 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
  Location inScotland | |
| Location | Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Established | 1780, 1888 |
| Type | Private |
| Total holes | 36 |
| Website | royalaberdeengolf.com |
| Balgownie | |
| Designed by | Archie Simpson, Robert Simpson, James Braid (remodel) |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,918 yards (6,326 m) |
| Course rating | 74.8 |
| Slope rating | 144[1] |
| Course record | 64 (Rory McIlroy)[2] |
| Silverburn | |
| Par | 64 |
| Length | 4,021 yards (3,677 m) |
| Course rating | 61[3] |
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club inAberdeen,Scotland, was founded in 1780 and claims to be the sixth oldestgolf club in the world. It was founded as theSociety of Golfers at Aberdeen, and became theAberdeen Golf Club in 1815 subsequently receiving royal patronage in 1903.
Royal Aberdeen is best known for hosting the 2005Senior British Open, the2011 Walker Cup, and the 2014Scottish Open.
Aberdeen can be closely linked to the origins of golf, the earliest reference to a golf hole in Scotland was made in local Aberdeen records dating back to 1625.[4] Royal Aberdeen Golf Club was initially set up as The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen in 1780 making it the sixth oldest golf club in the world.[5]
The club continued be known as The Society of Golfers at Aberdeen before forming The Aberdeen Golf Club in 1815.[5] The club continued to play overThe Queens Links area of Aberdeen where the original golf hole in 1625 was believed to have been. In 1976 play was expanded over the Kings Links area to the north of the Queens Links.[4] Golf is still played to date on this land at the King's Links Golf Club.
The club moved to its present location at Ballgownie Links on the other side of theRiver Don estuary in 1888.[5] The course gained its royal patronage fromKing Edward VII in 1903 and subsequently changed its name to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.
The course was originally designed byArchie Simpson andRobert Simpson but was later re-bunkered and lengthened to its current layout byJames Braid.[6]
Since its expansion Royal Aberdeen has hosted many top golf tournaments both on an amateur and professional level including theScottish Open,Senior British Open and theWalker Cup.
The course runs essentially out and back along theNorth Sea shore. The outward nine (which is acknowledged as one of the finest in links golf anywhere in the world) cuts its way through some wonderful dune formation. The inland nine returns south over the flatter plateau. A traditional old Scottish links, it is well-bunkered with undulating fairways. It has an excellent balance of holes, strong par 4's, tricky par 3's and two classic par 5's, with the 8th (signature hole) protected by nine bunkers. The ever-changing wind, tight-protected greens and a magnificent finish makes Balgownie a test for the very best. It was highly praised by participants in the 2005Senior British Open.
The eminent golf writer Sam McKinlay was moved to say"There are few courses in these islands with a better, more testing, more picturesque outward nine than Balgownie".[7]
And this from none other thanBernard Darwin "it represented a huge gap in my golfing education not to have played Balgownie until now, much more than a good golf course, a noble links!"[8]
The scorecard of the Balgownie course is as follows (all distances are given in yards)
| Tee | Rating/Slope | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 74.8 / 144 | 409 | 595 | 236 | 464 | 347 | 491 | 428 | 147 | 465 | 3582 | 354 | 165 | 534 | 436 | 441 | 374 | 411 | 181 | 440 | 3336 | 6918 |
| White | 73.0 / 141 | 409 | 567 | 207 | 430 | 324 | 491 | 374 | 147 | 454 | 3403 | 344 | 165 | 494 | 397 | 391 | 345 | 379 | 175 | 433 | 3123 | 6526 |
| Yellow | 71.8 / 138 | 399 | 549 | 202 | 377 | 291 | 473 | 367 | 139 | 436 | 3233 | 338 | 159 | 474 | 366 | 382 | 331 | 371 | 165 | 426 | 3012 | 6245 |
| Par | Men's | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 71 |
| Red | M:70.7 / 126 W:76.7 / 145 | 386 | 544 | 188 | 375 | 285 | 455 | 355 | 133 | 431 | 3152 | 300 | 153 | 468 | 360 | 381 | 282 | 362 | 135 | 422 | 2863 | 6015 |
| Black | M:68.7 / 123 W:74.0 / 139 | 386 | 544 | 150 | 375 | 285 | 407 | 355 | 139 | 373 | 3014 | 241 | 153 | 468 | 260 | 381 | 282 | 291 | 135 | 342 | 2553 | 5567 |
| Par | Women's | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 37 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 37 | 74 |
| Green | M:66.5 / 115 W:72.0 / 133 | 386 | 427 | 150 | 375 | 219 | 407 | 294 | 133 | 373 | 2764 | 241 | 153 | 411 | 260 | 320 | 282 | 291 | 135 | 342 | 2435 | 5199 |
| Par | Green | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 68 |
| SI | All Tees | 7 | 15 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 12 | 16 |
Source[1]
The Silverburn Course is the second course at Royal Aberdeen Golf Course and measures 4,021 yards (3,677 m) over a par of 64[3]
During its history Royal Aberdeen has hosted a number of top amateur and professional tournaments, between 1924 and 1980 the club hosted theScottish Amateur seven times (1924, 1929, 1933, 1948, 1957, 1970, and 1980). Subsequently, the club hosted theJacques Léglise Trophy for boys' team golf between Great Britain & Ireland and theContinent of Europe with Great Britain & Ireland claiming a 12½ to 11½ victory.
The club was chosen to host the 2005The Senior British Open Championship, this was the first time the club had hosted a major championship on any golf tour, the tournament was won byTom Watson with a 4-under par-score of 280 following a play-off againstDes Smyth.[9][10]
The club was also chosen to host the2011 Walker Cup between Great Britain & Ireland and the United States, with Great Britain & Ireland claiming a 14 to 12 victory.[11]
In 2014 the club hosted theScottish Open on theEuropean Tour.[12] During the first round of the tournament,Rory McIlroy set a new course record with a 7-under-par 64.[2] The tournament was won byJustin Rose with a total score of 16-under-par.[13]
In 2018 Royal Aberdeen was the host club of the Amateur Championship, in which Jovan Rebula of South Africa defeated Robin Dawson of Ireland in the finals, 3&2.
57°10′42″N2°05′01″W / 57.1782°N 2.0837°W /57.1782; -2.0837
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
