Aboyne Golf Club

The oldest course on Royal Deeside, dating back to 1883 when 24 members chipped in a grand total of £3. It's a course of two halves. The front nine runs through wooded parkland down towards the Loch of Aboyne, then the back nine opens out onto rougher heathland for a properly stern test. Holes 10 to 13 are the ones people remember. Plenty of blind shots and water in play, so leave the driver in the bag and think your way round. Archie Simpson laid out the original 18 in 1908, and Martin Hawtree added five new holes in the early 1990s, taking it to just over 6,000 yards. Watch for otters, ospreys and swans on the loch as you play. The greens are the real draw here, reckoned by many to be among the finest in the north-east. Worth the trip up the Dee.