Going for Golf

Murrayshall - It’s all so civilised

Murrayshall House Hotel & Golf Courses

What’s more, this idyllic retreat is ideal whether you’re looking to just play golf on-site or looking to venture further afield and challenge yourself against some of the sport’s legendary venues.

Murrayshall House Hotel sits in the sweet spot of Scotland, just round the corner from the fair city of Perth, perched on the side of its own secluded hillside, with views to die for. It’s easy to reach: a flight from the south of England to Edinburgh takes an hour and the drive from Edinburgh even less. So you could be teeing it up within two or three hours of locking your own front door.

What’s really remarkable about Murrayshall though is that, like golf, it’s so very civilised. Murrayshall House Hotel has two splendid 18-hole courses. But here’s what sets the Murrayshall experience apart: the hotel team are happy to arrange golf for guests on any of the courses in the area. There are 49 nearby and at least 100 within an hour’s drive. Their knowledge of the area, drive times and other elements, takes the guesswork out of the equation, a boon for golfers who aren’t sure what they want. They’ll even book your tee times. St Andrews is less than an hour away and if you are set on a round on the Old Course, resident golf professional Alan Reid reckons he can help. In recent years he has enjoyed a 100 per cent success rate putting guests into the St Andrews Old course ballot and getting them a round.

“That was until we had our owner’s friends staying - and I couldn’t get them on,” he smiled.

The Old Course aside, the Murrayshall team can make arrangements for you on a host of nearby courses, tee times booked and waiting. The team will recommend and book the courses to suit your game and all that’s left for you to do is turn up, pay and play. Now that’s what I call civilised.

The Murrayshall House Hotel itself is a sedate, country sanctuary with most rooms enjoying fabulous views over the courses to the Grampian Mountains beyond. Rich tartans, fabulous fabrics and a cosseted ambience give the house an appeal rather like a smaller version of Gleneagles. The house dates back to the 1660s but was completely rebuilt in the 1920s by Sir Stanley Miller, who founded Norwich Union, or Aviva as the marketing gurus want us to refer to it nowadays.

The two courses are as good a place to play as any. The Murrayshall is the more ‘butch’ of the two, a 6,441-yard, par 73 over rolling parkland – a great driving course where you can open your shoulders on wide, tree-lined fairways that positively beg you to boom it out with the big stick. Trust me, it’s a great experience. There’s plenty of room but you still need to consult the course planner and place those big drives just in the right spot otherwise your next shot might not be so exuberant. The par-fours are particularly demanding, positionally tight and insistent on dropping those drives in the A position. The par-fives are where you can get the shots back – reachable in two with a bit of bravado off the tees.

But the par-threes are particularly memorable. The signature hole is the fourth, a full 140-yard carry across water with bunkers right and left and the surrounding trees adding to the pressure – a superb, spine-tingling challenge. As is the 18th, a long par-three finish which doesn’t suit those with a left-to-right shape.

Murrayshall’s second course, Lynedoch, is the baby of the two but a beguiling one at that. It is completely different from the Murrayshall, a fair bit shorter but an exhilarating test for golfers of every level. Here, off the tee, you’re better to leave the driver in the bag and get reacquainted with those irons. Even more than the Murrayshall, Lynedoch is all about finding those narrow fairways and staying in play. It’s great fun. The breathtaking views across the Vale of Strathmore and the secluded holes add to the ambience as you feel you’ve got the place to yourself – a truly delightful encounter.

And post-golf? The Old Masters Restaurant is two AA-rosette fine dining, but if you’re looking for a more informal bistro repast, including a few pints and sports television, the clubhouse restaurant caters for that with the same fine food.

How very civilised…