
Cullen Links Golf Club
Links golf since 1870, par 63 over 4,644 yards. Ten of the eighteen holes are par threes.
Cullen is a playful links, with the whole of Cullen Bay laid out in front of you.
The links runs west from the town along the beach on the Moray coast, and Old Tom Morris laid out its first nine holes for a club founded in 1870. It's short, with ten par threes, but great red sandstone stacks stand right in play on the back nine, and at the 13th you play blind over the tallest of them. Dolphins are sometimes seen in the bay. A summer round is £60.

A par 3 of 224 yards from the white tee, from high on the escarpment down to beach level. The club calls it the signature hole: from here you can see almost every green on the course. A ditch runs behind the green.
Dolphins are regularly seen in the bay, and from this tee you can keep one eye on the ball and the other on the water.
A former royal burgh and once a busy fishing town. Its harbour is used mostly by pleasure boats now.
18 holes. Par 63 and 4,644 yards from the white tees, down to 3,501 from the blue.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Farskane | Den | Firth View | Neaves | Red Craig | ||||||||||||||||
| White | 345 | 121 | 233 | 129 | 360 | 181 | 224 | 279 | 195 | 2,067 | 311 | 243 | 179 | 152 | 206 | 526 | 352 | 278 | 330 | 2,577 | 4,644 |
| Yellow | 335 | 111 | 229 | 109 | 360 | 172 | 204 | 270 | 194 | 1,984 | 300 | 217 | 174 | 127 | 202 | 511 | 347 | 266 | 325 | 2,469 | 4,453 |
| Red | 318 | 98 | 224 | 101 | 350 | 164 | 205 | 233 | 190 | 1,883 | 291 | 205 | 169 | 110 | 201 | 492 | 339 | 256 | 313 | 2,376 | 4,259 |
| Blue | 315 | 57 | 167 | 60 | 314 | 97 | 151 | 225 | 177 | 1,563 | 280 | 121 | 89 | 79 | 158 | 307 | 342 | 251 | 311 | 1,938 | 3,501 |
| Par · White, Yellow | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 63 |
| Par · Red | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 62 |
| Par · Blue | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 61 |
| Ladies' par · White | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 66 |
| Ladies' par · Yellow | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 65 |
| Ladies' par · Red | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 64 |
| Ladies' par · Blue | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 62 |
| Stroke index · White, Yellow | 9 | 7 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 16 | |||
| Stroke index · Red, Blue | 9 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 16 | |||
| Ladies' stroke index | 9 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 18 | |||
| Score |
The holes tinted yellow are the highlights below. Press one to read about it.
The course climbs onto the clifftop at the 2nd and comes back down at the 7th. The back nine play at beach level, over and around the red rocks from the 11th to the 14th.
2Farskane
A short hole played blind up the hill to a plateau green only 30 yards deep. There's a ditch and the out of bounds fence on the old railway line behind it, so the club's advice is to play it high.
4Den
Out along the top of the cliffs, and blind again, with the tee shot fired over a deep ravine to a green you can't see.
7Firth View
The club's signature hole, played from a high tee on the escarpment back down to beach level. From the tee you can see almost every green on the course, with the whole bay beyond.
12Neaves
One of the hardest holes on the card, played past the Boar's Craig, the great red rock about 80 feet high, and over an outcrop to a green hidden on a raised knob. Finding it first time round is as much luck as judgement.
13Red Craig
Completely blind, straight over the tallest of the red rocks to a small green at the foot of the cliff. Red Craig, another huge stack, stands just to the left.
A short and quirky links on Cullen Bay, first laid out by Old Tom Morris, with red sandstone stacks standing in play on the back nine.
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 63
- Yards
- 4,644
- Founded
- 1870
- Par 3s
- 10
Booking
Under 12s play free: ring the club to book juniors. Ask the club about a day pass.
Green fees, 2026
- June to August£60
- April, May and September£50
- October to March£20
- Groups of eight or morefrom £45
To hire
- Clubs
- Electric trolley
The clubhouse
A catering van for a quick snack or a meal, and group meals by arrangement with the club.
The Banffshire Golf Pass covers a round here, at Royal Tarlair and at Turriff for £90.
The club is at The Links, Cullen, AB56 4WB, beside the beach at the west end of the town and about 21 miles east of Elgin.
Keith is the nearest station, about 14 miles away, and Aberdeen and Inverness airports are each about an hour and a quarter by car.
Scotland, in print.
We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.
More courses in the Highlands, and the collections this one is in.
For further reading, before you go.
- Book a tee timeThe club's own tee sheet for visitors.cullenlinks.hub.clubv1.com↗
- Green feesThe 2026 fees for visitors, juniors and groups.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk↗
- The scorecardEvery tee, with par, stroke index and the course ratings.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk↗
- Local rulesOut of bounds, the penalty areas and the drop zones.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk↗
- Old Tom Morris at CullenThe club's own story of the course and its red sandstone rocks.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk↗
- RoutingThe tees, the flags and the distance markers, hole by hole in brief.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk↗
- Nearby coursesLinks along the coast, and the Banffshire Golf Pass.cullenlinksgolf.co.uk↗
- The 1905 openingThe newspaper report of the day the course became eighteen holes, on the club's old website.web.archive.org↗
- The 1908 clubhouseThe report of the new clubhouse opening, with the speeches.web.archive.org↗
- Top 100 Golf Courses on CullenThe course and its history, with reviews from golfers.top100golfcourses.com↗
- Golf Empire on CullenA review, hole by hole through the rocks.golfempire.reviews↗
- No Laying Up on CullenAn American visitor plays a round with a club member.nolayingup.com↗
















