Shiskine Golf Club

Shiskine Golf Club only has 12 holes, but they are twelve of the best holes in Great Britain and Ireland and you can play it for as little as £24. Golf World Top 100 Editor Chris Bertram explains why it ranks so highly.

When a 12-hole golf course ranks among the best golf courses in Britain, it gives you some indication of the quality of those 12 holes.

RELATED: Royal Troon review

Shiskine is easily Arran’s most famous course and successfully blends tremendous entertainment with a dash more ‘normal’ golf.

It’s generally fantastic fun though, and despite having a third fewer holes with which to impress our panel, is well worthy of in its place in our the top five of our ‘£60 and Under’ ranking and in front of some big names in our Scottish Top 100.

RELATED: Golf World Top 100 Links Golf Courses

Laid out in 1896, Willie Park is credited with shaping such a compelling course in such a spectacular location.

It starts with a straightforward hole along the beach that is not a portent of the high jinks to come.

A blind approach at the 2nd, and its accompanying views of heather, gorse and sea is the queue for the feast to start.

RELATED: Dundonald Links review

Next it is a 128-yard blind par 3 played up a steep hill decorated with a fusion of bracken, gorse and heather, with Shiskine’s signature rockface beyond the green. You come back down to the beach with another short hole that in many other courses would be THE hole.

Here it is actually relatively fairly mundane. Arguably the best run of holes now begins. The 5th plays along the shore, a sporty par 4 of humps and hollows with a fairway divided by a runway of bracken infused with heather and marram.

RELATED: Why are some green fees so high?

The 6th continues beachside and ends with a shot towards a marker post indicating a sunken green in an amphitheatre of heather, bracken and gorse. Very possibly the very best of Shiskine.

Still along the beach, you then fire over that mound that is the 6th backdrop to play the totally blind 7th and then use the ingenious way to signal the green is clear.

Seven holes in, this is a Scottish Top 100 course and the second best course in GB&I for £60 or under (and note you can play 24 holes and it’s still eligible). 

RELATED: The best golf courses you can play for £60 and under