Discover how DJ Russell – winner of the 1992 Lyons Open and player in 466 European Tour events – transformed The Machrie’s original 1891 course into a Golf World Top 100-ranking championship links – drawing players from around the globe…
Ten reasons to play The Machrie, Islay
On the wild edge of Islay, where dunes meet Atlantic light and the wind writes its own lines across the grass, sits a links course that feels both world-class and quietly personal. People travel here for the world Top 100 credentials; they leave talking about something else entirely – a feeling, a landscape, a round they didn’t want to end.
Here are ten reasons you have to play golf at Another Place, the Machrie – whether you’re brand-new, competition-ready, or somewhere in between.
1. A landscape that feels like yours alone
Step from the quiet, flat moorland by the hotel and watch the land shift beneath your feet – rising into dramatic dunes, stretching out towards shoreline and rolling Atlantic. Some days it feels like you’re the only golfer out there. Wildlife cuts across the fairways. Seven miles of beach runs beside you. It’s links golf stripped back to its purest form: wind, turf, sky, and the sense of being part of the place, not just passing through.
2. Links surfaces kept in astonishing condition
People arrive expecting rugged ‘island golf’, they walk away talking about how pure, quick and cared-for the turf is. The conditioning surprises everyone, every time. That moment you realise you’re playing firm, fast, immaculate links just steps from the ocean. It’s what people tell their friends about.
3. Signature holes you’ll replay in your head
The Machrie, Islay championship links course isn’t defined by yardages on a scorecard; it’s defined by moments. The postcard-perfect 9th. The sweeping, ocean-side 8th with its raised green. The vast Islay views opening up on the 7th. And that final approach up 18, the hotel drawing you home as the dunes fall away. You carry these holes with you long after your round is over.
4. A finishing hole with built-in theatre
Tee off with the Atlantic behind you. Walk into a natural amphitheatre where the hotel, stag lounge and balcony overlook the green. There’s an easy, low-key pressure to the finish – the good kind. Every round ends with a quiet sense of drama, whether anyone is watching or not.
5. Golf for absolutely everyone
Four tee boxes on every hole. The Wee course for confidence-building. The Hebrides social putting course for evening fun. A proper Academy experience for beginners, improvers and returning golfers. Whether you’re picking up a club for the first time or tuning up for competition season, there’s always a way to play that feels good.
6. Coaching that blends data with links instinct
When you want hard numbers, you’ve got Trackman 4. When you want to understand the contours, wind patterns and best lines, golf general manager Alan Martin and head PGA professional Nick Sharples will take you through the kind of knowledge only being on the course everyday can teach. Modern tools, old-school links craft, and expert know-how all work together to make you better.
7. Long summer evenings made for golf
Golden-hour tee times that drift into soft Atlantic light. One of the few places where you can play a full round after dinner and still see the greens glowing. And if you’re lucky enough, on the right night you might even catch the Northern Lights as you finish up. Summer golf nowhere else feels quite like this.
8. A journey that starts the whole experience
Driving through sweeping Scottish vistas. Checking your clubs and boarding a small plane. Rolling off a ferry as Islay rises in front of you. Whatever your mode of transport, the journey isn’t just a way to get here, it shifts your mindset. By the time you check in, you already feel different.
9. A hotel built around simple pleasures
Gallery-worthy art on the walls. An outdoor Scandinavian sauna, hot tubs and cold-plunge barrel facing the wild. Fatbikes waiting to take you across the dunes. A library full of photography, golf and local culture books and board games. A screening room for easy film nights. Modern, relaxed spaces that feel shaped by the island itself – all the comfort you want, without ever dulling the wildness outside.
10. Food and drink that taste unmistakably Islay
Oysters, mussels and hake caught just offshore. Local venison cooked simply. Rare Islay whiskies you can only try on the island, poured by people who know their way around a cask story or two. Fresh, local ingredients as part of every meal.
From the blog
Get into the swing of 2025 with a special line-up of golfing events at Another Place, The Machrie.
From golfing newbies and families easing their way into a round, to experienced golfers winding down with a beer after a challenging day out on the championship links, our new social golf course, ‘The Hebrides’, encourages everyone to take a swing.