Scotland's best Par 5 golf holes

The Dream 'Composite' Course

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Perhaps par 5's are ugly ducklings? They don't have the charisma of the short assignment, and certainly don't offer you the ultimate chance of holing out in one. So we felt Faraway Fairways needed to put this right and strike a blow for the par 5's. We've assembled 18 holes based on using the correct hole number on the appropriate course, for what we hope is Scotland's best par 5 golf holes.

Image by Reisegolfer CC by SA 3.0

Holes 1 to 3

#1 – TRUMP ABERDEEN –

541 yds

#2 – ROYAL ABERDEEN, –

554 yds, ‘Pool’

#3 – PRESTWICK –

533 yds, ‘The Cardinal’

Royal Aberdeen is a great par 5 but its the third hole at Prestwick we’ve always liked. This is a relic from the 1860 Open Championship more or less as it was back then with all its quirks

Holes 4 - 6

#4 – TRUMP ABERDEEN –

515 yds, Par 5, ‘Blairton Burn’

#5 – ST ANDREWS OLD COURSE –

570 yds,

#6 – CRUDEN BAY –

505 yds, Par 5, ‘Bluidy Burn’

It seems grossly unfair that Cruden Bay’s Bluidy Burn prevented Carnoustie’s ‘Hogan’s Alley’ from being selected by virtue of sharing a hole number. Hogans Alley would otherwise appear in any top-5 list of par 5’s

Cruden Bay's 6th has a bit of everything

Image by Kevin Murray CLICK

558 yds

Muirfield 9th

Playing into the prevailing wind accuracy is the key with an out of bounds wall all the way down the left side. A chasing shot that misses the bunkers is the skilled exponents riposte

'Pool' - 554yds

Royal Aberdeen 2nd

Played through a valley of sand dunes the 2nd at Aberdeen sets the mood for arguably Scotland's finest outward 9

'Blairton Burn' - 515 yds

Trump Links 4th

We're probably guilty of over-rating aesthetics, but with a riparian burn running its length to the right, a phalanx of bunkers, and a green complex embedded in a dunes system, we like this one

Kingsbarns 12th arching its way around the bay

Brora 8th hole

Image thanks to Brora GC

Holes 7 - 9

#7 – GLENEAGLES QUEENS COURSE, –

491 yds, ‘Westlin Wynd’

#8 – BRORA –

501 yds,

#9 – MUIRFIELD –

558 yds,

Westlin Wynd might not be the longest par 5, but on the Gleneagles Queens course it would be amongst the most aesthetic. If Gleneagles has an air of regal beauty, Brora is wild untrammelled and bleak. The 8th plays towards the coast and is horribly exposed to a spiteful wind.

Holes 10 - 12

#10 – TURNBERRY –

562 yds, Par 5, ‘Dina Fouter’

#11 – DOWNFIELD, –

498 yds, ‘Paddlers Joy’

#12 – KINGSBARNS –

606 yds, Par 5, ‘Orrdeal’

With the redesign that pushes the green nearer to the shore and tee back to the lighthouse, Turnberry’s 10th has claims to be Scotland’s finest par 5 now. A tee shot that tempts you bite off the dog-leg but with the beach as a potential penalty, and an approach that crucifies anything that isn’t accurate if going for it in two

Turnberry's 10th, Ailsa Craig & the Stevenson Lighthouse

Image by Kevin Murray CLICK

Image thanks to Lucy McKay, Durness GC

The double greens of 5 and 14 at St Andrews

Image by Kevin Murray CLICK

Holes 13 -15

#13 – EYEMOUTH, –

607 yds, Hawk Ness

#14 – ST ANDREWS OLD COURSE –

530 yds, ‘Long ‘

#15 – DURNESS –

505 yds

Until Spey Valley overtook it, the 13th Eyemouth enjoyed the distinction of being the longest par 5 in Scotland. Perhaps the hole we’ve nominated that deserves explanation however is the extreme northern outpost of Durness. The hole plays around an arching shoreline of a loch with wild mountains framing the background

Holes 16 - 18

#16 – GLENEAGLES CENTENARY –

543 yds, ‘Lochan loup’

#17 – SPEY VALLEY –

523 yds,

#18 – CASTLE STUART, –

595 yds, ‘Home’

The 16th on the Gleneagles Centenary course is a risk and reward proposition with a water hazard guarding the approach to a two tier green. It saw plenty of action in 2014 Ryder Cup. Spey Valley is the aesthetic choice for the 17th, whereas the field thins out a bit for the closing hole leaving Castle Stuart as our nomination