Durness Golf Club
A nine-hole links on the north coast since 1988, with a second set of tees for eighteen: par 70 over 5,495 yards. It finishes with a par three across an inlet of the sea.
There’s something special about golf at the far end of the country, and Durness is as far north-west as you can play on mainland Britain.
The links sits at Balnakeil, just outside the village on Sutherland’s north coast, on land overlooking Balnakeil Bay. It’s a nine-hole course with a second set of tees, so your second time round plays quite differently from your first. The 6th sweeps right round Loch Lanlish, and the round ends with a par three across an inlet of the sea. Book online or use the honesty box, and Café 19 in the clubhouse is open to everyone.
Each of the nine holes has a second tee, so the second time round the holes play from new angles. The card counts it as eighteen: par 70 over 5,495 yards from the back.
The club calls Durness the most north-westerly golf course on mainland Britain. It sits right on the North Coast 500.
18 holes. Par 70 and 5,495 yards from the black tees, down to 4,803 from the white.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 296 | 321 | 408 | 287 | 344 | 434 | 178 | 377 | 108 | 2,753 | 282 | 311 | 391 | 323 | 312 | 454 | 154 | 360 | 155 | 2,742 | 5,495 |
| White | 242 | 276 | 368 | 260 | 300 | 398 | 154 | 360 | 100 | 2,458 | 221 | 247 | 344 | 287 | 280 | 410 | 131 | 300 | 125 | 2,345 | 4,803 |
| Par · Black | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 70 |
| Par · White | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 34 | 68 |
| Ladies' par · Black | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 71 |
| Ladies' par · White | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 70 |
| Stroke index · Black | 5 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 8 | |||
| Stroke index · White | 5 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 14 | 8 | |||
| Score |
The holes tinted yellow are the highlights below. Press one to read about it.
Every hole at Durness has two tees, so holes 10 to 18 on the card are the same nine greens played again from new angles.
1The 1st
A short par four that bends sharply round a hill to a green high above the fairway. You see next to nothing of the green from below, so take a good look before you play up to it.
- 3
The 3rd
The longest par four and the hardest hole on the card from either tee. The drive goes over a marker post, and the thin green sits low between dunes.
- 6
The 6th
The long hole, sweeping right round Loch Lanlish to the green, and back again as the 15th from a second tee. The club’s rules ask you not to disturb anyone fishing the loch.
- 8
The 8th
Straight back down the hill towards Balnakeil Bay, to a green bunkered short and sitting close to the cliff edge.
- 9
The 9th
The hole everyone remembers: a tee shot across an inlet of the sea to a small green with sand around it, below the clubhouse. As the 18th it plays 155 yards from the back tee.
A nine-hole links above Balnakeil Bay, the most north-westerly course on mainland Britain, with a par three over the sea to finish.
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 70
- Yards
- 5,495
- Opened
- 1988
Booking
Book and pay online, or pay at the clubhouse or the honesty box. Email info@durnessgolfclub.org to reserve clubs or a buggy.
Green fees, 2026
- Nine holes£30
- Eighteen holes£55
- A day, unlimited golf£70
- A week£150
- JuniorsHalf price
To hire
- Clubs£10
- Pull trolley£2.50
- Buggy, nine holes£20
- Buggy, eighteen holes£25
The clubhouse
Café 19 in the clubhouse is licensed and open to golfers and the public.
Open all year, weather permitting, from 8am or sunrise until sunset.
The club is at Balnakeil, Durness, IV27 4PX, about a mile and a half west of the village on the North Coast 500.
It’s 57 miles north-west of Lairg, and about three hours’ drive from Inverness, which has the nearest main airport.
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 and pay onlineThe club’s own tee booking page.masterscoreboard.co.uk↗
- Visitors and green feesOpening times, green fees, hire and how to pay.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- Café 19The licensed café in the clubhouse, open to everyone.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- Open competitionsThe open days visitors can enter, booked online.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- The courseThe club’s own words on the nine holes, with the course map.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- The scorecardThe club’s card: both tees, the men’s and ladies’ par, every stroke index.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- HistoryHow the course was cleared by hand and opened in 1988.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- Meet the teamThe greenkeeper who looks after the whole course.durnessgolfclub.org↗
- Golf Monthly on DurnessA review, with the story of Rafferty’s tee.golfmonthly.com↗
- Top 100 Golf Courses on DurnessA short history and the two holes it rates most.top100golfcourses.com↗
- GOLF.com at DurnessAn American visitor’s round, from the road in to the 9th.golf.com↗
- Evalu18 on DurnessA hole by hole review of the nine.evalu18.com↗