Links Course Profiles

Part 1, Gleneagles Resort: Where Stress Goes to Die

By Alex McLain

The Links franchise has a history of picking some of the most intense, breathtaking, and prestigious courses to highlight in their games.  In our Course Profiles series, the Insider is going to take a look at some of these resorts and give you the skinny on what makes them so special.

We start, then, with the Gleneagles resort.  Two choice little nuggets of information set this course apart from the pack from the get go.  First, it's located in Scotland, and you can say nothing but good things about a golf resort located in the birthplace of the sport.  Secondly, the PGA Centenary Course highlighted in Links was designed by one Jack Nicklaus.  Now, my memory may be faulty, but I seem to recall that Jack "the Golden Bear" Nicklaus had some modicum of success on the PGA tour.  At the very least, it can be said that with over 200 designs to his credit, he's a heckuva course designer.  To add even more credibility to the course (like it needs it), Jack says Gleneagles was "the finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with."  The PGA Centenary Course measures (from the longest tee) 7,088 yards, and it weighs in at a healthy par 72.  For further information, including a map of the course, visit the official Gleneagles site's page on the subject.

While the Centenary course may be the most famous of the Gleneagles courses, there are three other courses the resort has to offer.  That's right, one resort with four—count 'em, four—golf courses!  The others include the Kings Course (par 68), which clocks in at 6790 yards (from the back tees), and the aptly named Queens Course (par 68) which boasts 5965 yards in length.  Both of these are full eighteen-hole affairs, but if you're looking for a just a brief respite, try your hand at the beautifully named Wee Course which sports nine par 3 holes.

While playing through the Scottish links at Gleneagles definitely seems to be the order of the day, this resort has much more to offer.  Take a look at this list of wonderfully self indulgent features and activities:

• Tennis courts
• Fully equipped equestrian center
• Shooting school
• Falconry
• Fishing
• Off road driving
• Scenic hiking and cycling trails.

Those are just some of outdoor activities you'll find at Gleneagles.  I haven't talked about the fully stocked club and spa that are set to handle your every workout and self-pampering need.  I haven't even mentioned the outstanding hotel where you can dine in style, kick back with a fine glass of wine, and then retire to sleep in luxury.  Now that's what I call vacationing in absurdly lavish style.  Sign me up!  Until our look at the next resort, this is Insider, out!