Fraserburgh Golf Club is proud to be a member of the Association of James braid Courses and offers Reduced Green fees to all Golfers who are members of associated clubs.
1) Tee reservations for a two, three or four ball must be made in advance (at least 24 hours), stating you are booking under the ‘Association of James Braid Courses’ scheme. It is up to the individual golfer to ensure he/she is happy with the green fee quoted.
2)You will be required to provide proof of home club to Professional on your arrival – either handicap certificate or bar card which MUST show your name; a logo on your sweater is NOT acceptable…..cheeky!
3) Bookings will only be accepted based on Club’s tee availability and cannot be accepted with any other offer.
4) The green fee being charged is shown below; green fees valid for both ladies and gentlemen
5) These rates are for members of member clubs only and NOT for a group/society. I have had reports of groups trying to work the system by booking one four ball in one name, then another in another and then another; this is abusing the idea of the Association and will result in clubs refusing your booking.
6) Certain clubs will accept bookings for away day/touring groups and these are signified by G followed by a number signifying the maximum number in a group at the green fee rates shown below. A full list of all participating clubs in this part of the scheme is shown at the end. Groups must be booked well in advance and all members must be members of an Association member club; other members of the group must pay the full green fee. The group organiser will be expected to provide proof of membership of member clubs.
Golf is first documented as having been played at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire in 1613 when the Parish Kirk Session records refer to a young lad named John Burnett who was chastised for “playing at the gouff” on a Sunday instead of going to church . He was ordered by the Session to be sent to the “maister’s stool for correction”.
Following receipt of documents from the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh it has been firmly established that the Fraserburgh Golf Club was founded on 14th April 1777 and that the membership consisted of nineteen of the most prominent “landed gentry” in the north-east of Scotland.
According to the display boards in the British Golf Museum, StAndrews, Fraserburgh Golf Club is the 5th oldest club in Scotland and the 7th oldest in the World. Fraserburgh Golf Club would appear to be the oldest golf club in the World still operating under its original name.
The original course was nine holes played on the “public commonty” (Fraserburgh Links) but due to congestion, danger to the public and constant interruption the Club, thanks to the generosity of the then Lord Saltoun, moved approximately half a mile south to its present location at Philorth Links in 1891.
19th Lord Saltoun 1851-1933
Lord Saltoun was approached on the subject of the proposed new course, and without any hesitation or reservation, promptly agreed to place the ground at the disposal of the Golf Club. The Philorth Golf Course was opened, as already indicated, early in 1891.
The annual rent was absolutely nominal, and of the smallest proportions. Only those who really love the game can adequately appreciate the privileges and pleasures of the Philorth course, which has been so readily and so generously placed at the disposal of the community by the Superior.
The course was redesigned in 1922 by the five times Open Champion James Braidand the press excerpts details his visit and the work carried out.
Parts of his design remain to this day. This redesign has left us with the legacy of being one of the most natural traditional scottish links layouts which compares favourably with neighbouring clubs such as Cruden Bay Golf Club, Murcar Links Golf Club, Royal Aberdeen Golf Club and the Trump International Golf Links.
James Braid5 time Open Championship Winner and world renowned course designer.
Below is footage from a fundraising fete in order to raise funds for a new Clubhouse which was eventually opened by Lord Saltoun in November 1937
Courtesy of Gavin Holman
The Course design was then adjusted in the late 1950’s when the existing 15th,16th and 17th holes were added.
In 1976 under the guidance of Alex Swan & 3 times Open Champion Sir Henry Cotton also offering comment the addition of the existing 8th,9th,11th & 12th brought all holes onto the same side of the B9033 with the 4 holes remaining on the clubhouse side of the road forming a small four hole layout. Gordon Moir was a member of the greens staff during this period and has since went on to hold very senior roles in the world of greenkeeping and is now the Vice President of BIGGA. The club purchased 34 acres from Lady Saltoun in 1994 for £15500 and created in Conjunction with design input from Jack Pressley, who was a distinguished Scottish International and contested the Scottish Amateur Championship in 1947 an additional 5 holes to add to the 4 hole layout which was opened for Play on what is now known as the Rosehill course in 1996.
Fraserburgh has had the privilege to have had many accomplished golfers over the years, the more recent successes are Jordan Findlay who won the British Boys Championship in 2004 at Conwy Golf club and narrowly missed out on making it back to back victories again in 2005 losing out in the final at Hunstanton.
Another Golfer worthy of mention is Kris Nicol who is widely regarded as one of the best players in the North East. Kris has represented Scotland at Amateur level and Still regularly competes on regional tours and has competed in Scottish Opens in the last few years. Kris is also gaining a reputation as a fantastic golf coach and is a fully qualified PGA professional.
Following the disasterous fire in March 2004 the clubhouse was totally destroyed and with it all of the Club’s past records and documentation. Work is in hand to replace some of these records but research is likely to take several years. It was only in 2006, that this research unearthed the documents of 1777 in the National Library of Scotland.
After two years of voluntary work by many of the members the new clubhouse opened in May 2006
New Clubhouse facilities opened in 2006
Fraserburgh Golf Club’s Link to the Rio Olympics
In more recent years Fraserburgh’s CorbieHill Links 13th hole provided inspiration for Kyle Franz in designing the Rio Olympic courses 9th hole.
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Had the pleasure of playing this magnificent course the other week. At first looking at the 1st and 18th holes it looked and felt like 2 small football pitches, flat and uninteresting……was I wrong. Once the 1st is out the way, you climb up to the second with all the undulations you would expect from a Links course, absolutely fantastic in every way after that, excellent condition and superb layout. A nice challenge in the wind and rain, however achievable for a mid handicapper. Without doubt play the 7th oldest course in the world , just fantastic. In addition to that we met the club captain, some of the local players, a Swedish contingent and the lovely efficient staff, what’s there not to like. Well done to all and we will definitely be back"
