Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Top 15 golf courses in Scotland as rated by professionals in 2024

15 best golf courses in Scotland, ranked by experts in 2024


Scotland’s Top 15 Golf Courses, Ranked by Golfweek

As the golf world’s eyes shift to Royal Troon’s Old Course this week for the 152nd British Open – ahem … Open Championship, if you please – it’s worth a look at all the top-ranked courses in Scotland. Golfweek’s Best course-ranking program utilizes hundreds of members in our ratings panel to continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course based on a 1-10 scale. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each course. Listed below are the top 15 courses in Scotland, as judged by those hundreds of raters. Included with each course is its average rating, location, designer(s), year opened and where it ranks on Golfweek’s Best 2024 list of top courses outside the U.S.

1-3. Royal Dornoch Golf Club

Royal Dornoch Golf Club in Scotland

4-6. Carnoustie’s Championship Course

Carnoustie’s Championship Course in Scotland

7-9. Ardfin

Ardfin in Scotland

10-12. Cruden Bay

Cruden Bay in Scotland

10. Cruden Bay

  • Location: Cruden Bay
  • Designer: Old Tom Morris, Archie Simpson, Tom Simpson, Herbert Fowler
  • Year opened: 1899
  • Rank among top 100 International: T45

Book your trip to Cruden Bay today

11. Loch Lomond

  • Location: Dunbartonshire
  • Designers: Jay Morrish, Tom Weiskopf
  • Year opened: 1993
  • Rank among top 100 International: 47

12. Cabot Highlands (Castle Stuart)

  • Location: Inverness
  • Designers: Gil Hanse, Mark Parsinen
  • Year opened: 2009
  • Rank among top 100 International: 48

Book your trip to Cabot Highlands today

View Cabot Highlands golf trips

13-15. Royal Troon’s Old Course

Royal Troon’s Old Course in Scotland

We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.