Championship VenueLinks Classic

Nairn Golf Club (Championship Course)

Nairn, Highland · Designed by Old Tom Morris (1889) / James Braid (1909) · Est. 1887

Nairn is one of the finest links in the Highlands, laid out along the southern shore of the Moray Firth where the water is in view from every hole and, on the opening stretch, very much in play — a hooked drive on the early holes can finish on the beach. The club was founded in 1887; Old Tom Morris extended the course in 1889 and James Braid reshaped it around 1909, giving it the subtly contoured greens for which it is famous.

It plays to par 71 over about 6,800 yards, an honest out-and-back links that has earned the trust of the game's governing bodies: Nairn hosted the 1999 Walker Cup, won by Great Britain & Ireland, and the 2012 Curtis Cup, and is one of only a handful of clubs to have staged all four of the major amateur championships.

Inverness and its airport are about twenty minutes west, which makes Nairn the easiest of the great Highland links to reach — and a natural pairing with Castle Stuart next door and Royal Dornoch to the north.

Holes worth knowing

114th "Kopjes" (par-3, ~219 yards) — the most memorable hole: played from the highest point on the course to a green fronted by four bunkers, the Moray Firth and the Black Isle filling the horizon behind.
2Front nine — several holes hug the shore so tightly the beach is in play down the right on the opening seven; a slice can find the Moray Firth.

Highlights

Moray Firth links shaped by Old Tom Morris and James Braid
Host of the 1999 Walker Cup and 2012 Curtis Cup
The sea in view from every hole — 20 minutes from Inverness

Good to know

→The opening holes run right along the beach — a hook off the early tees can literally finish on the sand, so favour the right side.
→Nairn is the most accessible of the great Highland links, twenty minutes from Inverness and its airport.
→Pair it with Castle Stuart (ten minutes away) and Royal Dornoch (an hour north) for a superb Highland links trip.
→The greens, shaped by James Braid, are subtle and true — read them carefully.
→The genteel resort town of Nairn, with its long sandy beach, and the Speyside whisky trail inland make it a fine base; Inverness and its airport are 20 minutes west.

Visitor Information

Getting There

20min drive

Common questions

Is Nairn easy to reach?

It is the most accessible of the great Highland links — about twenty minutes from Inverness and its airport, on the southern shore of the Moray Firth. That makes it a natural pairing with Castle Stuart, ten minutes away, and Royal Dornoch an hour to the north.

What championships has Nairn hosted?

Nairn hosted the 1999 Walker Cup (won by Great Britain & Ireland) and the 2012 Curtis Cup, and is one of only a handful of clubs to have staged all four of the major amateur championships. The course was shaped by Old Tom Morris and James Braid, whose subtle greens are a highlight.