Cruden Bay Golf Club – the Championship Course is a classic links golf course – there is evidence of golf being played in the area as far back as 1791: a “Port Erroll / Cruden Golf Club 1791” ballot box suggests a 9‑hole course then. The current Championship Course was commissioned in 1894 by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company, as part of the amenities for a hotel they were building at Cruden Bay, the course was opened in March 1899. The original design of the Championship Course (1899) was by Old Tom Morris of St Andrews, with assistance from Archie Simpson. In 1926, the course was redesigned/refined to its current routing by Tom Simpson and Herbert Fowler. Many of the original Morris greens and the basic routing remain, but Simpson & Fowler made significant improvements and extensions. The course sits among dunes on the Aberdeenshire coast, with views of the North Sea. Elevation changes, dunes, natural hazard use, blind shots, plateau greens – all combine for challenge and aesthetic appeal.