Looking down from a raised tee along a fairway between birch trees to a green with a bunker, with forest and long hills behind.

Cairngorms

Boat of Garten Golf Club

Heathland golf since 1898, par 70 over 5,837 yards. James Braid's eighteen holes came into play in 1932.

Green fees, 2026May to October £140 April £70 Winter £30

Welcome

There's something special about golf among birch trees and heather with the Cairngorms on the skyline, and Boat of Garten is one of the loveliest places to play it.

The course is in the village of the same name, in the Cairngorms National Park, and the Strathspey Railway runs alongside, so a steam train may pass while you play. The club began in 1898 with six holes, and James Braid's eighteen came into play in 1932. It's short, par 70 over 5,837 yards, but the fairways are narrow and rolling, and accuracy matters more than length. Afterwards, the bar and lounge in the clubhouse is open to visitors too.

Across fairways to a yellow flag on a distant green, past a bed of purple heather and a blue-flagged pin in the foreground, with pines and the high hills beyond.

Heather, birch and pine, and the hills beyond.Press a mark to look closer.

The card

18 holes. Par 70 and 5,837 yards from the white tees, down to 5,093 from the red.

Boat of Garten Golf Club

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Name	John’s View	Urie	Craigard	Birches	Lochiel	Avenue	Bell	Plateau	Beag		Ridge	Braeriach	Craigellachie	Tulloch	Spey	Gully	Craigowrie	Bisset’s Hill	Road
White	191	358	161	513	308	396	379	349	152	2,807	266	371	344	480	316	305	170	343	435	3,030	5,837
Yellow	169	351	152	509	289	393	369	342	148	2,722	261	347	338	469	313	289	165	318	426	2,926	5,648
Red	158	344	143	469	244	306	367	257	137	2,425	256	340	301	378	262	279	161	313	378	2,668	5,093
Par · White, Yellow	3	4	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	34	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	4	4	36	70
Par · Red	3	4	3	5	4	4	4	4	3	34	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	35	69
Ladies' par	3	4	3	5	4	4	5	4	3	35	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	4	5	37	72
Stroke index	11	5	13	9	15	1	3	7	17		18	2	8	6	10	12	14	16	4
Ladies' stroke index	16	2	10	4	8	6	14	12	18		17	1	7	3	11	5	15	9	13
Score

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

Hole highlights

Braid's holes are short by modern standards but full of slopes, with tilting greens, banks that send a short ball back, and a gully across the 15th.

1
John’s View
Par 3 · 191 yards
A long par three to start, named after John Grant, the club's professional from 1955 to 1971. Out of bounds runs down the right and there are bunkers to the left, and the club says par is a very good start.
6
Avenue
Par 4 · 396 yards
The hardest hole on the card, a dogleg to the right with pine and birch on both sides. Drive down the left to open up the green, which still needs a long iron or a fairway wood to reach.
12
Craigellachie
Par 4 · 344 yards
James Braid thought no hole could equal the setting of the 12th, with the birch woods and the mountains beyond. The fairway narrows the farther you hit, and the green has two tiers, so the wrong one leaves a very hard two putt.
15
Gully
Par 4 · 305 yards
A short par four with a gully across the fairway. Longer hitters may go for the green from the tee, but most play about 150 yards and then the same again over the gully to a sloping green.
18
Road
Par 4 · 435 yards
The longest par four, and the club says most golfers play it as a five. Aim your drive at the clubhouse door, and take enough club for the approach, as the slope in front of the green rolls a short ball back 20 or 30 yards.

Playing here

A James Braid course through birch, heather and broom beneath the Cairngorms, with the Strathspey Railway alongside.

Holes: 18
Par: 70
Yards: 5,837
Founded: 1898

Booking

01479 831282

A deposit of one green fee holds a tee time; the rest is due a month before you play. Check in at the club shop.

Green fees, 2026

2026£115
2026, early or after 3.30pm£60
May to October 2027£140
April 2027£70
November to March£30

To hire

Clubs£40
Buggy£40
Electric trolley£15
Push trolley£5
Caddie, asked for when booking£70

The clubhouse

The View @ The Boat, the bar and lounge, has an open licence, so anyone can come in for a meal or a drink.

Two round tickets pair a round here with Spey Valley, Grantown-on-Spey or Kingussie.

Did you know

Boat of Garten began in 1898 with just six holes.

Two more were added in 1910. When extra land came up for rent in 1930, the club asked James Braid to design eighteen holes, and his course was in play by 1932.

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Where it is

The club is on Nethybridge Road in Boat of Garten, PH24 3BQ.

Aviemore is about 7 miles away by road and Grantown-on-Spey about 9, and Inverness is about 30 miles, around 45 minutes by car. The Strathspey Railway, which runs beside the course, has a station in the village.

Directions

The front of Andersons in Boat of Garten.

RestaurantsAndersons Restaurant0.3 miles

AttractionsLoch Garten Nature Reserve2.0 miles

Aerial view of a red-roofed cabin on a forested loch shore

AttractionsLoch Vaa2.1 miles

AttractionsLandmark Forest Adventure Park3.2 miles

Old stone packhorse bridge arching over a river amid autumn trees

AttractionsCarrbridge3.2 miles

The packhorse bridge arching over the River Dulnain.

AttractionsThe Old Packhorse Bridge3.2 miles

A battlemented stone mausoleum in the churchyard.

AttractionsDuthil Old Parish Church and Churchyard3.4 miles

The green clubhouse with its red roof above the first tee.

Golf courseCarrbridge Golf Club3.5 miles as the crow flies

CafeNethy House3.7 miles

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More golf

More courses in the Highlands, and the collections this one is in.