serviceable and you will be able to find anything you may have forgotten, or pick up any mementos of your time at Cruden Bay. I do have to agree with my buddies here, I am not sure you need to buy a shirt, but you will certainly want a ball marker at the least.