Newton Stewart's course sits on the Kirroughtree side of the Cree at Minnigaff, just below the forest park visitor centre: rolling parkland with mature trees, a burn in play, some sharp elevation changes and views up to the Galloway hills from several tees.
At 5,806 yards, par 69, it is not long. It is, however, considerably more interesting than the yardage suggests — the elevation changes and the burn do the work that length does elsewhere, and the setting is as good as any parkland course in the south-west.
Who it suits
This is the rest-day round on a links trip. Anyone spending a week playing the Ayrshire championship links will, at some point, want a day that is shorter, cheaper, gentler and prettier, and this is it — 55 minutes inland, under the hills, with nobody waiting on the tee.
It also suits anyone based in Galloway rather than Ayrshire, and pairs with Wigtownshire County down at Glenluce for a Galloway golf day.
Fees and booking
Green fees here are inexpensive by any standard and the club welcomes visitors most days — but we have not verified the current tariff, so check the club's website or ring before travelling. It is a members' club rather than a resort, so competition days will restrict tee times.
Combine with
Kirroughtree is essentially next door — a Forestry and Land Scotland visitor centre with a café, mountain-bike trails and a wildlife hide where red squirrels come reliably to the feeders. Newton Stewart has the shops and places to eat, Glen Trool is twenty minutes north, and Wigtown and its bookshops seven miles south.
The drive over from Girvan on the A714 through the Stinchar valley is one of the best in the region — see the Galloway forest loop.
