Argyll and Bute, United Kingdom
Tobermory Golf Club is a nine-hole course located on Erray Road above the town of Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland. The club was founded in 1896 and the course originally opened as a nine-hole layout before being expanded at some point to 18 holes. It was reduced back to nine holes in the late 1940s, with eight of the original holes retained in the current configuration. The present hill and heather layout was designed by David Adams and built in 1935. Playing to a par of 64 over approximately 4,984 yards — the par accounting for two loops of the nine holes — it is a compact but demanding test. The course is a member of the Argyll and Bute Golf Union and has been cited by The Scotsman as one of the outstanding nine-hole courses in Scotland.
The course sits on clifftops high on the hill to the north of Tobermory town, with terrain that is hilly, heathery and uneven throughout. The elevation provides panoramic views encompassing Tobermory Bay, the Sound of Mull, Morvern, Loch Sunart, Ardnamurchan and, in clear conditions, the distant islands of Rhum and Eigg. The setting is as much a feature as the golf itself, and a local saying attributed to a former owner of the Western Isles Hotel warns that the views can add strokes to a handicap. The course is characterised by blind tee shots, small greens, significant changes in elevation and exposure to wind. Several par fours are described as genuinely tough, and two of the par threes measure over 200 yards. The signature seventh hole is a short par three to a small green on the far side of a gully, with out of bounds to the right and rough and rocks threatening short and left.
The course remained unplayed to its par of 64 in competition until 2015, when one of the club's junior players achieved the feat for the first time. Green fees are paid via an honesty box system at the clubhouse or at a shop in Tobermory's main street, reflecting the informal and accessible character of the club.
