Dundonald Links

Played with 17 friends on Sat 17 May 2014. Superb course conditions despite the rain at the start of the day. Starter was very friendly and informative, as were all the staff members in the clubhouse. A lot of the holes appear to be straight forward but once you've teed off, you realise quickly what challenge lies ahead of you. We had a great day, from start to finish. Highly recommend!

Our society had the pleasure of playing this beautiful Scottish course the last weekend in April.From the moment you arrive you know you are surrounded with quality,from the greeting in the pro-shop,the friendly starter on the 1st to the excellent service post round we could not find fault.The course is a pleasure to play,we'll defined fairways,excellent greens and devilish bunkers.Avoid at all costs the "coffin"bunker on the short par 3 12th. Unfortunately the wind really blew so good scores were never possible but so enjoyable was the course we have booked a return again next year. The real icing on the cake was the bargain price we paid, £45 for 18holes.

I have played Kingsbarns and The Grove in recent years and now whenever I am on a golf break I am on the lookout for another Kyle Philips course to put through its paces. Following my rounds on these two great courses I thought the Dundonald Links may struggle to live up to the standard they set but it more than held its own. Everything about this course is top class. I played during the October heat wave and the course was sublime. Tees were impeccable; fairways were springy yet firm and the greens were rolling fast and true. Everything you would expect from a classic links was present. Pot bunkers, choppy rough, burns and mind boggling undulations all add to the challenge and then, of course, there is the wind! Kyle Philips continues to work wonders and I look forward to either returning for another round here or venturing further afield to sample another on of his courses.

I have played this course a few times.At this time they are charging £30 per round and if there is better value anywhere please get in touch.The 9th is playing as a par 3 as they are reshaping the fairway bunkers but that aside it is full greens and tees.Many courses will not be in as good a condition in the summer. Played 06/03/11

Played Dundonald last week on a £50 "late deal". The course was designed by Kyle Phillips (of Kingsbarns fame) and, other than the views, is as good a challenge. The pro, the starter and the young man behind the bar could not have been more friendly or helpful. There are some very testing holes, particularly in a stiffish breeze, 2nd and 9th are both nice holes, over the 9th green is the "hardest up and down" on the course so I'm told. Par 4 13th is a great hole and at 205 yards the 15th was just about un-reachable, the 16th (stroke 1) is 450 yards off the medal tees (enough said) followed by a good dogleg par 4 and a tricky par 5 to finish. Apparently the course is designed so that, regardless of it's direction, you will play 6 holes into the wind, 6 downwind and 6 into a cross-wind. Dundonald is set to stage the first stage of European Tour Qualifying in September and we played our round behind a young man from Essex who had flown into Prestwick that morning in order to play a practice round for that event, and was returning the same day. He described the course as "one of the best he had played".

Awesome! Huge! Frightening! I played this monster March 2009. 30mph winds, rain, hail. I play off 18, shot 98 and was absolutely chuffed to bits. The course, off the tee's that day, I had on the staff's authority was about 6,700yds. It felt about a thousand longer. Absolutely magnificent, even in the rain. Any type of shot you can think of, plus many more you can't, are needed here. And there is water hazards wandering around as well, (not just in the air). I got a winter deal here for £30 a round. They are currently doing that deal again for 2010, so get on down there. My parents only live in Dundonald village about 3 miles away, so I will definately be there before the end of the month. An absolute cracker of a course. !!!

What a course! When you arrive there are people to take your car and then a man shows you personally to your locker and then even polishes your casual shoes. The couse itself is brilliant and is immacuately maintained. The cours eplays long with the sea breeze really ading to teh challenge. Phillips has brilliantly bunkered the holes to really challenge all levels of golfers off the tee. The greens will need a couple of years to bed down properly but are very true and have the usual trademark phillips slopes in then just as at Kingsbarns or The Grove. A Must play and get on it now before Loch Lomond completely close it to the public!

A fantastic and very tough links that will no doubt host top tournaments. All the Loch Lomond bells and whistles attached mean luxury and the warmest welcome all the way. It is a great track and if you are lucky enough to get a round there, speculate the money on a caddy (well worth it believe me) and keep it straight or you will be in trouble as this is a proper punishing links challenge. Awesome, hope to play it again one day.

Although this is a new course, it looks and plays very much like a traditional Scottish seaside links. At 7300 yards off the back tees, this course has been built to cope with modern equipment and is a real monster. Despite the length, it is incredibly tactical - ditches and fiendish pot bunkers mean you have to carefully plot your route, which is easier said than done when you have to deal with the WIND. Subtle raised mounds around the course mean that each hole feels isolated, and this will offer vantage points for spectators when tournament golf comes here. And yes, this will happen. The facilities are already impressive, even though the clubhouse is a portakabin (the most luxurious portakabin you will ever see!), its easily accessible from Glasgow, and there is plenty of space for grandstands. The course has some great tactical par 5's, but the outstanding holes are the par 3's. The 11th, only 115 yards, will surely be compared to the postage stamp down the road at Troon. Loch Lomond Golf Club own the course so you can expect luxuries such as having your golf shoes cleaned and polished after your round. They are very serious about the place so once the clubhouse is built it will only be a matter of time before they move the Scottish Open here. Once this happens, they will probably close the course to visitors, so make sure you play this while you can... who knows, this could be a future venue for The Open.