A trip to Machrihanish has always demanded effort. The village sits on the western edge of the Kintyre peninsula, a five-hour drive from Glasgow round Loch Fyne, and that journey has kept two of Scotland’s finest links courses off many golfers’ itineraries. This summer, a charter programme created by Southworth Development and Machrihanish Dunes set out to change that. Having flown on it, the journey is easy to recommend.

The Loganair charter from London Gatwick to Campbeltown was smooth, easy and over in less than two hours. No motorway, no ferry timetables, no overnight stop en route. We stepped off the aircraft to the sound of local pipers and were on the first tee the same day. The inaugural July flight carried 35 golfers, journalists and whisky enthusiasts; a second sold-out departure left on August 13 and a third, fully booked, follows on October 1.

“I’ve travelled extensively to play golf around the UK and Ireland, but what struck me most was just how easy the charter flight made the journey. Instead of spending hours driving, we landed in this superb region in what seemed no time at all from London.”

Jezz Ellwood, Courses Editor at Golf Monthly

Machrihanish Dunes: Golf as it was 200 years ago

The driving force behind the flights is Machrihanish Dunes, the David McLay Kidd design that opened in 2009 across more than 270 acres of protected duneland. The course sits on a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the first ever built on such land, and the restrictions that come with it shape everything about the golf.

 

No fertiliser, no irrigation, no drainage. Fairways are mown but never manicured, sheep keep the rough in check, and the bunkers, some of them enormous, were originally formed by burrowing animals.

The result is raw, natural links golf with barely a flat lie on the property. Greens sit in punchbowls, on raised plateaux and atop flattened dunes, and the course’s own yardage guide calls them “audacious”. Kidd, who made his name at Bandon Dunes before building The Castle Course at St Andrews, spent childhood summers playing the links next door, and it shows in how lightly he touched the land. The course was the first 18-holer in the UK certified by the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation.

The Machrihanish Golf Club: Old Tom’s masterpiece next door

A few hundred yards away lies The Machrihanish Golf Club, founded in 1876 and extended to 18 holes by Old Tom Morris in 1879. Its opening hole, “Battery”, is a 423-yard par four played diagonally across the beach from an elevated tee, with the sand in play rather than out of bounds.

 

Jack Nicklaus called it “The best opening hole of golf in the world”, and the front nine that follows lives up to the billing with firm, fast greens, blind tee shots, rippling fairways and constant views of the Atlantic. Top 100 Golf Courses rates it a perfect 5.0 and reckons it among the best-value courses in Britain.

 

Two world-class links within walking distance of each other is a rare thing, and playing both across a long weekend is the heart of the charter itinerary.

The Ugadale Hotel and the Kintyre Club

Guests stay at the Ugadale Hotel & Cottages, the restored centrepiece of The Village at Machrihanish Dunes. The hotel offers 22 rooms and suites, plus eight two-bedroom cottages, with views across the water to Islay and Jura. It won Golf Tourism Scotland’s “Best Hotel” award in 2015 and 2016, and the resort as a whole has collected more than 40 recognitions since 2009.

The food is a highlight. The Kintyre Club, named after a local charitable organisation founded in 1825, pairs a refined steakhouse-style restaurant with a more relaxed bar, all built around fresh, locally sourced ingredients and an excellent range of Campbeltown malts. Evenings on the trip revolved around three-course dinners with selected wines, and an exclusive tour and tasting at Campbeltown Bond added a taste of the town’s whisky heritage. Campbeltown formerly held the title of whisky capital of the world, home to 34 working distilleries, as the areas microclimate and saline air create the ideal atmosphere for storing cask whisky.

The golf is exceptional, but what really stays with you is the complete package. Genuine Scottish hospitality, incredible food, beautiful accommodation and an atmosphere that makes visitors feel instantly welcome.

What comes next

The charters have demonstrated demand. An economic appraisal by MKA Economics identified the potential in better air links, and the long-term goal is seasonal scheduled services between Campbeltown and Edinburgh.

“When we launched this charter series, our aim was simple: to demonstrate that there is genuine demand for direct flights to Campbeltown. The success of the inaugural charters, together with the interest in the remaining departures, gives us real confidence that we’ve achieved that.”

Ian Ferguson, Resort Director at Machrihanish Dunes.

There is more to come on the ground too. Planning permission has been granted for a major expansion at Machrihanish Dunes, including a second 18-hole links course, a new 60-room luxury hotel with 13 suites, 66 golf cottages and a nine-acre short-game facility. Once delivered, the development would establish Kintyre as a stay-and-play destination.

For those wanting to use this as a base and visit other courses in the area, Dunaverty is very accessible. A short ferry ride can take you over the island of Islay, known for some of the world’s most renowned whisky brands and home to the Machrie Golf Course. For those with a big budget looking for bucket list golf, a further ferry ride can take you on to Jura, where the exclusive and secretive Ardfin is located. 

For now, the flights have shown what a shorter journey can offer. Two hours from Gatwick to two of the most natural links courses in Scotland, with the Ugadale waiting at the end of the round. If these flight are to become a regular listing Machrihanish no longer needs to be earned the hard way.

For more information on The Village at Machrihanish Dunes or to book reservations, visit machrihanishdunes.com.