Golf tourism is growing across the Scottish Highlands, and Golf Highland is working to help more clubs share in that demand. Its latest reported figures show more than 120,000 visiting golfers at member courses, up from 101,955 in 2022. Smaller and nine-hole courses can form part of trips that also include famous venues—but the available figures do not measure how many golfers book multiple courses.
What the latest figures say about Highland golf tourism
Golf Business News reported in 2026 that Golf Highland estimated the region’s golf-tourism economic impact at £60 million for 2025. The report does not provide the underlying calculation or define exactly what the estimate includes, so it is best read as Golf Highland’s estimate rather than an independently verified total.
The same report put visitor green-fee income at Golf Highland member courses at more than £12 million in 2025—twice the figure in the cooperative’s first research project in 2018. It also reported more than 120,000 visiting golfers in the latest figures, compared with 101,955 in 2022, describing the increase as 16%. These figures indicate rising visitor activity, but do not establish a count or trend for multi-course bookings.
Neil Hampton, Golf Highland chair and general manager at Royal Dornoch, said the increased demand benefits businesses beyond golf. He estimated that each £1 spent on golf produces £5 in wider economic benefit, naming transport, food and drink, accommodation and gifts. That multiplier is Hampton’s attributed estimate, not a separately verified measurement in the report.
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How regional coordination can spread visitor demand
Golf Highland’s approach is to promote the Highlands as a golf destination, rather than simply a stop between famous courses. The regional group connects prominent clubs with smaller community venues and supports collective promotion. A 2024 Royal Dornoch account says Golf Highland was established in 1999; its 2016 strategy aimed to help lesser-known clubs benefit from the area’s best-known venues. That account links subsequent growth with regional cooperation, marketing workshops and improvements to club websites.
The practical opportunity is itinerary-building: a golfer might anchor a trip around a recognised course, then add a smaller club or a nine-hole round that better fits the route, available time or interests of other people travelling with them. Golf Highland’s destination feature records club observations that visitors increasingly include nine-hole golf. A Durness greenkeeper described visitors from continental Europe and a growing American presence, including golfers pairing a round with sightseeing or beach time. These are local observations, not a representative survey of visitors.
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Golf Business News also reported green-fee income increases of 95% at Bonar Bridge and Ardgay and 66% on the Isle of Skye, alongside investments in websites and online booking systems. The report does not establish that the technology investments caused those increases. They do, however, illustrate why clear online information and booking access can matter when smaller clubs want to be found by visitors planning a trip.
What a multi-course Highland itinerary needs to balance
There is no single best mix of courses for every trip. Compare options using the factors below, and check current details directly with each club: the available sources do not establish current course-by-course green fees, tee-time availability or travel times.
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- Access and booking: Check whether the club publishes visitor information and how it handles tee-time requests or online booking.
- Route fit: Map the drive between courses and accommodation. A geographically attractive extra round may not fit comfortably into a day.
- Format and time: A nine-hole round can offer a shorter golf option than a full round, while leaving time for travel or non-golf activities.
- Value: Compare current visitor fees and any booking conditions on official club pages rather than assuming smaller or shorter-format golf costs less.
- Local contribution: Consider how a stop at a community club can broaden visitor spending and connect the trip with a place beyond its headline venue.
The wider strategy: growth alongside community and environment
Golf Highland’s work sits within a national context. The Scottish Golf Tourism and Visitor Strategy 2022–2030 identifies destination development, community engagement, education and skills, health and wellbeing, collaborative projects, events and environmental protection among its priorities. It says the strategy should meet the needs of small and micro operators as well as larger organisations. These are stated goals, not evidence that every priority has already been delivered in Highland clubs.
The strategy reports that 86% of its survey respondents said sustainability and environmental protection formed part of their organisation’s strategy. That is a finding from the strategy’s survey, not a current census of Highland golf clubs. Highland Council likewise describes tourism as an important economic driver whose growth needs to be balanced with environmental and community wellbeing.
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How to use older Scotland-wide visitor-spending data
VisitScotland’s Scotland Golf Visitor Survey 2016 offers historic national context, but its results should not be presented as current Highland spending. It reported average spending of £64.50 per day-trip golf visitor and £318.12 per overnight golf visitor. The survey also reported £338.49 as the average spend by an overseas golf visitor, and said golf was the main trip purpose for 79% of overnight visitors. These figures refer to Scotland in 2016, not to current visitor behaviour or spending in the Highlands.
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Sources
- Golf Business News: Highland golf tourism figures and club examples (2026)
- Golf Highland: regional destination information
- Royal Dornoch: account of Golf Highland and visitor-income growth (2024)
- Scottish Golf Tourism and Visitor Strategy 2022–2030
- VisitScotland: Scotland Golf Visitor Survey 2016
- Highland Council: Highland tourism strategy
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