I’ve changed my mind about Machrihanish Dunes. Quite dramatically, actually. When I first played it, I couldn’t understand why so much fuss had been made about a golf course that seemed so remote and unconventional. Having played it again, I’m wondering how I got it so wrong.
Previously, I had made my way on the Kintyre Express with a lady from Nature Scotland, who was there to make sure the orchids weren’t being damaged.
At the time, I remember being quite dismissive. In fact, I recall my general position being along the lines of ‘bloody Nature Scotland, just let them build the golf course’.
Mach Dunes felt different to most other modern links courses. The drive in is fairly ramshackle, and when we first played it the weather was grey and miserable. There was no grand sense of arrival you get a places like Turnberry and none of the things you might associate with a new, high-end golf development.
In that sense, it can potentially be seen as slightly underwhelming and maybe that’s why it took me a while to appreciate it.
A golf course ahead of its time
We’re so used to these types of places being packaged and marketed as experiences now. Everything screams grandeur and five-star luxury. It’s all polished down to the final detail, designed to make you feel as comfortable as possible, but lacks a little authenticity.
Mach Dunes isn’t really interested in any of that. And the more I think about it, the more I think that’s one of its greatest strengths.
You drive away from the main resort and you end up at this tiny little clubhouse. Naturally you’re obliged to think, what on earth are we doing here? It’s got this feeling to it that maybe this place isn’t doing very well. That there’s nothing to it.
When you get out of your car, you’re met with a clubhouse has got a tiny pro shop and a lady through a hatch serving things like soup and hot drinks. It has the feeling and hallmarks of a golf course that has been there for 150 years, but it hasn’t. That is very hard to get your head around.
There is something wonderfully natural about the place. The land is enormous. There’s enough room for two golf courses – but they haven’t tried to fill it with more holes.
A bit of that is no doubt down to the fact they couldn’t even if they wanted to, but also because of the design. The course feels very natural to the land it’s built on, which to my mind is why it feels increasingly more relevant.
It feels as though we’re very much in an era now of minimalism, sustainability, natural environments and wild experiences becoming increasingly fashionable in golf course design. Mach Dunes ticks a lot of these boxes.
Despite having American owners it doesn’t have this upmarket feel to it. It hasn’t gone down the path of catering to what the Americans want.
There are big misconceptions about the walking experience. It’s a big walk. There is a challenge to it. But I didn’t come away thinking about how long it had taken or wishing that somebody had made it easier.
I’ve started to realise I don’t necessarily want every golf course to make life easy for me. Sometimes the best experiences can be from venues that ask you to embrace a challenge of some kind. Whether that be a physical, mental or technical one.
Mach Dunes feels like this and more.
Maybe it was ahead of its time in this respect. Maybe we just weren’t ready to appreciate it when it opened. Or maybe I’ve simply played enough golf now to understand that a course doesn’t need to be polished and luxurious to be memorable.
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Do you think Machrihanish Dunes is the most underrated golf course in Scotland? If not, what is and why? Let us know in the comments or by getting in touch with us on X!
