Strathlene Golf Club

Strathlene is one of the older courses in Scotland, established in 1877 on ground given to the town by Mr Bryson, factor of the Seafield Estates. The original nine ran between Portessie and Strathlene House, and two of those holes stood where the caravan site is now.

In 1936 the club bought the headland between Strathlene and Findochty and George Smith of Lossiemouth extended it to eighteen. It plays to a par 69 over 5,977 yards.

What it asks of you

The course sits on the cliffs looking out over the North Sea, and Smith’s extension used the natural contours rather than levelling them. The result is undulating fairways, gullies and elevated greens, which is a lot of golf for under 6,000 yards.

Elevated greens on exposed ground are the specific difficulty. A shot that lands short does not run on, and a shot that carries the front runs off the back, so the yardage matters more than it does on a course where the ground helps you.

Par 69 and 5,977 yards makes it sound like a gentle round. It is not, and reviewers who arrive expecting one say so.

What players say about it

Strathlene takes visitors and appears in the Scottish rankings, though it is not widely known outside the region. 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 clifftop views along the Moray coast are what visitors mention first.
• It is described as short but never dull, which is the summary most reviewers reach.
• Value is repeatedly cited, with green fees well below the Moray coast’s better-known courses.
• The natural contouring of the 1936 holes is well regarded.
• Having been founded in 1877 gives it standing few small clubs can claim.

What comes up against

• Exposure on the headland makes a windy day very hard work.
• At under 6,000 yards it will not test a long hitter in calm conditions.
• The gullies and elevation changes make it a demanding walk.
• Buckie is remote and the course is reached on a coastal trip.

Getting there and when to go

The club is on the headland east of Buckie, between Portessie and Findochty, about twenty-five minutes from Elgin and an hour from Inverness airport.

The course plays year-round. May to September gives the best conditions and the clearest views across the Firth. 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 1877 founding, the gift of the ground and the 1936 extension by George Smith, and public course records for par and yardage. 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.