Port Bannatyne Golf Club

Founded in 1912, the Port Bannatyne Golf Club can claim to be among the most scenic courses in Scotland, looking over Kames Bay to the Cowal Hills and the mouths of the Kyles of Bute and Loch Striven. At the top of the course, golfers can look westward to Loch Fyne and the peninsula of Kintyre. Mountains, waterways, islands, sailing boats, and vast horizons are pleasing distractions. The course is somewhat unusual in having only 13 holes, with the first five being replayed before ending on a separate 18th. But the holes are an interesting and demanding mix with equally enticing names like the Burn, the Rushes, the Kyles, the Pancake, the Winney, the Puzzle, the Trap, the Saucer, etc. Located on the west coast and benefiting from the Gulf Stream means that the course is almost never closed because of snow—play goes on 12 months a year in a temperate climate.