Nairn Golf Club Championship Course Key Information
A tough opening stretch recently remodelled to test all levels of golfer. The course rewards accuracy and imagination. There are spellbinding views across the Moray Firth.
Nairn has great character with its undulating dunes framed by stunning yellow-blooming gorse and broom.
The greens are famously fast and true.
REASONS TO PLAY NAIRN GOLF CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE
– Brilliant example of the typical out and back Scottish links
– Great recent changes by Tom Mackenzie
– Incredible views across and up the Moray Firth
RANKINGS
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 38
The renowned links to the west end of the seaside resort of Nairn has remained in the top 40 of our Top 100 Golf Courses UK & Ireland rankings from the outset. It began life in 1887 when the club’s founder Robert Finlay, later Viscount Finlay, employed Andrew Simpson of Aberdeen to design a course. The layout was enhanced by Old Tom Morris and again by James Braid.
The latter was the first to break 70 around Nairn, a feat he accomplished in 1901. Further alterations have taken place over the years including interventions from Ben Sayers and later C.K Cotton. Most recently, Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie and Ebert has advised on improvements. The course hosted the 1999 Walker Cup and the 2012 Curtis Cup. The Amateur Championship visited for a second time in June 2021.
Gorse lined, criss-crossed by burns and pock-marked by pot bunkers, Nairn delivers typical Scottish links golf. It’s an out-and-back layout with the sea visible on every hole. It's a thinker’s course with testing greens and run-off areas demanding careful placement.
I have always enjoyed my visits to Nairn and, in particular, the challenge of not straying too close to the shores of the Firth over the opening stretch, not always easy for a left-to-right player when the wind is off the land.
Many links have their own little foibles and nuances and the spell on the back nine where the course deviates inland and uphill has always stuck in my mind. As you turn at the top to play back down to the more classic out-and-back holes, the views of the Firth are mesmerising.
And do take time to stop at the excellent Bothy - a halfway hut, where the Tomatin miniature very much hit the mark on my last visit on a bitterly cold January day.
Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie and Ebert has overseen a wholesale remodelling of the links, which started in winter 2018 and was completed in March 2020. All 18 holes have been altered, some more than others, with new bunkering, new tees and three new greens.
Some 39 former revetted fairway bunkers were given a rough-edged makeover, with many greenside bunkers also remodelled.
Eleven new tees were added and three other tee complexes relocated; the 1st, 7th and 14th were given new greens; and a number of open sand areas were introduced.
Mackenzie’s changes have been a great success and Nairn remains one of Scotland's pedigree links courses.
What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said…
I love this hugely challenging course as it gives you a fighting chance if you think and execute smartly. The fabulous set of par 3s, playing to every point of the compass, is great fun and heavily bunkered, with clubs from driver to mid-irons required. Breathe in the salt from the sea and the residual fumes from the former smokehouse - now the halfway hut - to enjoy the full Nairn experience.
Many of the holes themselves are simple and straightforward as you stand on the tee box. You know what to avoid and where to play to, yet they force you to make a decision and commit. Bunkers dictate the strategy, and the greens can often appear flatter than they are. Nairn oozes old-school charm and elegance. It’s not going to blow you away on a grand scale like a Cruden Bay or Trump International does, but there appeared to me to be subtleties to this course that would take a lifetime to master. Classy is the word that keeps springing to mind and it applies to the course, the club and the welcome at Nairn.
Nairn Golf Club Championship Course Location
Nairn Golf Club Championship Course Scorecard
Best Courses Near to Nairn Golf Club Championship Course
Best Places To Stay near Nairn Golf Club Championship Course
Golf View Hotel and Spa - Book now at Booking.com
Overlooking the Moray Firth, with pretty gardens leading down to the seashore, the Golf View Hotel & Spa offers spacious rooms, elegant design and fine dining. It's a short stroll to the golf club.
Muthu Newton Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
Bordering the golf course and dating back to 1872, Muthu Newton Hotel was once regularly frequented by Charlie Chaplin. It's a comfortable and elegant hotel with good sized rooms and an excellent restaurant.
Nairn Golf Club Championship Course Gallery
Nairn Golf Club Championship Course Historical Top 100 Ranking UK&I
- 2025/26 - 38
- 2023/24 - 37
- 2021/22 - 35
- 2019/20 - 38
- 2017/18 - 33
- 2015/16 - 34
- 2013/14 - 30
- 2011/12 - 30
- 2009/10 - 25
Frequently Asked Questions
Who Designed Nairn?
Robert Finlay, later Viscount Finlay, employed Andrew Simpson of Aberdeen to design a course. The layout was enhanced by Old Tom Morris and again by James Braid. Further alterations have taken place over the years including interventions from Ben Sayers and later C.K Cotton. Most recently, Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie and Ebert has advised on improvements.
How old is Nairn Golf Club?
Nairn Golf Club was founded in 1887.
