James Braid’s name is once again prominent on the design sheet of this charming, heather-laced course. Undulating terrain reveals several intriguing surprises with deep hollows, ridges and cleverly sited greens. Look to your left as you come over the railway bridge and admire two fine holes (3 and 4) where high greens can only be found by using intelligent shot-making. Irvine is not a long course (two par threes and one par five) but the gorse and heather which await the errant shot make it a gripping test of golf. And then there are those small greens and pocket bunkers, a few of which contain railway sleepers to ramp up the drama further. And those wonderful and unexpected shapes promise no end of variety, especially as Braid knew how to design a daunting par four!
View our guide to the Top100 courses in Scotland for 2017:
http://www.destinationgolf.travel/destinationgolf-scotland-2017/