Pitlochry Golf – Eighteen Holes Above the Tummel Valley
A day.
The route
Pitlochry's golf course climbs the hillside at the top of the town, with tree-lined fairways and sweeping views over the Tummel valley.
Play a round, have a long lunch in the Red Deer in the clubhouse, then go down to the dam to see the ladder the salmon climb. The dam makes an easy hour on foot after the round.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Charlottefield, 4 miles away. Sleeps 4.
Book a tee time on Pitlochry Golf's website before you go, for about 9.30am on any day but Monday (when the dam's visitor centre is shut) or Wednesday (when the Red Deer is shut in its winter hours): the day's green fee shows there, and from April to October ring 01796 472792 after booking to hire clubs, for tee times between 9.30am and 1pm.
Book the Red Deer Pub & Restaurant
Ring the Red Deer on 01796 472334 or email to book a table for after your round: it's shut on Wednesdays in its winter hours.
The day
Pitlochry
Eighteen holes with the hills all round, lunch on the clubhouse deck, and an easy hour at the dam and its fish ladder in the afternoon.
About six and a half hours
Pitlochry Golf Course
Pitlochry Golf Course is at the top of the town, up West Moulin Road and Golf Course Road, with two large car parks at the clubhouse. It's 18 holes, par 69 and 5,700 yards, with tree-lined fairways, undulating greens and the hills all round, and the club says it's ranked 58th in Scotland's top 100 this year. Visitors can play any day from 9am until dark. Book a tee time on Pitlochry Golf's website, where the day's green fee shows. From April to October, clubs, trolleys and buggies can be hired for tee times between 9.30am and 1pm, back by 5pm; ring the pro shop on 01796 472792 once your tee time is booked. On frosty winter days the pins go on winter greens. Allow about four hours for the round.
The Red Deer Pub & Restaurant
Lunch
Lunch is in the clubhouse itself, at the Red Deer Pub & Restaurant, with an all-day menu, daily specials, home baking and a children's menu, and a covered, heated deck looking out over the course. In its winter hours it's open from 9.30am to 4.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and until 6pm on Friday and Saturday, and it's shut on Wednesdays. Dogs on a lead are welcome in the raised lounge. Ring 01796 472334 to book a table. If it's full, the café at Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre, the next stop, is open until 4.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
4 min by car
Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre
An attraction
Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre is 4 minutes' drive down through the town, at the end of Armoury Road, with plenty of parking (a two-hour limit) and disabled spaces. It's free and open from 10am to 4.30pm, Tuesday to Sunday, with a café, toilets and a lift, and it's shut on Mondays. Then walk out to the fish ladder beside the dam, a staircase of 34 pools that salmon climb to get past it; more than 250,000 have made it up since it was built in 1952. They run roughly from April to October, so look into the pools, though you may not see one. The path by the ladder has steps and slopes, and dogs on a lead are welcome in the dog-friendly areas.
If it rains
Heavy rain moves the holes to higher ground and can close the course for a while (the club's own weather policy); the Red Deer's deck is covered and heated, and the dam's visitor centre and café are indoors.
PitlochryVictoria'sOn Pitlochry's main street
PitlochryThe Old Mill InnInn in an old corn mill
PitlochryAtholl Palace HotelBaronial hotel dining room
MoulinMoulin Hotel and BreweryVillage inn, its own ales
PitlochryHettie's Tea RoomsTea room and loose teas
PitlochryCafe CallunaPitlochry café and bakery
PitlochryEscape RouteCoffee at the outdoor shop
Photograph by Pitlochry Golf Course via Google