The King's Course
The King's Course, opened in 1919, is a masterpiece of design, which has tested the aristocracy of golf, both professional and amateur.
James Braid's plan for the King's Course was to test even the best players' shot-making skills over the eighteen holes.
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 17th's name, "Warslin' Lea" (Wrestling Ground), reflects the difficulty so many golfers have had with this long, sweeping par 4.
The King's Course at Gleneagles is now available to view on the new Virtual Caddy website. Take a free interactive tour of the 1st hole of The King's Course. Click here to view.
For further information or to make a booking please call The Gleneagles Resort Sales Team on Freephone: 0800 389 3737 (UK only) Toll Free: 1 866-881 9525 (USA only), Main: + 44 (0) 1764 662231