Gailes Links belongs to Glasgow Golf Club, founded in 1787, whose main home is the parkland at Killermont in Bearsden. The members wanted sea air and firm turf, and in 1892 they found both on the sandy ground between Irvine and Troon. Most golfers call it Glasgow Gailes. It sits just south of the River Irvine, it has hosted Final Qualifying for The Open since 1973, and its visitor booking is plain: an online tee sheet, an email address and published prices.
Gailes Links (Glasgow Gailes) green fees and tee times.
Gailes sells visitor times on a BRS tee sheet linked from its own website, or by emailing professional@glasgowgolfclub.com or phoning 01294 311561. The visitor page publishes prices but not set visitor windows, so the online sheet is the quickest way to see which times are open on a given day. Two offers change the arithmetic for groups. A second round within seven days costs £110 in summer, and a four-ball on a weekday afternoon after 2pm costs £550 rather than £720. The club arranges society and corporate packages on request. The visitor page does not state a handicap limit.
INDICATIVE GREEN FEE · CHECKED NOVEMBER 2026From £95
Visitor round, winter (November 2026 to March 2027). £120 in October 2026 and April 2027; £195 from May to September 2027.
Winter, November 2026–March 2027
£95
Shoulder, October 2026 and April 2027
£120
Summer, May–September 2027
£195
Summer four-ball
£720
Summer four-ball, Mon–Fri after 2pm
£550
Summer repeat round within 7 days
£110
Prices change by season and booking route, so confirm the current rate with the operator. Official rates ↗
The round, in perspective.
Captain John Risk struck the opening ball on 19 May 1892. Willie Fernie, the Troon professional and a former Open champion, reworked the early layout, and in 1912 Willie Park Jr redesigned it with the club professional, Tulloch. Park counted it among his best work, and the club says the course remains largely as he left it. Today it measures 6,903 yards from the championship tees. Gorse and heather line the fairways rather than towering dunes, so the threat is sideways: the Glasgow–Ayr railway and the boundary bring out of bounds into play. The 1st is a gentle 341-yard par four. The finish is not: the 18th is a 435-yard par four with a ridge to carry from the tee. Ben Sayers won the first professional event here in 1895, and from 2014 to 2017 Gailes was Scotland’s only Final Qualifying venue.
Know before you go.
Booking
Online tee sheet, or professional@glasgowgolfclub.com / 01294 311561
Repeat round
£110 within 7 days in summer
Afternoon four-ball
£550, Monday to Friday after 2pm, summer
Make the trip work.
Gailes rewards a second visit within the week: at £110, a summer repeat costs little more than half the first round, which suits a group based on the coast for several days. The clubhouse is the red Ballochmyle sandstone building by the architect Patrick Macgregor Chalmers, opened in October 1894, and it serves anything from bacon rolls on arrival to a high tea after golf. Check the fixture list before travelling in late spring, when Final Qualifying and amateur events can close the course.
From Glasgow Prestwick Airport it is roughly a quarter of an hour north on the A78, and Glasgow Airport roughly 35 minutes north via the M8 and A737. The club is on Gailes Road, just south of Irvine. Irvine station, on the Glasgow–Ayr line, is a short taxi ride away; Barassie station is a little further south.
Gailes has no rooms of its own. Irvine is closest, a couple of minutes north. Troon, about ten minutes south, has the widest choice: the Marine Troon hotel above Royal Troon’s finishing holes and Piersland House, a country-house hotel near the town centre. The lodges at Dundonald Links, a few minutes away on the same coast road, suit a group that wants to self-cater and walk to a first tee each morning.
Make a trip of it.
Western Gailes adjoins this course to the south, and Dundonald Links and Kilmarnock (Barassie) follow within a few minutes, so Gailes works as the first stop on a run down the coast. Irvine’s Bogside links is just across the river to the north. Royal Troon and Prestwick are around 15 minutes away. Off the course, Irvine’s Scottish Maritime Museum sits on the harbourside, and the coast path runs south from Irvine beach past the links.
Find your season.
Prices follow three seasons: winter from November to March, shoulder months in October and April, and summer from May to September. The Tennant Cup, first played in 1880 and described by the club as the oldest open amateur stroke-play event, is shared between Killermont and Gailes, and Gailes remains a regular Final Qualifying venue for The Open.
No. Gailes Links belongs to Glasgow Golf Club, whose main course is Killermont in Bearsden. Western Gailes is a separate club with its own course immediately to the south, founded in 1897. Both run beside the Glasgow–Ayr railway, but they have different booking systems and green fees.
How much does it cost to play Glasgow Gailes?
A visitor round costs £95 from November 2026 to March 2027, £120 in October 2026 and April 2027 and £195 from May to September 2027. In summer a four-ball is £720, or £550 on weekday afternoons after 2pm.
Is Glasgow Gailes an Open qualifying course?
Yes. It has hosted Final Qualifying for The Open since 1973, and between 2014 and 2017 it was the only Scottish venue. It has also staged the Home Internationals, the Scottish PGA Championship and the Scottish Amateur Championship.
Who designed Glasgow Gailes?
The course opened in 1892. Willie Fernie, the Troon professional, revised it early on, and Willie Park Jr redesigned it in 1912 with the club professional. The club says Park’s layout survives largely unchanged.
Last checked 11 November 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.
