LOCH LOMOND GC

Last updated: 6th July 2009

There is no need for Loch Lomond Golf Club, this week's host for the Barclays Scottish Open, to laud its own magnificence.

The world's best golfers and most respected golf magazines have already done that for the this exceptional club.

Ernie Els, an Open Champion, winner of the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in 2000 and 2003, and a respected course designer in his own right, has been lavish in his praise for this picture postcard-perfect course that runs beside Scotland's most famous stretch of inland water, is crisscrossed by meandering streams, is richley endowed with some wonderful mature trees such as beeches, Douglas firs, larches, limes, pines and vast oaks and is surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery in Scotland.

"It's in the top five of my worldwide golf venues," he has said emphatically.

"If I enjoy going anywhere in the world to play golf I love to come here.

"This is probably the best course in Europe, it is a really good layout and the condition is very pure. It is beautiful."

Now listen to American Tom Lehman, a another major winner and the Scottish Open champion in 1997.

"It has to be in my top two or three in the world," he says.

"It's more fun to play than Augusta and I rank it up there behind Pebble Beach in terms of beauty."

And the media's verdict?

It is currently ranked as the best inland course in Britain by Golf World magazine and 11th in the world by the American magazine Golf Digest

THE LOCH LOMOND COURSE

Nestled in 660 acres of the Clan Colquhoun estate outside Glasgow, the 7,100 yard parkland course was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and opened in 1994.

It has since attracted a distinguished worldwide list of members from more than 30 countries.

Weiskopf, who won the Open Golf Championship at Troon in 1973, considers Loch Lomond his lasting memorial to golf and has famously been quoted as saying: "I had never seen a site like the one at Loch Lomond before, perhaps no designer ever will. It is the finest course I have ever been involved with and I don't mean just outside the United States. It is my favourite by far."

"The opportunity of designing the golf course at Loch Lomond carried with it an awesome sense of responsibility for Jay Morrish and me. It is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, endowed with mature trees and breathtaking views with the history of Scotland lingering in the stones and the water of the loch.

"Time, and the golfers who come to play it, will make the final judgement but I believe it has already become known as one of the most outstanding courses in the world."

It is currently ranked 11th.

Weiskopf and Morrish made full use of the rolling landscape, the mature woodland and the spectacular stands of azalea and rhododendrons in their design.

"In late spring and early summer," the club website tells you, "a kaleidoscope of colours illuminate the surroundings of Rossdhu House, the ancestral seat of the Colquhoun Clan, and visitors to the course during the Scottish Open can experience the mystique that surrounds this special place."

COURSE DETAILS:

Loch Lomond is a par 71 championship course 7100 yards in length

Course record: 9-under par 62 by Retief Goosen

The shortest hole: The 160-yard par-3 8th

The Longest hole: The 625-yard par-5 6th

HOLE BY HOLE TOUR

For a hole by hole tour of the Loch Lomond golf course click here

MEMBERSHIP: Loch Lomond Golf Club, one of the most prestigious private international clubs in the world, is reserved for members and their guests with a membership list that includes people from more than 30 countries around the world

The golf it offers it's members is extraordinary.

Loch Lomond's Weiskopf-Morrish parkland course has been ranked the No 1 course in Scotland (Bunkered magazine), and the Club's new Dundonald course, a classic links layout near Troon, has already been recognised as one of the best private courses in the world (Robb Report).

The club also offers it's members a wealth of outdoor pursuits - boating, fly fishing, hiking, archery and shooting - and the very real luxuries provided indoors with extensive facilities for members including exceptional accommodation, dining, locker rooms, and a spa within the Club's historic Walled Garden.

From golf courses to private gardens, a skeet range to guest cottages and treatments to soothe and restore, the lands of Loch Lomond are truly spectacular with a diversity of experiences to enjoy.

For details and costs of memberships, you should contact the club at http://www.lochlomond.com/main.html

DINING: For members and their guests, a visit to the Club would be incomplete without enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the Spike Bar, a picnic on the Club boat, or dinner in one of the elegant Dining Rooms in Rossdhu House.

Under the direction of Executive Chef, Billy Campbell, Loch Lomond's award-winning chefs prepare the very best of Scottish cuisine using fresh local produce.

Each day, fresh fish from specialist suppliers and the finest cuts of beef from the Duke of Buccleuch's estate in the Scottish Borders are selected for the menu.

In the Spike Bar, an all-day breakfast and lunch menu is complemented by an informal brasserie-style service in the evenings, which includes a daily roast carved from the traditional antique trolley.

THE SPA:Set in the historic Walled Garden, the Spa includes treatment rooms, each with its own private garden, that offers time-honoured treatments from China, Bali, and Europe.

Vitality plunge pools, crystal steam rooms, saunas, lifestyle showers and ice fountains increase the Spa's ability to comfort and relax.

And this is further enhanced by a tearoom, featuring healthy cuisines that overlooks outdoor terraces which connect to flowering gardens and a greenhouse that in turn create an environment of fragrance, beauty, and tranquillity.

ACCOMMODATION: The high quality accommodation offered by the club includes the following:

- At The Point - six suites, tucked away near the eighth tee, are appointed with distinctive art, carpets, furnishings, and antiques. Feather beds, down comforters, and the traditional Scottish club feel of tweeds, corduroy, and leather create an ambience that is a natural extension of the comforts of famed and storied Rossdhu House.

- Rossdhu House also has six suites and there are a further seventeen in the Carriage House and Garden Cottages and twelve in the Loch Shore Lodges which give a total of 41 suites on the estate.

- The Loch Shore Lodges feature two buildings - one of four bedrooms and another of eight bedroom - each with its own private sitting room.

Situated along the loch shoreline between the fourth tee and the fifth green, the Lodges provide stunning views of the loch and mountains beyond.

the fifth green, the Lodges provide stunning views of the loch and mountains beyond.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

For the non-golfers - and even golfers - seeking other activity besides links golf at Loch Lomond itself or on the club's new course, Dundonald, near Troon, there are endless other outdoor pursuits.

Clay pigeon and game shooting, archery, salmon and trout fishing, and boat cruises to nearby islands on the loch are all available.

So too are summer hikes when the magnificent Scottish countryside in the area is likely to include pheasant, sky larks, red deer, and a rich array of other wildlife.

Visits can also be made to

- The picturesque village of Luss on the shores of Loch Lomond which is only two miles north of Loch Lomond Golf Club. Famous for its quaint little houses and the historic church - home to Viking remains - Luss has wonderful views of the loch.

- Inveraray Castle which is less than one hour's drive north of the Club, on the shores of Loch Fyne, Inveraray Castle is a magnificent 18th century castle, a masterpiece of Scottish Georgian architecture and beautifully furnished with antiques and memorabilia. It is home to the Duke and Duchess of Argyll.

- Stirling Castle, which sits high and proud on its volcanic rock, visible from miles around. The scene of much drama in Scottish history, the Castle is best known for its connections to William Wallace 'Braveheart' and Robert the Bruce. It is just one hour's drive from Loch Lomond Golf Club.

Helensburgh - The Hill House was designed by the acclaimed Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Walter W. Blackie, a Glasgow publisher. Mackintosh also designed the interior furnishings and the home is an excellent example of his work. It is within 15 minutes' drive of Loch Lomond Golf Club.

TO CONTACT THE CLUB

Loch Lomond Golf Club

Rossdhu House,

Luss by Alexandria,

Dunbartonshire, Scotland G83 8NT

Telephone: 44 (0) 1436 655 555

Facsimile: 44 (0) 1436 655 500

Email: info@lochlomond.com