If you’re not Scottish born but consider yourself a serious golfer, then you’ve no doubt visited the Home of Golf nation.

And if you’ve played many of the Scottish golfing gems then you probably are keen to savour some other of the not so well-known Scottish golf courses.

So, with this thought in mind can I recommend extending your next Scottish golfing adventure by heading to the top of the Scottish mainland, and then take the short 90-minute ferry trip to the stunning Orkney Islands.

The Orkney Islands or The Orkneys as they are known, lie about 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and boasts about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, and known as the Mainland, is actually the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles, and on the Mainland you’ll find the largest settlement at Kirkwall.

For the golfer, it may come as a surprise for many to learn that there are five golf courses in the Orkney Islands.

The Northlink Ferry departs from the Scottish mainland at Scrabster, and just past Thurso, and takes around 9o-minutes travelling across the Pentland Firth and then rounding the western side of impressive island of Hoy before enterning Hoy Sound and arriving at Stromness.

If you’re aboard the ferry and wonder what is the golf course on the left just before arriving into Stromness, well it’s the Stromness Golf Club.

The Stromness Golf Club and also the South Ronaldsay Golf Club have been proudly featured by GolfByTourMiss, and you can read our report from our visit by clicking on the following links:

Stromness GC: http://www.golfbytourmiss.com/2015/02/stromness-golf-club-125-years-young

South Ronaldsay GC: http://www.golfbytourmiss.com/2014/06/41248/

And now we proudly feature a third – the Orkney Golf Club, located very close to Kirkwall.

The Orkney club was founded on 21st March, 1889, as a 9-hole layout at Birsay, located right along the beach at the north-east corner of the island, and where seaweed on the greens was one problem.

The club moved to Pickaquoy on the edge of Kirkwall but when the members quickly became dissatisfied with the conditions on their course at Pickaquoy, and this from the club’s website, the club agreed to rent approximately 40 acres of land between the fields of Grainbank Farm and the sight of the glorious-looking heather covered Wideford Hill.

A formal opening was held on Thursday, 23rd April, 1896 and with an article in the Aberdeen Press & Journal remarking:  “The new course is a great improvement on the old one, another field being taken in, which does away with the cross playing experience of the old course”.

Wideford Hill itself commands wonderful views over Kirkwall and the Bay of Firth while it is also home to the 5,000 years old Wideford Hill Chambered Cairn (Cairn – Scottish word meaning raised landmarks or burial monuments), and a stunning example of Neolithic design and construction. It is well preserved, with a high central chamber and three cells opening off it.

Today the tomb is accessed through the roof, rather than the original long and narrow passage from the west. Inside there are rare examples of Neolithic scratch art.

The newly acquired golf course land at Grainbank was soon converted into a nine-hole golf course for use by the summer of 1902 while it was on 4th July, 1923, the opening ceremony was held for now 18-hole club course.

The full history of the club can be found on the Orkney GC website:  https://orkneygolfclub.co.uk/history/

The Orkney GC course is the longest of the courses on the Orkney Islands, playing to par-69 at 5,390-yards and is compared to Stromess that measures 4,804-yards.

Orkney GC boasts two par-5s (Ninth – 520-yards and 12th holes 505-yards), 11 par-4s (Longest being the 2nd hole at 428-yards & the shortest the 5th at 302-yards. That leaves five par-3s (The 143-yard 11th in the shortest and then next, the 12th the longest at 223-yards).

The course, as mentioned above, is laid-out on land at Gainbank, and named after an old 1829 built farmhouse and the farm of Grainbank. The house, its ancillary buildings and Garden are category B listed.

A great aspect of playing the course is its elevated nature and commanding great views across open farmland/playing fields, to the south towards the Saint Magnus Cathedral and town centre to the south east and the harbour and Kirkwall Bay to the east.

The course is, for the most part, treeless and kind of offers a linksy feel but here reminding our readers the definition of a links course, as told to me many decades ago by Irish golf legend and course designer Pat Ruddy, and that being:  ‘A links course is laid out on that link or portion of land between the sea and the arable land’.

Though one of the delights in playing Orkney GC is the sight of the lush heather covered hillside, particularly in August when the heather is in full bloom.

Hereunder is a collection of photographs of the Orkney GC course and with thanks, and those images indicated, to the Orkney GC for their use.

In conclusion, thank you again to Orkney GC in being able to display their photographs.