South Uist. A small island that’s part of Scotland’s remote Outer Hebrides. It’s the only place on earth where Scottish Gaelic is still widely spoken. Naturally I brought a group of six here to play golf. Hence forth, I bring you Askernish.
A Wikipedia Black Hole
Sometimes you just get lost in a wikipedia black hole. Click, click, click…and you’re looking at extinct prehistoric bison or dead Celtic languages. That’s how I found the Outer Hebrides. After reading that the Outer Hebrides were the last bastion of Scottish Gaelic, which is not Irish Gaelic, I knew I had to go there.
A Startling Discovery
It just so happened that I was going to be in Scotland at the end of that year and the details of the trip hadn’t been planned yet. I started researching the Outer Hebrides and, it being Scotland, I googled “golf outer hebrides,” not expecting much. Then, like a beam from heaven, I found Askernish.
Askernish and Old Tom
Askernish was designed by golf’s first superstar, Old Tom Morris. Never heard of him? Look him up. Old Tom was the groundskeeper and pro at St. Andrews, which he modernized into the course it is today. He also won 4 British Opens, the last in 1867. Old Tom designed numerous other Scottish golf treasures. His son Young Tom (Tommy) Morris won the next 4, in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872. Tommy didn’t win in 1871 because there was no prize.
You see, the prize in those days for the British Open was a belt, and the rules stated that if you won the event three years in a row you got to keep the belt. So Tommy won it three years in a row and kept the belt…then took a year off an won it again. For anyone interested in golf history, I recommend the movie Tommy’s Honour, which tells the story of the Morrises, golf’s first family. But I digress.
Askernish is Lost to Time
After the Great War (World War I), golf popularity declined in South Uist and the course, maintained by local “crofters,” was overtaken by nature. At some point, the land was even used as an airstrip. Miraculously, in 2005, a group of locals and golf historians “re-discovered” the links. Askernish was re-born shortly thereafter.
Selling Askernish to the “Gringos”
Sure, I’d been to Scotland to play golf before, but my previous trips were on golf’s version of the “gringo trail.” However, I’d been to the Highlands to play Royal Dornoch (the best links on earth) the year prior, and I had an itch to get back to there and explore. On this trip, however, I was meeting a group of “non-backpackers,” including my father.
Left: my dad, my brother Blake, and me, post round Prestwick, post heavy alcoholic lunch, post extra nine (for those of us who didn’t fall in bunkers)
I decided I’d do a major sell job to get everyone on board. I first sold the more known Highlands tracks of Brora, Tain, Golspie, and the grandaddy Dornoch. They bought in. I then brought up Askernish, and my father, who plays more golf in Scotland than he does Savannah, calls up one of his English buddies to discuss. Turns out, the Englishman’s heard of the place, is dying to get there, and decides he’s meeting us for the whole trip and ditching his anniversary. We were all in!
..but how do you get to South Uist?
Like, it’s not close to the major “city” on the Outer Hebrides, Stornaway. Turns out that it’s possible…and there are TWO airport options! WOW. Barra or Benbecula. Barra airport uses a beach as the runway. Seriously! It’s the only commercial airport in the world that uses a beach as the runway. Sadly, you can only get there from Glasgow, and were were going to be in Inverness, so we settled on Benbecula. The current airline flying to Benbecula and Barra is Loganair.
The Flight
I’m not much for tiny prop planes in good weather, and Scotland doesn’t have good weather. Like ever. In fact, the remnants of an Atlantic Hurricane had just blown through and ruined our round at St. Andrews. I think I shot 87 and spent more time in the gorse than I did on the actual course. But flying was the only way, and we did it, through turbulence and blowing rain. We learned on the flight that Scotland Yard transports prisoners on commercial flights to an from the Outer Hebrides. I know this because we had a man shackled and chained on our flight.
Arriving at Benbecula
Our English friend Anthony had set us up with a few rental cars. There were no rental desks, we’d just pick them up in the parking lot “from a guy.” I imagine they were just local peoples’ personal vehicles. My father found “the guy,” but was totally unable to communicate with him. While dad’s no polyglot, we were in an English speaking country. Turns out the guy was speaking Scottish Gaelic just to screw with him. Anthony tidied things up and we were off to enjoy a round at Askernish!
Off to Askernish
We loaded up the cars and sped off to Askernish. The drive was roughly 25 miles over rolling hills, through villages with thatched rooves, crystal clear lakes, and distant, craggy mountains. The Scottish Highlands at its finest.
We decided to make a pit-stop at a local “grocery store” to grab some food. We left with no food and a bottle of Balvenie and a bottle of Glenlivet. About 45 minutes later we arrived at Askernish, unloaded our equipment and headed towards the one room clubhouse. Or at least we tried to. It was locked. OMFG. Are we headed for a major league letdown. After peering in through the windows, our savior Anthony figures out that there’s an “Honor Box” where you simply pay for your round by depositing pound notes into a sort-of mailbox.
Left: The “Clubhouse” a/k/a where the box is located that you deposit your greens fee.
The Golf at Askernish
While Dornoch, St. Andrews, or Muirfield it is not, Askernish is unique and BEAUTIFUL. I can imagine it ranks up there as one of the world’s most beautiful links courses when it’s “sunny.” Sunny may be an oxymoron in Northwestern Scotland, but photos are proof!
The challenge at Askernish is that if you miss the fairway, your ball is gone. I’m talking US Open rough on steroids. We must have 5+ balls each. Thankfully, we brought the Scotch.
Left: Bob finishing a hole at Askernish. This was a rarity.
I’ve heard they’ve recently taken a page out of Brora’s book and stared letting cattle roam the course and blocking off the greens with electric fences. No, really, its a thing. That said, did we even really care? We weren’t there for the golf, we were there for the experience. Everyone bought in. We all laughed the whole time that we were actually here–playing golf in one of the most remote areas of Europe.
Would I go back again?
Maybe, if the course were a bit more playable. My brother Blake found it pretty playable, shooting about 75. I probably should have out the Big Dog away for the day.
Would I recommend you going and giving it a shot?
ABSOLUTELY. It was one of the most memorable golf days of my life.
Practicalities
- Flights: From Glasgow you can fly to Barra and Benbecula on Loganair, and from Inverness you can fly to Benbecula via Stornoway. Check flight schedules at Loganair.
- Lodging: We stayed at the Polochar Inn, which I highly recommend. It has nice rooms and a wonderful, highly regarded restaurant on site serving local flavors.
- Car Rental: We rented from Laing Motors Car Hire, which provided nice vehicles for our journey.
- Askernish: Contact the club for information. This is always a good idea in the UK so that you can check to make sure your dates don’t coincide with a club match.
- Greens Fees: Currently 45 GBP in the high season. If you feel like braving it in the winter, it’ll only set you back 25 GBP. But good luck with that.
- Scotch: Glenmorangie. I almost hit their distillery with an errant drive on the 12th at Tain. It went OB. The hole was won with a triple.
Robert M
May 19, 2019 at 9:02 pmDefinitely a hidden gem. Jay drew up the perfect itinerary for us! The outer Hebrides are a must for the true golfer traveler.