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Waves breaking along a grassy dune coastline at Askernish Golf Club.
Outer Hebrides

Askernish Golf Course

Links golf since 1891, lost and reopened in 2008, par 72 over 6,083 yards. From the 7th the holes run through the dunes beside the Atlantic.

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Welcome

Askernish is golf the way it was first played, on wild dunes beside the Atlantic on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

Old Tom Morris laid out the course in 1891, and after the farm passed to crofters it slowly vanished into the machair. It was found again in 2005 and reopened in 2008, kept without fertilisers or watering, with cattle and sheep grazing it through the winter. The first six holes ease you in, then from the 7th you're out among the dunes with the sea beside you. Visitors are welcome, you can even hire hickory clubs, and the ferry from Mallaig lands at Lochboisdale, about five miles away.

A weathered wooden marker numbered seven stands on dunes above a beach and coastline at Askernish.
The 7th tee, where the holes turn into the dunes beside the Atlantic.Press a mark to look closer.
The card

18 holes. Par 72 and 6,083 yards from the green tees, down to 5,049 from the red.

Askernish Golf Course
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
NameClanranaldDr RobertsonWicked LadyFloraMarlochRunwayCabinet MinisterKelpieBrochanHallanBarra SightPiobaireachdBenji's BurrowSt ValeryBalaclavaOld Tom's PulpitCorncrakeSlàinte Mhath
Green4801552723753705334102803413,2163971975122351443383631675142,8676,083
White4801552723573235014012573163,0623651974802351443263631675042,7815,843
Red4181342093293134502972222742,6463281424022151012673351334802,4035,049
Par · Green, White534445444374354344353572
Par · Red434445444364354344353571
Stroke index111317795115310821861441612
Score

The holes tinted yellow are the highlights below. Press one to read about it.

Hole highlights

The first six holes are a gentler loop on flatter machair. From the 7th the course heads out through the dunes along the shore, then turns for home a little inland.

  1. 6

    Runway

    Par 5 · 533 yards

    A long par five from a tee on the shoreline, with the green up at the top of a steep slope. Its name is a nod to the 1930s, when planes from Renfrew landed on a grass airstrip at Askernish.

  2. 7

    Cabinet Minister

    Par 4 · 410 yards

    The hardest hole on the card, down a long rolling valley to a narrow raised green. It's named after the wrecked ship in Whisky Galore!, and the club warns that the view from the tee may put you off your swing.

  3. 8

    Kelpie

    Par 4 · 280 yards

    A short par four that big hitters can reach from the tee, but the ground falls away steeply to the right and behind the green. Martin Ebert, the architect of the restoration, called it the most natural par four in the world.

  4. 11

    Barra Sight

    Par 3 · 197 yards

    A long par three over a deep gully, and from the tee it looks as if you're hitting straight into the Atlantic. The club thinks Old Tom's hole was a par four, with a green that the sea has since taken.

  5. 16

    Old Tom's Pulpit

    Par 4 · 363 yards

    The club counts this and the 7th as the two holes that define Askernish. The approach climbs to a green on top of a 30-foot dune, with a hollow behind it that gathers anything too long.

Playing here

Old Tom Morris's lost links of 1891 on South Uist, found again and reopened in 2008, with the dunes and the Atlantic from the 7th hole on.

Holes
18
Par
72
Yards
6,083
Laid out
1891
Reopened
2008

Booking

01878 700628

Ring or email ahead to be sure of hire clubs and trolleys: info@askernishgolfclub.com.

Green fees, 2026

  • June to September£95
  • Summer twilight, from 4.30pm£47.50
  • October to May£75
  • Members of a Scottish club, summer£65

To hire

  • Clubs£22
  • Hickory clubs£20
  • Electric trolley£12.50
  • Pull trolley£6

The clubhouse

The small clubhouse serves drinks and light snacks from spring to autumn.

The Askernish Open is played over three days every August.

Did you know

The Victorian champion golfer Old Tom Morris laid out a golf course on the dunes of South Uist in 1891, and Askernish Golf Club reopened on it in 2008.

The course fell away after the farm went into crofting tenure in 1922. A golf consultant who walked the wet ground in December 2005 said he had found the holy grail, and the restored course opened to more than a hundred golfers on 22 August 2008.

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Where it is

The club is at Askernish on the west coast of South Uist, HS8 5SY, just off the A865 north of Daliburgh.

The CalMac ferry from Mallaig reaches Lochboisdale in about three and a half hours, and the course is about five miles from the pier. Benbecula airport is about 35 minutes' drive to the north.

Directions
White gable end building lettered Kilbride Cafe behind a wooden picket fenceCafeKilbride Cafe, South Uist6.3 miles
Ruined stone walls overlook a small stone house by a sea lochAttractionsLong Island Retreats & Larder11 miles
Loganair twin-propeller plane G-BVVK coming in to land over the seaAttractionsBarra Airport11 miles
Castlebay village and Kisimul Castle seen from the hills above BarraAttractionsHeaval16 miles
Thatched stone cottages with cart wheels and old farm tools on displayAttractionsBarra Heritage Centre16 miles
Aerial view of waves breaking on sand beside dark rocky outcropsAttractionsIsle of Barra Distillers17 miles
Yacht beached on shore with Kisimul Castle visible on its islet beyondAttractionsKisimul Castle17 miles
Turquoise bay curves into a white sandy beach with distant walkers and hillsAttractionsVatersay Beaches19 miles
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For further reading, before you go.