Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club

Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club plays home to a relatively short, excellently maintained and well-regarded parkland/moorland golf course. Set within a Scottish Highlands environment, the layout sits on the edge of town, separated from the River Spey (of whisky fame!) by a few hundred yards of pine forest.

This blissful northern golfing outpost nestles in partly-open and part-leafy parkland, with a distinctly moorland feel also evident. Braid's signature touches are much in evidence, including pop-up mounds, "doughnut" bunkers, and bunkers that front the greens, albeit 50 yards ahead of the putting surfaces.

The layout comprises predominantly straightaway holes, with a few gentle doglegs also in the mix. Naturally undulating holes, and others of a flatter disposition (especially the first six), provide an excellent test for your all-round game. Whether you're playing through the woodland stretches (7 thru' 12) or into the more open spaces, water hazards (including the revered waters of Speyside) are not in play.

The neat bunkering shouldn't prove to troublesome either, but, in high-season, beware spraying the ball too far offline into the uncompromising rough. The final five holes, all on the short side, form a tightish out-and-back loop from the clubhouse, with considerably more undulation than the much flatter first six.

Pick of the holes: where the course might lack quantity (i.e. length), the par-3s in particular ensure quality is to the fore. The uphill par-3 8th (Hard Hillock), and slightly downhill, heavily bunker-defended, short par-3 16th (Wee Dunt) are especially memorable.