Tee Off in Scotland » Buchanan Castle

5668 yards • par 68

Buchanan Castle is a beautiful 18 hole parkland course lying on the plain of the River Endrick. The course, close to Loch Lomond and the picturesque village of Drymen, is set against quite stunning scenic backdrops.

Designed in 1936 by James Braid, it offers players of all levels an intriguing but fair golfing challenge. The clubhouse with its paintings of past Dukes and racehorses add to the very distinctive Buchanan atmosphere.

Buchanan Castle lies in a heavily forested residential estate with every tree native to Western Europe – five different types of Oak and several soaring Pacific Coast Redwoods. Below the ridge lies a flat plain, sliced through by the wandering oxbows of the Endrick Water.

To the east and the north west, beyond the bonnie, bonnie banks, there is the beginning of the highlands and the magical mountains of Arthur, Vane, Vorlich, Lui and Ben Lomond itself.

One intriguing aspect of play over the course is that many fairways have been framed by two tall trees, one on either side, at around 200 yards, or where the Braid Doglegs start to turn. These are simple but insidious. For example, the very first hole has these framing trees just where the fairway turns right. The hole is 396 yards.

If you drive well to the left to open up the second shot, you find a diagonal of three bunkers squeezing out the left side of the green on the line of our approach, and your approach is likely to need a healthy iron shot.

Weekday (M.T.W.T.F.) Round: ££. Day Ticket: £££.
Weekend (S.S.) Round: ££. Day Ticket: £££.
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