Gleneagles Hotel & Golf Club

When Gleneagles opened in 1924 it was described as 'a Riviera in the Highlands' - today it remains dedicated to excellence, just as it was in its earliest days.

Sumptuous meals are served using the finest, freshest, Scottish produce available. Enjoy traditional as well as haute cuisine, complemented by some of the world's finest wines from its cellars, in any of the resort's four top class restaurants, including Michelin- starred Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles.

Offering guests an unrivalled choice of sports and leisure facilities, Gleneagles is truly a world class resort. Its three 18-hole championship courses have attracted some of the most famous golfers in the world, with the Kings Course being the former venue for the Scottish Open, and the The PGA Centenary course being the venue of the Ryder Cup in 2014. In March 1999, Gleneagles opened its courses to visiting players seeking a deluxe golfing experience.

Golf at Gleneagles is a blend of natural experience and golfing adventure on three championship courses set in the splendour of the Perthshire hills.

The courses were the inspiration of two of the world's most famous golfers, James Braid, five times winner of the Open championship who designed the King's and Queen's, and Jack Nicklaus, Golfer of the Century, who designed the PGA Centenary Course.

Complementing the courses are sporting opportunities of all kinds from clay target shooting and all-weather tennis, to swimming, squash, croquet, fishing, falconry, off-road driving and riding, as well as a luxury leisure club and spa.

The PGA Centenary Course

Even for a champion and acclaimed golf architect like Nicklaus, The PGA Centenary Course was a challenge. It had to be a great course and, set as it is in the heart of Scotland, the country which gave the world golf, it had to fit into the landscape in a way that did no violence to the Scottish tradition.

It had to be unique in its challenge, a course in the modern design ethos that at its fullest stretch tests the greatest players, while, in the immortal phrase of Bobby Jones, "offering problems a man may attempt according to his ability... never hopeless for the lesser player nor failing to concern and interest the expert."

From the back tees, The PGA Centenary Course measures 7,081 yards, the longest inland course in Scotland. However, the tees are graded at each hole in five stages, including a challenging 6,551 yards from the white markers down to 5,065 from the red. Fittingly, The PGA Centenary Course begins by playing southeast towards the famed glen of the eagles sweeping up the Ochil Hills to the summit of the pass below Ben Shee which joins it to Glendevon.

A feature of The PGA Centenary Course is the feast of views of the spectacular countryside in which Gleneagles is set. Putting on the two-tier second green, you are distracted by the lush panorama of the rich Perthshire straths. As you move westwards over the next few holes, the rugged Grampians come into view on the right, then distantly purple ahead, Ben Vorlich and the mountains above the Trossachs.

The Queen's Course

The Queen's Course, in its long history, has played host to some of the world's golfing greats. The beautiful settings and the challenge of the golf have attracted such top golfers as Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, and Lee Trevino, as well as great names from the entertainment and sports worlds including Sean Connery, Burt Lancaster, Bing Crosby, Jackie Stewart, and astronaut, Alan Shepard (the only man to hit a golf shot on the moon).

Threading through high ridges on the north and west sides of the estate, the Queen's offers lovely woodland settings, lochans and ditches as water hazards, as well as many moorland characteristics. At 3192 yards long, the challenge of the first nine can be deceptive, with even some of the best players finding it a test to make par into a fresh southwesterly breeze.

Do not be lulled into a sense of false security as you stand on the first tee. The "Trystin' Tree," or lover's meeting place, after which the hole is named, is a challenging opener. The ground falls away at your feet, the fairway swings round to the left and slopes towards the trees, and there are a couple of cunningly-placed bunkers testing your approach into the miniscule green.

The King's Course

The King's course which opened in 1919, is a masterpiece of design which has tested the aristocracy of golf, both professional and amateur.

When Lee Trevino first played the King's he memorably remarked:

"If Heaven is as good as this, I sure hope they have some tee times left."

James Braid's plan for the King's Course was to test even the best players' shot-making skills over the eighteen holes. When they play the King's the world's greatest golfers admire the cunning and craft with which he acheived that goal.

You find out all about it with your first approach shot. If you have driven straight and long from the tee, you will have what looks like a simple pitch to the elevated green. But you must be sure to select the correct club, because the shot is always a little longer than you think, with the wind over the putting surface often stronger than you can feel it from the fairway. And if you do not make the severely sloping green, a bunker yawns twenty feet below.

Selecting the right club for each approach shot is the secret on the King's. It is certainly one of the most beautiful and exhilarating places to play golf in the world, with the springy moorland turf underfoot, the sweeping views from the tees all around, the rock-faced mountains to the north, the green hills to the south, and the peaks of the Trossachs and Ben Vorlich on the western horizon.

All the holes have evocative and pithy Scots names. For example, the fifth, "Het Girdle" (Hot Pan), is a challenging par 3 with trouble every-where except on the green, while l7th's moniker, "Warslin' Lea" (Wrestling Ground), reflects the difficulty so many golfers have had with this long, sweeping par 4.

Complementing the courses are sporting opportunities of all kinds from clay target shooting and all-weather tennis, to swimming, squash, croquet, fishing, falconry, off-road driving and riding, as well as a luxury leisure club and spa.

Address:	Auchterarder Perth & Kinross PH3 1NF Scotland
Telephone:	01764 663543
E-mail:	info@gleneagles.com
Website:	www.gleneagles.com

View a map | Weather report | Tourist information

---

All listings for Perth & Kinross | Nearby Courses | Other Accommodation Nearby | Nearby Businesses