Links Golf in Aberdeen
es which are closer in height to the fair- ways than many of the raised surfaces on the Old Course. Through the first six holes this links occupies flatter land inland from the front nine of the Old Course, which hugs the coastline, before it metamorphosises into the most amazing dune landscape south of the other links. The stretch of holes from 7 to 14 are the jewel in the crown of this layout. Royal Aberdeen, the sixth oldest golf club in the world (1780) and Murcar Links (1909) are two tradi- tional seaside links located north of the Granite City, 15 kilometres south of Trump International. The two clubs share a boundary fence, and there is an annual cross-coun- try match between them which begins at the Royal Aberdeen club- house. Members play the front nine of Royal Aberdeen and then step over a fence on to either the second or fourth tee at Murcar Links and continue for another nine holes. The match finishes at the Murcar clubhouse. Royal Aberdeen is where Jovan Rebula, nephew of Ernie Els, won the 2018 British Amateur championship. In the city centre are two 18-hole municipal links, Kings Links and Balnagask, which can be played for a green fee of R800 and are popu- lar with locals. I noticed two golf- ers walking with their clubs, and a young woman pushing a pram with her bairn. You will experience fast running fairways. While the Kings Links is flat (opposite the Pittodrie football stadium), Balnagask looks vastly more interesting on a hilly promontory overlooking the en- trance to Aberdeen harbour on the River Dee.
sign the New Course, merely consulting on the project which was a dual design effort by Swedish architect Christian Lundin (who works with Henrik Sten- son) and Canadian Christine Fraser. It was driven by Eric Trump, Donald’s sec- ond son from his first marriage. Some of the differences on the New Course: large wetland areas over the opening six holes; fewer bunkers; and exceptionally spacious greens complex-
golfer. The Old has a Course Rating of 76.3 with a Slope of 149, while the New is 74.9 and 143. That’s the gold tees. These are high figures for Slope, indicating the difficulty factor. The Slope from the most forward tee on the Old is still 130. I played Old and New on separate days – don’t try and attempt them both in one day unless you have a masochis- tic bent – and equally loved their various challenges. Martin Hawtree did not de-
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 89
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025
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