Scotland is fortunate to be home to five of the venues currently on the Open Championship rota, Carnoustie, Muirfield, St Andrews Old course, Royal Troon and the Turnberry Ailsa course.

All of the courses which host the British Open Championship are open to visitors to play. Some may be more popular with visiting golfers than others, but with advance planning any golfer who meets the handicap requirements can secure times on these courses for themselves. Handicap requirements vary from course to course starting at 18 for play on Muirfield to 28 for play at Carnoustie. There is no handicap restriction for play at Turnberry.

The Open was last played in Scotland at St Andrews in 2010 and will return to Scotland in 2013 when Muirfield will play host to the Championship for the 16th time.

Muirfield and St Andrews require the most advance planning, while all courses other than St Andrews can be approached directly to request a tee-time at any time. At Turnberry the restriction is that golfers must be resident at the Turnberry Hotel to request a tee-time more than two weeks in advance of play.

All of the Open venues in Scotland are relatively close to one another and with a little careful consideration of the itinerary all five golf courses could be played in a week long tour. Turnberry is the furthest south, lying 1 hour 20 minutes south of Glasgow, while Carnoustie is the farther north, being 2 hours north of Edinburgh and an hour from St Andrews.

More of the key facts about Scotland's Open Championship courses is on the Moss Golf Tours website. We have also posted blog entries specifically covering the options for securing times on the St Andrews Old course and the process for applying for times at Muirfield.

For suggestions for tour packages playing any, or all, of the Open venues in Scotland please get in touch.