With the sea by your side and that famous lighthouse in the distance, there are few courses in the world that can match Turnberry for beauty or excitement.

Scene of some of the most memorable moments in Open history, the Ailsa championship course is a legend in the world game. Watson, Norman, Price; they’ve all won golf’s most coveted trophy here on the Turnberry links.

The oldest of the four Majors, The Open Championship was first played in 1860 on the weathered terrain of Scotland’s Ayrshire coast. Turnberry has played host many times since, and had the honour of hosting the 138th Open in 2009.

But it’s not only the world’s best that can enjoy a round here, every year thousands of golfers of all abilities enjoy the thrill of playing an Open Championship course that’s open to all.

Belleisle, in the main town of Ayr, is far from a course of modest aspiration.

Designed by James Braid in 1927, simply to satisfy an increasingly insatiable demand for the game.

It is rather a course of genuine and proven quality, providing an enjoyable challenge to hordes of appreciative golfers who are only too happy to sing its many praises.

The three Troon golf courses of Lochgreen, Darley and Fullarton all start from a traditional clubhouse that offers a warm welcome and good "Scottish Fare" to all its guests.

Lochgreen is the best of the trio of municipal courses on the east side of the popular holiday town of Troon.

They each offer an excellent golfing experience and at a fraction of the royal fee charged at their more aristocratic neighbours.

Lochgreen is the longer course, a Par 74 running parallel at points to Royal Troon and used for several years as a qualifier for the Open.

Jack Nicklaus shot an 82 here in an Open Qualifier followed by a more appropriate 68 making the cut buy one shot.

A warm welcome awaits you at Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club, a traditional Scottish links golf course established in 1851 and now occupying a prime position on the shores of the Firth of Clyde on Scotland’s west coast.

The course and Club are steeped in history – indeed one of its founder members was Old Tom Morris who was based in Prestwick prior to returning East to St Andrews and his place in golfing legend.

The course has a standard scratch of 71. Visitors play the yellow course which has a par of 68 and a standard scratch of 69.

With no fewer than nine doglegs, accuracy in positioning from the tee is as important as length.The greens are cunningly sloped and players would do well to watch out for features like the little upslopes designed to stop the ball at the front of at least six of the putting surfaces.

Almost as many others are two tiered giving plenty of food for thought for those who play here.

There are two 18 hole golf courses within the magnificent grounds of the Belleisle Estate in Ayr.

The rightly famous Belleisle Championship parkland course and the less famous, and resultantly sometimes overlooked, Seafield.

A classic combination of links and parkland that, although not as long as its more illustrious companion, will test the skills and talents of even the most experienced golfer.

The original Darley Golf Course seems to date from around 1910.

The present course, with an original 'bogey' (par) of 71 was opened on June 9th, 1951.

If Darley is slightly shorter than Lochgreen it is certainly tighter with unforgiving heather and gorse hugging both sides of many fairways.

A relatively benign opening only serves to accentuate the challenge presented by the subsequent holes, with a particularly difficult stretch coming between the 5th and 15th.

Founded in 1878 by a few enthusiasts Troon Golf Club soon outgrew its purely local reputation.

The Old Course today presents a stern golfing examination and in particular the inward half of Royal Troon is widely accepted as the most demanding of any Course on the Championship rota.

Visitors can play both the Old Course and the Portland Course subject to the rules in operation at the time.

The visitor season is from the beginning of May until the end of October. Visitor Days are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with block tee-times allocated for visitors.

Requests for tee-times can be made using this website.