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Glasgow Golf Club's
Glasgow Gailes Course
Ayrshire Coast, Western Scotland

Beautiful seaside links course on Scotland's west coast, with plenty of history and wind. 

Glasgow Gailes photo

        Glasgow Gailes is a beautifully maintained links that is counted among the regular stable of qualifying venues for the British Open. In recent years, the Scottish PGA Championship, the Scottish Amateur Championship and the British Youths Championship have also been played over Glasgow Gailes. Scotland’s own Sandy Lyle (now a resident of Balquhidder, Central Scotland) is a past winner at Gailes.

ADDRESS: Glasgow Gailes Golf Club, Gailes, Irvine, Strathclyde KA11 5AE, Scotland

LOCATION: 1 mile south of Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, about 45 minutes south of Glasgow. The course is next to and should not be confused with Western Gailes Golf Club.

Directions: From Glasgow, take the M77/A77 towards Ayr. Exit at Kilmarnock, and take the A71 to Irvine for 8 miles. At the third roundabout (traffic circle)—the Warrix interchange—take the 1st exit for Troon/Ayr on the A78. After ½ mile take the
1st exit, the Newhouse interchange. On the Newhouse interchange take the 3rd exit and go straight on at the next roundabout (almost immediate) signposted "Harbourside & Golf Courses". After 250 yards turn right into the approach road to Glasgow Gailes
Links, which is marked.

Nearest train station: in central Irvine, 1+ mile distance.

Location Map: http://www.uk-golfmaps.com/uk/map227.html

LENGTH & PAR:
    White Tees: 18 holes, 6535 yards, Par 71, SSS 72
                    (White Tees for golfers with certified 6 or better handicaps)
    Yellow Tees: 18 holes, 6322 yards, Par 71, SSS 71
    Blue Tees: 18 holes, 5553 yards, Par 71, SSS 67
                    (Ladies are not restricted to Blue Tees)

FACILITIES:
    Club Hire (Club Rental): £20 per round - £30 per day
    Caddies Available: Senior £25 - Junior £15
    Buggy Hire (Golf Cart Rental): £20 per round; £30 per day;
        only 2 buggies are available because the course layout
        is compact and golf carts are not essential.
    Caddy Car Hire (Pull Cart Rental): £2 per round - £3 per day
    Practice Area
    Putting Green
    Pro Shop
    Clubhouse with bar and dining facilities available in the main lounge.
        There is also a casual bar in which golfing attire may be worn.
        Other than dinner, meals and snacks are available in the casual bar.
        Coffees, teas and snacks are available to visitors without pre-booking.

VISITORS WELCOME DAILY
    No handicap restrictions (except for white tees).
    Advance booking of tee times essential.
    Weekends: No bookings before 2:30PM Saturday or Sunday.
    Weekdays 9:30AM to 4:30PM.
    Visitors are welcome to use the practice area.
    Lunches, High Teas and Dinners are available for visitors.
    Prior booking direct with the clubhouse is recommended
    and is essential for dinners—Tel: +44 (0)1294 311258.

SPECIAL CLUB RULES:
    Dress Code: Visitors are welcome to use the main lounge,
        in which the dress code is jacket, collar and tie for gentlemen.
        Ladies should dress to an equivalent standard.
        If shorts are worn on the course, they must be tailored.
        Denim clothing is not permitted.
    Changing, including changing of shoes must take place in
        the changing rooms and in no circumstances whatsoever
        in the car park.
    Mobile phones may not be used and must be turned off in
        public rooms of the Clubhouse and on the course.

GREENS FEES:
    Weekdays: £45 per round (about US$72)
               £60 per day (about US$96)
    Weekends: £58 per round (about US$93)

BOOKINGS: (required in advance)
    Tel:   +44 (0)141 942 2011
    FAX: +44 (0)141 942 0770
    e-mail: secretary@glasgowgailes-golf.com
    OR via Home at First as part of your Scotland travel plans.
Note: Written notice of acceptance of reservations will be issued
by Glasgow Golf Club. Such notice will include a request
for a non-returnable deposit of £15 per player.

NEAREST HOME AT FIRST LODGINGS:
«about 45 minutes north of Glasgow Gailes in GLASGOW
«about 2 hours 15 minutes north of Glasgow Gailes in CENTRAL SCOTLAND
«about 1 hr. 30 min. SW of Glasgow Gailes in Scotland's SOUTHERN BORDERS
«about 2 hours northeast of Glasgow Gailes in EDINBURGH

HISTORY OF GOLF AT GLASGOW GAILES
        The Glasgow Golf Club was founded in 1787. The club—but not the course—
is recognized as the 9^th oldest Golf Club in the world. Its first course—in Glasgow,
about 1 hour to the north by rail—was supplemented with the construction of
Glasgow Gailes in 1892 in order to ease the pressure of a growing membership as
golf in western Scotland grew in popularity. Glasgow Golf Club, therefore, has the
unusual situation of having two courses 30 miles apart.
        Legendary British Open champion Willie Park, Jr., completed the current
Glasgow Gailes course layout in 1912. Park was one of the world’s most prolific
course architects, designing 170 courses around the world.

THE COURSE AND SOME NOTABLE HOLES
        Unlike most links courses, Glasgow Gailes is not
a seaside course, but is a half-mile inland from the shore.
But the low, undulating coastal plain ensures that the
pot bunkers, good-draining sandy soil, and strong sea
breezes that are common to Scottish links courses are
very much part of Glasgow Gailes. Moreover, the heather
and gorse rough make playing off the fairways of Glasgow
Gailes an especially dangerous strategy.
        Like many older links courses, Glasgow Gailes is not
long, at 6535 yards from the championship white tees,
but each hole has its own character. There are only two
par-5’s on the course—numbers 5 and 14—but they are the top-ranked holes at Glasgow Gailes. The course’s 3 par-3’s (holes 6, 12, and 15) are rated the easiest at Glasgow Gailes, yet strategic hazard placement exacts a penalty here, too, for shots that do not make the green.
Glasgow Gailes photo

THE REGION
        In the minds of many golfers, the Ayrshire coast south of Glasgow is second only to the Fife & Lothian coasts (from North Berwick to Carnoustie, along the east coast of Scotland southeast to northeast of Edinburgh) as a great golf region destination. With so many historic and challenging links courses in so small an area, golfers can easily spend a full week here and play a different championship links every day.                                                          Glasgow Gailes photo
        Glasgow Gailes is one of the courses included in Scotland’s great western region
of links golf along the Ayrshire coast. Very nearby are several other top Scottish links
courses, including 3 British Open sites: Royal Troon, 5 miles away; Old Prestwick,
8 miles away (no longer used for the Open); and Turnberry, 20 miles away.
Three nearby links courses that also see regular duty as British Open qualifying courses are: Barassie, Western Gailes, and Irvine Bogside. A new course, Southern Gailes, opens this year adjacent to Glasgow Gailes.

Want to learn about other courses throughout the British Isles
including some of the greatest tests of golf in the world?
See our SCOTLAND, IRELAND, ENGLAND, and WALES Course Guides for more information.

Read more about the region and Home at First’s travel program to:
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND