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Cruden Bay Golf Club

Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire · Designed by Old Tom Morris (1899) / Tom Simpson (1926) · Est. 1899

Cruden Bay is many a connoisseur's favourite links — a wild, tumbling, gloriously eccentric course among enormous dunes on the Aberdeenshire coast, beneath the ruins of Slains Castle, the clifftop pile that helped inspire Bram Stoker's Dracula. It opened in 1899, laid out by Old Tom Morris and Archie Simpson, and was remodelled in 1926 by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler; much of that quirky, dramatic character survives intact.

The course plays to par 70 over about 6,600 yards — not long, but full of blind shots, hidden greens and sudden drama as it winds between the dunes and along the great curve of Cruden Bay beach. It is not for the golfer who wants everything laid out in front of them; it is for the golfer who wants to be surprised and delighted. The critics agree: it is regularly ranked among the top courses in Scotland and inside the world's top 100.

It sits on the coast north of Aberdeen, an easy pairing with Royal Aberdeen and Trump International, and the village and its beach are lovely in their own right.

Holes worth knowing

1The dune holes on the back nine — a run of blind shots, hidden greens and sudden drops between towering sandhills that no modern architect would dare build. Cruden Bay's wild character is the point, and its charm.

Highlights

A cult-favourite links in the world top 100
Huge dunes beneath the Dracula-inspiring Slains Castle
Old Tom Morris / Tom Simpson design (1899/1926)

Good to know

→Cruden Bay is not a course to play by the yardage book — expect blind shots and hidden greens, and enjoy the surprises.
→The ruined Slains Castle on the cliffs above helped inspire Dracula and is a short, atmospheric walk from the course.
→It pairs naturally with Royal Aberdeen and Trump International up the coast; Aberdeen is about 40 minutes south.
→The village and its great curving beach are lovely — worth lingering after the round.
→The village of Cruden Bay and the clifftop ruins of Slains Castle — said to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula — sit right beside the links; Aberdeen and its airport are 40 minutes south.

Visitor Information

Getting There

40min drive

Common questions

Why do golfers love Cruden Bay so much?

It is a wild, tumbling, gloriously eccentric links among enormous Aberdeenshire dunes — full of blind shots, hidden greens and sudden drama that no modern architect would dare build. It is a connoisseur's favourite, regularly ranked among the top courses in Scotland and inside the world's top 100, and it sits beneath the ruins of Slains Castle, which helped inspire Bram Stoker's Dracula.

How do I play Cruden Bay, and what is nearby?

The club welcomes visitors and books directly. Do not play it by the yardage book — embrace the blind shots and surprises. It pairs naturally with Royal Aberdeen and Trump International up the coast, and the village, its great curving beach and the atmospheric Slains Castle ruin are worth lingering for. Aberdeen is about 40 minutes south.