Duff House Royal – MacKenzie's Parkland by the Deveron
A day.
The route
Duff House Royal is a parkland course on the edge of Banff, laid out along the River Deveron and redesigned in 1923 by Alister MacKenzie, the man behind Augusta National.
Its big two-tiered greens are still his, and William Adam's grand Duff House stands in the middle of the course. Play your round, have lunch in the clubhouse, then walk over to look at the house. Green fees are lowest from November to March.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Duff House Royal Golf Club
Book a visitor tee time at Duff House Royal Golf Club on the club's online booking system before you go: £25 a round from November to March, £35 in April and October, £55 in May and September and £75 from June to August at the time of writing; from November to January take a tee time around 9.30am.
Book lunch at the 19th Tea in the clubhouse by call or text on 01261 450101: in autumn and winter its kitchen closes at 2.30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and 3.30pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with last orders 15 minutes before.
The day
Banff
Eighteen holes on flat parkland beside the Deveron, a late lunch at the clubhouse windows, and a stroll to the great stone front of Duff House.
About six hoursAbout 0.5 miles on foot
Duff House Royal Golf Club
Duff House Royal's clubhouse is at the Barnyards, on the edge of Banff by the River Deveron, with parking beside it. Book a tee time on the club's online system before you go, and check in at the Professional's shop before you play. Visitor green fees at the time of writing are £25 a round from November to March, £35 in April and October, £55 in May and September and £75 from June to August, or a fourball for £80 to £240. The course is flat parkland, par 68 for men and 72 for women off just over 6,000 yards, with the Deveron in play at several holes and MacKenzie's large two-tiered greens. Trolleys are £5 a round, GPS trolleys £15 and buggies £30, and hire clubs (£25, from April) need two working days' notice; ask for a caddie when you book. There's no dress code, so even jeans are fine in the clubhouse, but dogs aren't allowed on the course or in the clubhouse, guide dogs aside. In December the sun sets about 3.20pm, so from November to January take a tee time around 9.30am.
The 19th Tea
Lunch
Lunch is in the clubhouse at the 19th Tea, where chef Calum and his team cook with local suppliers, from breakfast and lunch to evening meals. In autumn and winter it serves Monday and Tuesday 9.30am to 2.30pm, Wednesday and Thursday 9.30am to 3.30pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 7pm and Sunday 9am to 6pm. Last orders are 15 minutes before closing, so after a morning round on a Monday or Tuesday, come straight in. Call or text 01261 450101 to book a table. The bar is open from 9am every day. If the kitchen has closed, Annie's Cakery does light lunches, coffee and cakes at the Platform, Macduff's old station across the river, open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm.
5 min on foot
Duff House
An attraction
It's a 5-minute walk from the clubhouse to Duff House, which stands in the middle of the course in parkland running down to the river. William Adam designed it, and it was built between 1735 and 1740 for William Duff, with the finest stonework carved at Queensferry and shipped up by sea. The Duke and Duchess of Fife gave the house and 140 acres to the people of Banff and Macduff in 1906, which is how the golf course came to be laid out round it. Today it is a country house gallery run by Historic Environment Scotland, hung with paintings from the National Galleries of Scotland. It opens on set days, more of them in summer than in winter, so check its opening times before planning to go in. On any day, walk round to the great carved front, and on along the woodland paths by the Deveron towards the old ice house and the family mausoleum while the light lasts.
If it rains
A parkland round is fine in drizzle, miserable in a downpour: ask the Professional's shop about moving your tee time, and sit out the worst over lunch at the 19th Tea. Duff House can wait for a drier hour.
The Platform and Annie's Cakery, a café in Macduff.
Photographs by Online Media and Duff House Royal Golf Club via Google