AFTER watching Rory McIlroy make history during a thrilling final round at Augusta National, recreational golfers across the world will be looking for their own little taste of the Masters.
Scots are luckier than most when it comes to golf and we’ve profiled eight courses that have something special in common with Augusta – including one you can play for just £30 and another that’s actually somewhat overshadowed by an Open Championship venue.
McIlroy’s incredible triumph had fans on the edge of their seats (and biting their nails, pulling their hair out, you name it) as he beats Justin Rose in a sudden death play-off, a fitting climax to a drama-filled roller coaster of a final round.
Golf fans have had their eyes transfixed on the world’s most famous parkland course for the past four days, with its pristine fairways flanked by towering trees and the greens bordered by signature azalea bushes.
Scotland is known more for its storied links courses such as Turnberry and St Andrews than parkland tracks like Augusta.
But the birthplace of golf does have a strong link to the American venue.
That’s because the man who designed the course was of Scottish descent.
Alister MacKenzie’s mum had her roots in Glasgow and his dad was born in the Scottish Highlands.
WHO WAS ALISTER MACKENZIE?
Alister MacKenzie was a highly influential British golf course architect whose designs are celebrated for their strategic brilliance, natural aesthetics, and playability.
Born in 1870 in Yorkshire, MacKenzie trained as a medical doctor and served as a military surgeon during the Boer War, where he developed an interest in camouflage techniques. This experience, combined with his passion for golf, informed his approach to course design, emphasising the use of natural landscapes and subtle visual deception.
MacKenzie created or contributed to over 50 courses worldwide, including some of the most iconic in the sport.
His masterpieces include Augusta National Golf Club in the United States (home of the Masters Tournament), Cypress Point Club in California, and Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.
He was a pioneer of strategic design, creating holes that rewarded thoughtful play while remaining enjoyable for golfers of all skill levels. MacKenzie championed minimal earthmoving, blending courses harmoniously with their surroundings and often eschewing penal designs in favour of strategic challenges.
His 1920 book Golf Architecture laid out his design philosophy, which prioritised fairness, variety, and the natural beauty of the land. MacKenzie’s legacy endures as one of golf’s greatest architects, with his works still revered as timeless examples of how artistry and strategy can elevate the game.
And while his finest creation is in Georgia– and your chances of ever playing it are slim to none – he put his name to several courses in Scotland.
Multiple clubs have tried to claim the title of ‘Scotland’s Augusta’ over the years but we’re focusing on the courses that have been personally designed (or in some cases, redesigned) by Dr MacKenzie.
Blairgowrie (Rosemount)
Scotland’s best parkland course?
Perhaps that’s a fitting legacy for MacKenzie in Scotland.
This Perthshire beauty is right up there with Gleneagles when it comes to inland venues in Scotland.
But while Gleneagles is famed for its mountainous setting, Blairgowrie’s Rosemount is all about flat fairways, while holes 15 and 16 play around the Black Loch.
Regularly commended for its fine conditioning, the Rosemount weaves its way through the pines, birch and heather from its location at the foot of the Grampian Mountains.
The trees seal off each hole from the next, adding to a sense of tranquillity and atmosphere.
MacKenzie and James Braid both put their names to the Rosemount, which has remained largely unaltered since the 1930s.
Green fee: £155 (regular), £90 (after 4pm/SCottish Golf Rate)
Bonnyton
The East Renfrewshire venue sits not far from the M77, about halfway between Kilmarnock and Glasgow on the outskirts of the village of Eaglesham.
MacKenzie designed the course between March 1922 and June 1923 and opened it himself with an exhibition match featuring George Duncan, Abe Mitchell, J. H. Kirkwood and multiple major winner, Walter Hagen.
And from its moorland location golfers can see many of the traits here that MacKenzie brought to Augusta a few years later, in particular the tough green complexes.
Most notorious would be that of the third hole, Ca’Cannie, with a tricky two-tiered contour.
Bonnyton plays to a yardage of 6,231 yards from the back tees and a par of 72. On the back nine you’ll do well to escape unscathed from the 170-yard uphill par-3 beast that is the 14th, called Auld Nick.
Green fee: £35-£45
Duff House Royal
Tucked away near the north east course of Scotland, this hidden gem can be played during the month of the Masters for as little as £30.
Just like at Bonnyton, MacKenzie used Duff HouseRoyal as a place to hone his skills before taking on the job of Augusta and again the evidence is in the challenging green surfaces.
The River Deveron borders five of the holes too and the golfer is rewarded with a glimpse of the Moray Firth every now and then on this picturesque parkland track.
Duff House Royal was first opened in 1910 after being designed by Archie Simpson but 13 years later, MacKenzie was brought in to revamp the course.
After seeing the land, he concluded: “I have rarely come across a piece of golfing ground which lends itself so well to the construction of an attractive course.”
All 18 greens were redesigned and MacKenzie made clear he wanted the new layout to have few blind shots, gentle undulations and outstanding conditioning – traits that Duff House Royal continues to espouse today.
Green fee: £50 (June 1 to August 31), £50 (May 1 to May 31 and September 1 to September 30), £30 (April 1 to April 30 and October 1 to October 31), £20 (winter)
Erskine
Situated on the banks of the River Clyde near Glasgow, this par 71 layout starts in the rolling hills near the town of Bishopton and swoops its way down towards the riverside.
Sloping lies are a key theme, particularly in the early to middle stretch of holes, before things flatten out towards the end of the round.
The finishing hole bucks that trend however and is a bit bizarre, playing blind uphill to a two-tiered green.
Erskine wasn’t designed by the Doctor but he does have a hole named after him on the course (the 13th).
He was called in to redesign the 12th and 13th holes on the property in 1920, which was originally laid out by WilliamArthur Baird and significantly enhanced by 1883 Open champion Willie Fernie (more on him later).
James Braid arrived in 1937 and made the final touches, changing and adding bunkers to some holes and making full scale alterations to others.
Green fee: £50
Hazlehead (MacKenzie Championship)
The only public course on this list (and indeed the only municipal offering in the North East of Scotland), Hazlehead in Aberdeen is run by Sport Aberdeen and has earned a solid reputation for a council venue.
Just a short drive from Aberdeen city centre, it’s a testing golf for all ability levels for one, despite not being the longest.
It stretches to 6,209 yards from the back tees and has only three holes over 400 yards, two of which are par-5s.
The par 70 course looks much the same today as it did when MacKenzie designed it around 100 years ago.
Accuracy is key however, with dense woodland framing the course and many an errant tee shot will end up in the trees.
Interestingly, the course hasn’t always proudly displayed MacKenzie’s name.
“A really great golf course must be a constant source of pleasure to the greatest possible number of players. It must require strategy in the playing as well as skill. It must give the average player a fair chance and at the same time, it must require the utmost from the expert. All natural beauty should be preserved, natural hazards should be utilised and artificiality should be minimised.”
What makes a good golf course - according to Dr Alister MacKenzie
It was renamed to its current title in 2015 having originally been called the No.1 course at Hazlehead Park.
Indeed, MacKenzie fell out with the local council back when the course was being constructed.
There was a delay in opening the venue to the public due to the feud between him and planning chiefs over how much he would be paid.
Green fee: £33 (regular), £16.50 (after 6pm)
Pitreavie
Fife is where the literal Home of Golf is: the Old Course at St Andrews.
But if it’s parkland pleasure you’re after rather than the four-seasons-in-a-day experience that links golf can throw at you, Pitreavie in Dunfermline is the place to be.
The par 71 design featured in our list of nine hidden gem golf courses that you can play for under £50 last year and part of its allure is its connection to Dr MacKenzie (it’s also under an hour from Edinburgh by car, train or bus).
Burns intersect many of the well-groomed fairways here – just like Rae’s Creek at Augusta – and from the higher points on the course you can see the striking Queensferry Crossing peeking out from above the trees.
This isn’t a long course at barely over 6,000 yards from the back markers but beware of the greens once again – including some with THREE tiers.
Like many of MacKenzie’s designs, Pitreavie was first opened in the early 1920s and it continues to serve as a marker of the Doctor’s architectural prowess and focus on using the natural landscape to the best effect.
Green fee: £38 (Mondays-Thursdays), £43 (Fridays), £49 (Weekends)
Pollok
Glasgow may be Scotland’s most populous city and while esteemed courses on the Ayrshire, East Lothian and Fife coasts do their best to pull golfers away from the Dear Green Place, Pollok is living proof that you can find top class and indeed tranquil golf in a city setting.
Pollok is nestled just off of the M77 motorway, sitting in between the suburban settlements of Shawlands and Pollok. But you would be forgiven for forgetting busy roads and suburbs are so close, such is the peacefulness to be found within the secluded estate.
Pollok is a prestigious club that has hosted professional events such as the Tartan Pro Tour, and Scottish Golf used the venue for the Scottish Boys Championship.
Those tournaments are testament to the quality of the course and in true MacKenzie fashion, the greens are the shining light.
But also contributing to the aura of Pollok are over 1,000 species of rhododendrons and various ash, beech, chestnut, elm and oak trees.
The Doctor was called in to overhaul the course some 20 years after it was originally laid out in 1892 by an unknown architect who also founded the club itself. The club now hosts a summercompetition in honour of MacKenzie.
And if you can’t get on at Pollok, you have Cowglen on the other side of Barrhead Road and Haggs Castle on the other side of the White Cart Water that runs along the north side of the property.
Green fee: £75 (March-April), £100 (May-August), £85 (September-October)
Royal Troon (Portland)
The fact that when people hear ‘Royal Troon‘ they immediately think of the other course on this property speaks to the fact that this MacKenzie venue is slightly overshadowed by its neighbour.
Royal Troon indeed has three courses, the Old, the Portland and the nine-hole Craigend course.
The Old is the course that is used for the Open and the Portland sits next to it.
It was originally opened in 1896 after being laid out by club professional, a certain Willie Fernie.
But MacKenzie was commissioned to redesign the course at some point in the 1920s, coinciding with the club itself hosting its first Open.
It’s slightly shorter than its neighbour, measuring in at just under 6,300 yards with a par of 71.
In contrast to the Old which is famous for its relentless closing stretch of holes, the Portland’s opening half is the tougher of the two nines.
FAMOUS MACKENZIE COURSES WORLDWIDE
Pictured: Cypress Point Club
- Augusta National Golf Club (Georgia, USA)
Home of the prestigious Masters Tournament, Augusta National is widely regarded as one of the greatest golf courses in the world. MacKenzie collaborated with Bobby Jones on its design, blending strategic brilliance with stunning aesthetics. - Cypress Point Club (California, USA)
Renowned for its breathtaking coastal scenery, Cypress Point is considered one of MacKenzie’s masterpieces, featuring dramatic holes along the Pacific Ocean that showcase his ability to harmonise design with nature. - Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West Course) (Victoria, Australia)
Often ranked as one of the best courses in the Southern Hemisphere, MacKenzie’s work at Royal Melbourne is celebrated for its strategic challenges and seamless integration into the natural sandbelt terrain. - Pasatiempo Golf Club (California, USA)
Located in Santa Cruz, Pasatiempo is a favourite among golfers and showcases MacKenzie’s genius for creating courses that are both challenging and enjoyable. He considered it one of his finest designs. - New South Wales Golf Club (Sydney, Australia)
Perched on rugged coastal land, this course combines stunning views with MacKenzie’s strategic design principles, making it one of Australia’s premier golfing destinations.
Portland doesn’t boast the same seaside views but it has well-positioned bunkers and menacing gorse spread around the course to test any golfer.
Given its status compared to the Old at Royal Troon and the litany of other courses of its kind in Ayrshire, the Portland is considered understated and perhaps underrated too.
Green fee: £125 (Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays only)
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