Elsewhere in Ayrshire County, travelers can visit Western Gailes Golf Club, a hidden gem layout that has welcomed legendary players such as Harry Vardon, Gene Sarazen, and Gary Player. Only a stone’s throw—really two average length par 4s—away, a more modern hidden gem, Dundonald Links, allows avid amateurs a chance to play 18 holes that once hosted the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying School and more recently hosted the Scottish Open. Just how appealing is a round of golf played on this lesser-known course? Scotland’s own Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, asserts that Dundonald Links has “the feel of a classic Ayrshire Links test.”

Adventurous golf travelers can even take a day trip to Machrihanish Golf Club, a historic links layout designed by Old Tom Morris, where the first hole is a 424-yard par 4 that requires a tee shot hit over the Atlantic Ocean. Jack Nicklaus once deemed it the best opening hole in all of golf.