Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club Review

Course Review and Comments

Machrihanish Dunes is neither a walk in the park nor a good walk spoiled. It is not to be missed by fans of links golf but requires a links mentality -- you are not going to score well on your first round and you'd better enjoy blind shots, severely undulating greens, straight shots that disappear over the hill and fairway maintenance by sheep. Prepare for a long slog -- there are no motorized carts here and your first couple of rounds may take 5 hours or so while you search for the fairway, your ball, and the green. That said, the course is absolutely lovely, on the order of Dornoch and Cruden Bay. Markers on each tee clearly indicate the direction of the hole, so you are not left entirely to the fates. Directional markers help on several blind second shots, but the distances to the green can be deceptive if you are not familiar with the course. The architect had little leeway in grading the fairways but considerable latitude in forming the greens. In my opinion, the greens are often too severe; there are too many pitches and chip shots where you just can't get close to the pin from where you happen to be. If you are not chipping well your will end up as far away as you were but in another direction. But you will enjoy it all, and await a return visit.