"The front nine's wooded holes reward straight, controlled shots, so save the driver for the more open heathland closing stretch. Ask about the loch-side finish on the 9th before you tee off."

Golf was played on Aboyne's village green from 1874; the club formed in 1883 and moved beside the Loch of Aboyne in 1905, where Archie Simpson — the Royal Aberdeen pro behind Balgownie and Cruden Bay — extended it to eighteen in 1908. Harry Vardon shot 65 here in a 1913 exhibition with Ted Ray, and Martin Hawtree added five new holes in 1990. It's a course of two personalities: wooded parkland by the loch going out, rare inland heathland coming home with views to Lochnagar — and medieval ridge-and-furrow farm topography still in play. Par 68, 6,003 yards.

Traditionalists who love sub-6,100-yard Scottish golf, and green-snobs — the putting surfaces are repeatedly cited among the finest in the north-east.

The bookend par 3s are the calling card — the 18th climbs to a big sloping green with Aboyne Loch lurking. The 10th-13th heathland stretch is the most memorable golf: blind shots, water, and the standing local advice to leave the driver in the bag.

Short, dry underfoot and strategic — 'brains over brawn' golf that suits all abilities. Fair warning: it opens AND closes with par 3s of ~225 yards, a stern handshake either end.

Styles itself Royal Deeside's oldest course, with ospreys and otters around the loch. Don't confuse it with the nearby Aboyne Loch pitch-and-putt centre.

Par 68 with six par 3s plays fast in a bay — ideal for a quick evening round. Modest climbs on the back nine, and the ridge-and-furrow ground produces genuinely odd lies.

Friendly pay-and-play with online booking: £65 standard / £90 peak in 2025, with a UK-resident discount (£45/£65) and cheaper twilight rates after 3pm.