Kirkhill Golf Club

Kirkhill was founded in 1910 by former members of Cambuslang Golf Club, and James Braid laid out the course that same year. In June 1914 the club staged an exhibition match between Harry Vardon, six times Open champion, and George Duncan, who would win the Open in 1920.

It is a parkland course of par 70. Sources give the length as 5,969 or about 6,030 yards. It remains a private members’ club.

What it asks of you

Braid built a lot of courses in Scotland in the years around 1910, and the ones on parkland tend to be less famous than the links but no less deliberate. What you get at Kirkhill is bunkering placed for the drive rather than for the miss, and greens that reward a particular angle of approach.

The ground rises above Cambuslang, so there is elevation in the round and a good deal of the Clyde valley visible from the higher holes. The slope is the reason a course of under 6,100 yards does not play short.

Braid worked from what the land gave him, which on a members’ budget in 1910 was the only option available. The routing has not needed much changing since.

What players say about it

This is a members’ club that takes visitors, and it is covered in the Scottish course guides. The points below summarise what recurs. These are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course, and we name and quote no one.

What comes up in its favor

• The views over the Clyde valley from the higher holes are what visitors mention first.
• Having an intact James Braid routing this close to Glasgow is repeatedly noted.
• Conditioning and greens are consistently well reported.
• Value comes up often for a course with this pedigree.
• The welcome and the clubhouse are frequently mentioned.

What comes up against

• It is hilly, and walking it is genuine effort.
• At around 6,000 yards it will not stretch a long hitter.
• Lanarkshire parkland is heavy in winter.
• It sits in the shadow of the Ayrshire links an hour away, and visitors on a short trip go there instead.

Getting there and when to go

The club is above Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, fifteen minutes south east of Glasgow city centre and half an hour from Glasgow airport.

The season is year-round, but May to September gives the firmest ground. Visitor tee times are booked in advance.

Green fees

Visitor rates are set by the club. See the club’s own site.

How this page was made

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap for the location, the club’s published history and encyclopaedic entries for the 1910 founding, the Braid design and the 1914 Vardon and Duncan exhibition, and public course records for par and yardage. Sources disagree on the yardage, so we give both figures rather than choose one. The opinion section summarises public reviews read in September 2026; we report recurring themes rather than individual voices, and we reproduce no quotations.

We have not played this course, and this page is no substitute for a round. The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say over its content. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.