Cruden Bay Golf Club
Links golf since 1899, 6,634 yards from the black tees, where par is 73. The course runs through tall dunes above the bay, and several shots are played blind.
Cruden Bay is a links of towering dunes, hidden greens and a sweeping beach.
It sits above the bay and the village of Cruden Bay, on the Aberdeenshire coast north of Aberdeen, with the ruins of Slains Castle on the cliffs beyond. The holes twist through the sandhills and several are played blind, so part of the fun is never quite knowing what's coming. There's no online booking: you ring or email the club.
The ruin on the cliffs above the village is Slains Castle, begun in 1597. The club puts it a 15 minute walk from the course. In 1981 a plan for houses and a nine-hole golf course on its 165 acres was refused planning permission.
A long sandy beach runs beside the course for the length of the bay. From the 1970s North Sea oil revived the village, and the Forties pipeline comes ashore on these sands.
The course winds through the dunes in a figure of eight, and its two loops cross at the 8th and the 16th. Some sandhills stand as high as three-storey buildings, and many holes are hidden from one another by them.
18 holes. Par 73 and 6,634 yards from the black tees, down to 5,002 from the green.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Slains | Crochdane | Claypits | Port Erroll | The Buck | Bluidy Burn | Whaupshank | Ardendraught | Hawklaw | Scaurs | Mishanter | Finnyal | Bents | Whins | Blin' Dunt | Coffins | Bilin' Wallie | Hame | |||
| Black | 407 | 354 | 366 | 195 | 511 | 535 | 458 | 250 | 460 | 3,536 | 395 | 151 | 312 | 566 | 424 | 195 | 172 | 420 | 463 | 3,098 | 6,634 |
| Gold | 407 | 328 | 268 | 195 | 466 | 522 | 392 | 250 | 413 | 3,241 | 377 | 151 | 312 | 566 | 397 | 195 | 172 | 420 | 419 | 3,009 | 6,250 |
| White | 394 | 307 | 268 | 141 | 437 | 503 | 369 | 221 | 395 | 3,035 | 341 | 140 | 296 | 529 | 367 | 195 | 172 | 386 | 407 | 2,833 | 5,868 |
| Blue | 382 | 307 | 253 | 141 | 377 | 476 | 343 | 210 | 378 | 2,867 | 297 | 129 | 280 | 482 | 355 | 132 | 165 | 376 | 358 | 2,574 | 5,441 |
| Green | 338 | 223 | 253 | 141 | 347 | 466 | 277 | 210 | 296 | 2,551 | 297 | 129 | 280 | 449 | 327 | 132 | 165 | 363 | 309 | 2,451 | 5,002 |
| Par · Black | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 73 |
| Par · Gold | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 71 |
| Par · White, Blue, Green | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 70 |
| Ladies' par · Black | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 41 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 39 | 80 |
| Ladies' par · Gold | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 77 |
| Ladies' par · White | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 38 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 37 | 75 |
| Ladies' par · Blue | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 38 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 35 | 73 |
| Ladies' par · Green | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 70 |
| Stroke index | 9 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 10 | |||
| Ladies' stroke index | 11 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 8 | |||
| Score |
The holes tinted yellow are the highlights below. Press one to read about it.
The railway company built the course for its new hotel, and it opened in April 1899 with a professional tournament won by Harry Vardon.
4Port Erroll
A much-admired short hole, looking across the Water of Cruden to the harbour and fishermen's cottages of Port Erroll.
- 8
Ardendraught
A short par four you can drive, and some have: the club's hole-in-one register records aces here made with a driver.
- 14
Whins
The green sits sunk in a deep hollow known as the Bathtub, out of sight from the fairway, so a board on the tee shows where the pin is.
- 15
Blin' Dunt
Scots for a blind knock. The green is hidden behind the dunes, so the group ahead rings a bell to tell you it's clear.
- 17
Bilin' Wallie
The grassy mound in the fairway is said to be the grave of Scots and Danes killed in a battle here in 1012. In 1911 James Braid lost a sudden-death final to Ted Ray on this hole, with his second shot out of bounds.
Links golf through towering dunes above the bay at Cruden Bay, on the Aberdeenshire coast, with Slains Castle on the cliffs beyond.
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 73
- Yards
- 6,634
- Opened
- 1899
Booking
By phone or email only.
No online booking, on purpose: ring or email the club. Weekends are afternoons only. Bring a handicap certificate.
Green fees, 2026
- Weekday, May to early October£205
- Weekend, May to early October£220
- Spring and autumn£140
- Winter£110
To hire
- Clubs£50
- Electric trolley£20
- Push trolley£6
- Caddie, paid in cash£70
The clubhouse
The clubhouse looks out over the whole links, and the kitchen serves food all day.
The club is on Aulton Road in Cruden Bay, AB42 0NN.
It's about 45 minutes north of Aberdeen by the A90 and the A975, and around 50 minutes from Aberdeen Airport, with Peterhead a quarter of an hour further up the coast.
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More courses in Aberdeenshire, and the collections this one is in.
For further reading, before you go.
- Green fees and bookingThe 2026 fees, visitor tee times, and how to book by phone or email.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- Visitor informationHandicap certificates, the dress code, the St Olaf nine and what is near the course.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- The scorecardEvery hole's name, par, yards and stroke index from all five tees.crudenbaygolfclub.co.ukPDF↗
- CaddiesCaddie fees, and why to bring cash: there is no cash machine in the village.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- Eating at the clubThe clubhouse kitchen, booking a table and packed lunches for golfers.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- How to find the clubDirections by road from Aberdeen and the airport, and the pro shop's hours.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- The history of the courseOld Tom Morris's course of 1899, the early tournaments and the 1926 redesign.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- Course informationThe club's own description of the links, with its past rankings.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- The flyoverA short film of every hole on the Championship course.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- The hole-in-one registerEvery ace recorded at the club, hole by hole, with the club that made it.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗
- Golf World on Cruden BayA 2013 feature on the course and its history, told with the club's historian.crudenbaygolfclub.co.ukPDF↗
- Top 100 Golf CoursesA review of the course, its history and the changes of 2014.top100golfcourses.com↗
- Golf Monthly on Cruden BayA review of the Championship course.golfmonthly.com↗
- The Cruden Bay tournamentsThe four professional tournaments of 1899 to 1914, and who won them.en.wikipedia.org↗
- Cruden Bay Golf ClubThe club's own website, for everything else.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk↗