Moray Golf Club

Moray Old is a par 71 of 6,671 yards or about 6,099 metres, laid out by Old Tom Morris in 1889 on the Lossiemouth links. It starts and finishes in the town, crosses gorse and dunes beside the Moray Firth and ends in a natural amphitheatre beneath the clubhouse terrace.

Moray Golf Club was founded and formally opened on 30 March 1889. Old Tom Morris designed the first course and became a regular visitor, playing exhibition matches. Additional land leased from Sir William Gordon Cumming allowed extension to eighteen holes within eighteen months. Several founding members were distillers, establishing the club-malt tradition and a lasting connection between golf and Speyside whisky. Lossiemouth sits on the Moray Firth between harbour, dunes, beach and the RAF air station. The course follows a traditional out-and-back pattern, leaving the town for open links before returning to the houses. Covesea Lighthouse, military aircraft and sea create an unusual setting. Wind arrives from the Firth or is channelled by dunes, while sandy soil supports year-round play.

Old Tom moved virtually no earth: he selected natural tee and green sites and mowed between them. The result is moving fairways, simple plateaux and bunkers placed on strategic lines. The fifth demonstrates Morris logic with three staggered bunkers making the left line risky but advantageous. The closing Sea, Short, Road and Long holes use coast and townscape as theatre. The official figure is 6,671 yards, with recent cards varying slightly by marker. Three par threes, modern par fives and a broad range of par fours create variety. Greens are firm, fairways run and gorse is severe. The eighteenth returns to the clubhouse between town and sea and is widely recognised as a great finish.

Moray is a members’ club welcoming visitors like locals. The clubhouse overlooks eighteen and preserves the club-malt tradition, now linked with Glen Moray. Professional shop, indoor performance centre, caddies, hire and Old-New combination options support a full day. Town surrounding the start and finish creates a lived-in golf atmosphere.

Play it for an archetypal Old Tom Morris course where natural terrain remains readable after more than 130 years. Town, sea, dunes, whisky and aviation combine uniquely. The amphitheatre finish is famous, but the deeper strength is eighteen strategically coherent holes that appear simple before resisting the score. 18 holes; par 71; 6,671 yards or about 6,099 metres; club and course founded 1889; designed by Old Tom Morris; extended to eighteen within eighteen months; Northern Amateur from 1894; club-malt tradition; celebrated Scottish finish.

Moray Open, Northern Amateur, national championships and international amateur events — Northern Amateur from 1894; Moray Open celebrating 120th anniversary in 2026 Old Tom Morris laid out the course in 1889; the 18th is recognised as one of Scotland’s finest finishing holes