Towering dunes, blind shots and a railway-era links north of Aberdeen.
Cruden Bay is a links of big dunes and hidden greens on the Aberdeenshire coast, 25 miles north of Aberdeen. It was built in the 1890s by a railway company to fill a grand hotel that no longer exists, and the village has stayed small and quiet. Blind shots, deep valleys and views over the bay to the ruin of Slains Castle make it one of the most distinctive rounds in Scotland. Prices are well below those of the Open venues.
There is no online booking system. Check availability and reserve by phone on +44 (0)1779 812285 or by email to the club office. Visitors can play on weekdays, but weekend visitor times are afternoon only: after 2pm on Saturdays and after 12.30pm on Sundays. Third-party listings quote handicap limits of 28 for men and 36 for women; carry a handicap certificate. Buggies are not available, even with a medical exemption, because of the terrain. Electric trolleys cost £25 a round, and club hire £60. For 2027, the main season runs from 2 May to 4 October, with shoulder rates in spring and October.
Visitor winter rate, 2 November 2026–28 March 2027. Shoulder £170 weekday; main season 2027 £245 weekday and £265 at weekends. St Olaf from £55 for nine holes. Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The Great North of Scotland Railway commissioned the course in 1894, and Old Tom Morris designed it with help from Archie Simpson. It fully opened in 1899 with a professional tournament. In 1926 Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler redesigned it into the layout played today. The front nine climbs and dips along the edge of the bay before the course plunges into a valley of high dunes. Several tee shots and approaches are played blind over sandhills, so a first round is partly an exercise in trust. The club also has a nine-hole course, St Olaf, on the same ground.
Cruden Bay rewards a second round more than most courses, because the blind holes make far more sense the second time. A 36-hole day costs £310 in the 2027 main season, a modest step up from a single round. Weekend players should plan around the afternoon-only rule, perhaps playing elsewhere in the morning. The clubhouse sits high above the course, with views over the links to the bay.
Aberdeen Airport is about 25 miles away, around 35 minutes by road on the A90. Aberdeen railway station, with direct trains from Edinburgh in about two and a half hours, is roughly 40 minutes by car. There is no railway in Cruden Bay itself.
Nearby: 1. Trump International Golf Links Scotland (18 km) · 2. Royal Aberdeen Golf Club (Balgownie) (30 km) · Compare all The Highlands & Aberdeenshire tee times
The Kilmarnock Arms in Cruden Bay village, where Bram Stoker stayed while writing, has rooms a short walk from the course. Meldrum House, a country house hotel with its own parkland course, is about 30 minutes inland. Aberdeen offers a wide choice of city hotels, and Newburgh, 15 minutes south, has small guest houses beside the Ythan estuary.
Trump International at Menie and Royal Aberdeen’s Balgownie links are both within 40 minutes, with Murcar Links next door to Royal Aberdeen and Newburgh-on-Ythan closer still. Peterhead’s Craigewan Links is ten miles north. Away from golf, Slains Castle, the clifftop ruin linked to Stoker’s Dracula, is a short coastal walk from the village, and the Bullers of Buchan sea cliffs nearby hold large seabird colonies in early summer.
These packages have a confirmed round at Cruden Bay Golf Club in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
7 nights, 5 rounds
Rounds: Cabot Highlands · Royal Dornoch · Nairn · Cruden Bay · Royal Aberdeen
Stay: The Highlands and Aberdeenshire
The north-east links at a lower price than a Fife week, with Royal Dornoch and Cruden Bay in the same itinerary.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Main-season rates run from early May to early October, with lower shoulder rates in April and October and a winter rate from November. North-east Scotland is one of the drier parts of the country, though the course is fully exposed to wind off the North Sea.
Explore golf by monthYes, but only in the afternoon: visitor times start after 2pm on Saturdays and after 12.30pm on Sundays. Weekday visitor times are less restricted, so a weekday round gives you more choice of start.
Cruden Bay does not have an online booking system. Phone the club on +44 (0)1779 812285 or email the office to check availability and confirm a time. The office can also arrange caddies and trolley hire.
The Championship course costs £245 on weekdays and £265 at weekends from 2 May to 4 October 2027, with 36 holes for £310. Shoulder rates are £170 on weekdays and £175 at weekends.
No. The club does not offer buggies at all, even for golfers with a medical exemption, because the dunes and slopes make them unsafe. Electric trolleys can be hired for £25 a round.
Last checked 4 October 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
How we research our guidesPhoto credits and licencesShared greens, the Swilcan Bridge, and the town where golf feels at home.
A modern links shaped by hand above the Fife shore, six miles from St Andrews.
Eight Opens, the Barry Burn and a finish that has humbled the best in the game.
