The nine links on this page make two quite different trips. Seven line the Ayrshire shore of the Firth of Clyde, all within about half an hour of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Western Gailes and Dundonald face each other across the railway at Gailes, Kilmarnock (Barassie) lies just north of Troon, and Royal Troon and Prestwick, where The Open began in 1860, follow down the coast. Turnberry stands apart beneath its lighthouse. The other two trips head west: Machrihanish and Machrihanish Dunes share the far end of Kintyre, and the Machrie sits on Islay, each a short Loganair hop from Glasgow or a long drive and a ferry. Booking rules differ as much as the scenery. Royal Troon admits visitors three days a week, Prestwick closes to them on Saturdays, Western Gailes keeps set hours and Barassie answers a request form, while Dundonald, Machrihanish and the Machrie sell times online. Fix the scarce days first and build the rest around them.
Tap a pin for photos, prices and a booking link.
| Course | Green fee from | What’s included | Getting there | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 1Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course)Open Championship links | £395Checked October 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 2Trump Turnberry (Ailsa)Resort links | £650Checked October 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 3Prestwick Golf ClubHistoric links | £175Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 4Western Gailes Golf ClubChampionship links | £110Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 5Dundonald LinksLinks & lodges | £105Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 6Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf ClubMembers’ links, 27 holes | £65Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 7The Machrihanish Golf ClubHistoric links | £95Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 8Machrihanish DunesLinks & hotels | Rates on request · how to book | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide | ||
 9The Machrie Golf LinksLinks & hotel | £74Checked November 2026 · details | Bookpackage via GolfbreaksRead the guide |
Prices are the lowest published or listed visitor rates we found, with their source and date on each guide. Partner links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Prestwick, which staged the first Open in 1860 over a 12-hole course. Book a Wednesday for the round-and-lunch ticket, and expect blind shots over the Cardinal bunker and the Alps.
Green fees & bookingRoyal Troon’s Old Course, where Xander Schauffele won in 2024. The 123-yard Postage Stamp is the famous hole, but the back nine into the wind decides most cards. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays only.
Green fees & bookingDundonald Links, Kyle Phillips’s course at Gailes and an Open Final Qualifying venue. Lodges and suites sit beside the links, guests pay a lower fee, and the range and short-game area are open to every visitor.
Green fees & bookingKilmarnock (Barassie), 27 holes beside its own station north of Troon. A summer 2027 round is £175 with £10 to spend at the bar, about half the Western Gailes weekday fee, and £65 covers a winter round with a roll and coffee.
Green fees & bookingMachrihanish, where Old Tom Morris placed the 1st tee so your opening drive carries a corner of the beach. A £650 summer week ticket and Machrihanish Dunes next door make it a base, not a day trip.
Green fees & bookingThe Machrie on Islay, an 1891 links that D.J. Russell redesigned in 2018, with its own hotel on the course. Summer 2027 visitors pay £245 and residents £150; it shuts from mid-November until March.
Green fees & bookingEach package names its rounds, nights and hotels, so you can see which of the courses above it includes before you ask for a quote.
7 nights B&B, 5 rounds including an Old Course ballot attempt
Rounds: Turnberry Ailsa · Royal Troon Old Course · Muirfield · Carnoustie Championship
Stay: 2 nights in Troon, 2 in North Berwick, 3 in St Andrews
Four Open venues confirmed and a ballot try at a fifth, crossing Scotland west to east in one week.
10 nights B&B, 8 rounds
Rounds: Western Gailes · Prestwick · Royal Troon · Dunbar · Crail Balcomie · Carnoustie · Kingsbarns · North Berwick
Stay: Ayrshire, East Lothian and Fife, including Rusacks St Andrews
Eight links in ten nights, mixing Open venues with Prestwick and Western Gailes, which many first trips miss.
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
All Ayrshire golf packages on Golfbreaks
Published fees on these nine run from under £70 to four figures. Winter is cheapest: £65 at Kilmarnock (Barassie), £74 at the Machrie for the first fortnight after it reopens in March 2027, £95 at Machrihanish, £105 at Dundonald and £110 on Western Gailes weekdays. In summer 2027 Barassie and Machrihanish both ask £175, the Machrie £245 and Dundonald £255 to £275, while Western Gailes charges £335 on weekdays and Prestwick £360. Royal Troon was £395 in 2026, and golf press reported £1,000 for a non-resident summer morning on Turnberry’s Ailsa. Machrihanish Dunes quotes on request. Staying on site lowers the fee at Turnberry, Dundonald and the Machrie. Caddies, where clubs list them, cost £70 to £80 a bag; Dundonald says tips usually run to about 40 per cent.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) serves all seven Ayrshire courses: a few minutes from Prestwick, about ten from Royal Troon and Barassie, 15 from Western Gailes with Dundonald alongside, and about half an hour from Turnberry. Glasgow Airport (GLA) is 35 minutes to an hour and ten away. The Glasgow–Ayr railway makes a car-free trip possible: Prestwick Town station is beside the 1st tee, Barassie’s clubhouse is 50 metres from its platform, Troon station is a 20-minute walk from Royal Troon, and the Gailes pair are a short taxi from Barassie or Irvine. Kintyre and Islay need a separate leg. Loganair flies Glasgow to Campbeltown in about 40 minutes and to Islay in about 45. By road, Machrihanish is about three hours from Glasgow, and the Islay ferries leave Kennacraig, roughly two and a half hours away. CalMac also sails Ardrossan to Campbeltown from Thursday to Sunday.
Royal Troon sets the mainland calendar, because it takes visitors only from mid-April to October. Prestwick and Turnberry treat May to September as peak; Barassie charges its summer rate from 1 May to 30 September, Western Gailes from 1 May to 12 October 2027 and Dundonald from 8 May to 10 October. April and October are the value months, with Prestwick at £295 from Monday to Thursday and Dundonald at £160. From November to March, Prestwick plays winter rules or mats and Turnberry may use mats on the Ailsa, while the sandy ground at Barassie and Dundonald usually keeps them open at their lowest rates. The west runs to a tighter calendar. The Machrie shuts for winter between 16 November 2026 and the end of February 2027, Machrihanish charges its high rate from April to September, and the Dunes shuttle runs only in those months. Islay rooms go early for the Fèis Ìle whisky festival in late May.
Royal Troon’s visitor days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and Prestwick keeps Saturdays for members. Western Gailes publishes a Saturday window from 3 to 4.30pm between May and September. Elsewhere the tee sheet decides: Dundonald sells times online with instant confirmation, Turnberry books online or on +44 (0)1655 331000, and Barassie replies to its visitor request form.
Royal Troon caps handicaps at 20 (men) and 30 (women), Western Gailes at 24 and 28, and online bookings at Machrihanish at 28 and 36. Prestwick sets no strict limit. Dundonald, Barassie, Machrihanish Dunes and the Machrie publish none on their visitor pages, so confirm when you book.
Prestwick sells a 36-hole ticket at £470 from Monday to Thursday in summer 2027, and Western Gailes a weekday 36 with lunch at £490. On Islay, the Machrie’s £365 summer day ticket puts no limit on rounds. Machrihanish sells a £240 high-season day ticket, and Dundonald discounts a second round within five days.
Yes, at all three. Turnberry hotel guests were quoted £475 for the Ailsa in summer 2026, against £650 or £1,000 for non-residents. Dundonald’s lodge and room guests pay £195 on a peak 2027 weekend instead of £275. The Machrie’s hotel residents pay £150 a summer round, nearly £100 less than visitors.
Fly. Loganair links Glasgow with Campbeltown in about 40 minutes and Islay in about 45, and the Machrie sells golf days with those flights included from £285. Driving to Machrihanish takes around three hours; for Islay, drive on to Kennacraig and catch the CalMac ferry. Machrihanish Dunes also lists hired passenger boats from Troon.
Yes. Prestwick asks for at least a week’s notice and Barassie 72 hours for its member caddies. Western Gailes caddies are self-employed, Dundonald’s cost £70 in cash, and Royal Troon’s forecaddies run £100 to £140. Machrihanish Dunes offers guides on request; Machrihanish and the Machrie list no caddie service.