Aboyne

Few courses in Scotland carry the same quiet authenticity as Aboyne Golf Club, one of the oldest clubs in Aberdeenshire, with roots stretching back to 1883. Laid out on the town's historic common land — the Aboyne Green — the course occupies a genuinely rare piece of golfing geography: a shared public space where the club has played for generations. That connection to common ground shapes everything about the place, giving it a democratic, unhurried character quite distinct from the grander Highland venues nearby.

The layout is a true heathland and parkland hybrid, threading through gorse and birch with the Cairngorm foothills framing the horizon. At par 68 it plays shorter than a championship test, but Aboyne rewards precision and local knowledge over power — the kind of course where a well-placed 5-iron tells you more about your game than a driver ever could.

Aboyne village sits in Royal Deeside, the stretch of the River Dee valley long associated with the Balmoral estate and the Scottish royal family. It is handsome, unspoiled country, and the golf here feels entirely in keeping with it.