AmateurGolf.com really enjoyed playing Royal Aberdeen the day after watching the best amateurs from USA and GB&I play the Walker Cup matches there. The first hole says it all; looking down towards the water below from a tee that literally sits feet away from the clubhouse window. It's out and back along the coast from there; when you get to the farthest point from the clubhouse you're seemingly miles from home, yet neighboring Murcar Links (a fine course in it's own right) sits right next door.

FROM THE CLUB'S WEBSITE:

The course locally know as "Balgownie Links" is among the first 6 in the world -- given it's Royal designation in 1905 -- Balgownie is one of the truest linksland layouts in golf. It's a course to test the better golfer, one who can accommodate the many variable conditions this arduous links can throw at you. Balgownie's front nine holes rank amongst the very best in the world. No two are the same within a natural ecosystem, interspersed with rich turf and tight rolling fairways, that is a sheer delight to behold. The Balgownie course is a classic links layout - out through the dunes and back along a plateau. The beautiful layout hosted the Walker Cup in 2011, a match which was won by the team from Great Britain & Ireland. It has also been selected to host the 2014 Scottish Amateur.