Get Crafty Trail
4 MIN READ
While golf and whisky are synonymous in Scotland, raising a glass with a beer in hand at the 19th hole is a favourite for many too. After a sun-kissed summer’s day on the course, quenching your thirst with a local ale is part of the magic of the golfing experience. For heroes and hackers, it’s a time to savour, whatever has happened on the fairways.
With more than 100 breweries operating across the country, the options are almost as plentiful as the golf courses, well almost. From hoppy pale ales to refreshing lagers to golden ales and strong stouts, take your pick. Gin is also growing in popularity in Scotland, with choices aplenty too.
Our modern, crafty Trail mixes beer, gin and golf, especially as many brewery tours are short distances away from the 1st tee of many courses. It’s a happy marriage.
Perthshire stay-and-play options are as mouth-watering as the local tipples. From Crieff to Comrie, the area is blessed with stunning golf courses to enjoy – perhaps accompanied with a stay at Gleneagles or Murrayshall. Quench your thirst with a Persie Gin, native to the region, before driving up the A9 north to the Highlands where championship golf is mixed with gems like Brora, Golspie and Fortrose & Rosemarkie. Visit Black Isle Brewery or Cromarty Brewing Company, a family-run multi award-winning craft brewery based in the picturesque Cromarty Firth.
Over in Aberdeen, you will find the famous craft beer, BrewDog, based in Ellon, or go and meet the team and taste the spirits at Lost Loch Spirits in Aboyne. Cruden Bay, Duff House Royal and Fraserburgh provide a quality trio of golfing venues, with the Sandman Hotel & Spa to relax in.
Dundee is home to some great brewing too, with 71 Brewing crafting crisp lagers and seasonal beers. The Gin Bothy also offers an experience, with premium spirits hand-crafted in the Angus glens. The area is well-regarded for a wide variety of golf, including Carnoustie, Forfar, Monifieth, Montrose and Panmure.
Across the water in St Andrews, famous names abound. The Old and New Courses are adored in golf circles, while St Andrews Brewing Co and Eden Mill have become notable for beer making and gin distilling respectively. It’s impossible not to stay in the town for a few days – try the new roof top bar at the Rusacks Hotel – without combining a variety of golf with some local beverages.
Established in 1719, Belhaven is Scotland's oldest working brewery. Take a tour and uncover the history. It’s located down the east coast at Dunbar, a stunning links test. The area is, of course, feted for golf, with Craigielaw, Gullane, Kilspindie and The Renaissance to tee up on. Stay at Garleton Lodge, a luxury small hotel perched on a hilltop, less than 30 minutes from Edinburgh.
Down in the Borders, crafty creations continue, including Born in the Borders Brewery and Lilliard Ginnery in Jedburgh and the 1881 Distillery & Gin School in Peebles. The gin school is the largest residential one of its kind in the UK, offering a range of gin distillery tours.
Play at Peebles or Powfoot, while the SCHLOSS Roxburghe offers golf and a great place to stay with your golfing friends. Solway Spirits, Sulwath Brewers and Tempest Brewing Co continue a vast array of brewing and distilling practices in the area.
Finally, mix golf on Scotland’s islands with some local drinks choices. The Machrie, set in the Scottish dunes of Islay, offers spellbinding golf and stunning surroundings. Islay Ales is the only brewery on the beautiful Isle, with gin distilled at Bruichladdich. Get crafty, explore, play and be merry!