Ask a golfer where to play from Girvan and the answer depends on budget, handicap and how far they'll drive. This ranking is for quality first; the table shows what each will cost you and how easy it is to get on.
| # | Course | Type | Par / yards | Difficulty | Summer 2026 fee | Access | From Girvan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turnberry Ailsa | Championship links | 71 / c. 7,400 | Hard in wind | £1,000 (£475 guests; £175 winter) | Any day, 16+ | 6 mi |
| 2 | Royal Troon Old | Championship links | 71 / 7,208 | Very hard back nine | £365 (2025) | Mon/Tue/Thu; hcp 20/30 | 31 mi |
| 3 | Prestwick | Historic links | 71 / c. 6,500 | Quirky, blind shots | £340–380 | Set windows; no Sat | 27 mi |
| 4 | Western Gailes | Classic links | 71 / c. 6,640 | Hard, tight | £310 incl. lunch | Set windows; hcp 24/28 | 40 mi |
| 5 | Turnberry King Robert the Bruce | Championship links | 72 / 7,203 | Hard but wider | c. £250 | Any day | 6 mi |
| 6 | Dundonald Links | Modern championship links | 72 / c. 7,100 | Demanding, fair | £245–260 | Any day, online | 40 mi |
| 7 | Kilmarnock Barassie | Championship links | 72 / c. 6,600 | Wind-dependent | £75–100 | Weekday visitor days | 33 mi |
| 8 | Belleisle | Braid parkland | 71 / c. 6,400 | Fair, full test | Top council band | Any day | 23 mi |
| 9 | Prestwick St Nicholas | Links | 69 / c. 6,000 | Tight, fair | £90–130 | Set windows; no winter | 27 mi |
| 10 | Girvan | Links/parkland | 64 / 5,064 | Short, tricky | c. £30 | Any day | 0 mi |
Bubbling under: Wigtownshire County (the friendliest true links in the south-west, £60), Gailes Links (a championship links at a fraction of its neighbours' fees), Stranraer (Braid's last, £50), Portpatrick (the view).
1. Turnberry — Ailsa
The one you came for: Fernie, Mackenzie Ross and Ebert's links along the shore under the lighthouse, four Opens, No.2 in Scotland in Golf World's 2026 list. The fourth to the eleventh is as good as the game gets. Suits anyone who can afford it once; a caddie (from £85) is money well spent. In summer it is £1,000 for non-residents — so go in October (£315–360) or winter (£175), or stay a night.
2. Royal Troon — Old Course
Ten Opens, the Postage Stamp, and a back nine into the wind that ruins cards. Visitors only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from mid-April to October, with handicap limits of 20 (men) and 30 (women); book months ahead. The day ticket with the Portland (£420 in 2025) is the way to do it.
3. Prestwick
The course where the Open was born in 1860, still with Old Tom's blind holes, the sleepered Cardinal and the Alps. £340 Mon–Thu, £380 Fri/Sun; Wednesday's Prestwick Experience with lunch £390. Not for those who need to see the green; unforgettable for everyone else.
4. Western Gailes
The purist's links — railway one side, sea the other, often two holes wide, in Britain's top 50. £310 on weekdays in summer including lunch; handicap limits 24/28; set visitor windows. Pair it with Dundonald across the line.
5. Turnberry — King Robert the Bruce
Ebert's 2017 rebuild with the clifftop ninth above Kintyre's Cove, in Golf Digest's World 100. Quieter and wider than the Ailsa, buggies allowed, about £250 in summer — or £500 for a Scottish-resident fourball. The companion round most golfers end up preferring.
6. Dundonald Links
Kyle Phillips's modern championship links, Scottish Open host, rebuilt with a clubhouse and lodges in 2021. £245–260 in summer with instant online booking and no handicap limit — the most visitor-friendly of the big courses.
7. Kilmarnock Barassie
Open final-qualifying links between Troon and Gailes, out-and-back into the westerly, beautifully kept, £75–100 on weekday visitor days. The best-value serious links on the north Ayrshire coast.
8. Belleisle, Ayr
Braid's 1927 parkland in a public park, hosting Scottish Golf championships for a council fee, with a new clubhouse. The rest-day round and the wet-day round.
9. Prestwick St Nicholas
Old Tom Morris's other Prestwick club: a proper seaside links with Arran views on every hole, £90–130 in summer, buggies and hire clubs. The value links round on a Prestwick–Troon day.
10. Girvan
Eight holes of links by the beach, ten of parkland by the river, eight par-threes, Ailsa Craig in view, about £30. The warm-up, the evening nine, and the only course you can walk to from your bed.
How to combine them
Two days: Girvan plus the Ailsa or Bruce. Three: add Belleisle with Alloway for non-golfers. Five: Ailsa, Bruce, Prestwick, Troon (if dates fit) and Western Gailes or Barassie. See golf breaks from Girvan and golf weekend.
