McDonald Golf Club
Rating Snapshot
About
Ideally situated between the fishing trail and the historic castle country, McDonald Golf Club sprawls across the rolling Aberdeenshire countryside. The parcel of woodlands that the course sits on was donated to the citizens of Ellon by Sir John McDonald, the club's namesake. The original nine-hole course was built in 1926. The layout winds through groves of mature trees and lush rhododendron bushes. A meandering stream winds through the golf course, coming into play on nearly every hole. There are a few challenges in store but the course will still appeal to players of all skill levels. It's worth a try if only for the beauty of the pristine surroundings. McDonald Golf Club manages to seamlessly blend into the landscape, offering a home to the native red squirrel, which you may catch a glimpse of during your round.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medal | 70 | 5942 yards | ||
| Yellow | 70 | 5600 yards | ||
| Ladies | 73 | 5505 yards |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White M: 69.6/125 | 287 | 330 | 371 | 477 | 393 | 381 | 201 | 395 | 578 | 3413 | 322 | 165 | 200 | 254 | 255 | 143 | 311 | 447 | 432 | 2529 | 5942 |
| Yellow M: 68.1/121 | 274 | 317 | 362 | 465 | 346 | 361 | 170 | 374 | 523 | 3192 | 317 | 160 | 185 | 242 | 249 | 133 | 290 | 428 | 404 | 2408 | 5600 |
| Red W: 73.1/133 | 269 | 325 | 358 | 400 | 370 | 371 | 194 | 390 | 482 | 3159 | 312 | 153 | 174 | 247 | 238 | 136 | 280 | 419 | 389 | 2348 | 5507 |
| Handicap | 11 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 10 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 37 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 70 |
| Handicap (W) | 11 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 10 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
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Bar, RestaurantAvailable Facilities
ClubhouseReviews
Bit bare in places
Course is set in beautiful woodland, literally a tale of 2 half’s. A long front 9 short back 9. Grass bare in places and definitely needs some sprucing up. Winter greens and mats in play as expected for north east Scotland in February.
Will be back in summer to play again when new growth and proper greens. Huge amount of leaves and sticks on greens and fairways but would expect this to be absent in summer. We will see.
Well worth a trip north of Aberdeen
Front 9 is great, back 9 laid out over several locations but for all that a nice challenge especially on some of the long par 3’s
Nice Course!
Really enjoyed the course, first 9 and back 9 very different but equally good. Course was in very good condition for the end of March, will be back for another game very soon!
Great course
Always a joy to play this course unless it's after several days of heavy rain
Lovely course and helpful staff
This is a top top course, easily top 3 nicest I’ve had the chance of playing. Having to walk from the the front to back 9 is a very minor inconvenience and you are welcomed by an excellent 10th hole when you get there. Excellent layout with a couple of back to back par 4’s let you get the birdie juice flowing before the 2 tricky holes 17/18. Was busy the day I was there and as a solo player slowed me down quite a bit but in no way is that a complaint just gave me time to enjoy it even more ! Side note the pro in the shop (didn’t catch his name) he’s a very helpful fella give me a few nice tips to mark on my scorecard when he found out I was a first timer there and fairly new to golf as well
Lovely course
Lovely course based within the town of Ellon. Great forest all around, well cut fairways and rough. Greens ran well.
Played for first time in 5yrs and will be back
I first played here 5yrs ago when I started playing golf again and shot over a hundred, returned today and shot an 88 with two bad holes so something must have changed!
Course was in great condition, early in morning so due on the ground but that quickly disappeared. Fairways in excellent condition and greens were smooth and easy to putt on, compared to many courses I've played these were the easier of greens to hold the ball on from approach shots.
Longer front nine but definitely a lot of shots to be gained on the back nine especially from 10 thru 16. Saying that 17 and 18 probably the hardest finishing holes on any course that I've played this year and this was my 21st different course of 2017.
Warm up facilities to hand at club house, junior area beside the 18th fairway but nothing bigger in the way of practice facilities.
Didn't use the clubhouse as it was early on a Sunday morning and quiet so no one in for food etc, didn't bother me too much as I got our earlier than I planned.
Seriously considering this course as my home course next year, if I can afford it.
Freat day!
Had an excellent round of golf, apart from the parties that were infront holdigng up play due to the speed that we play but apart from that no issues. The back is absolutely stunning well worth a round, will most certainly be back
McDonald
McDonald is a decent track overall, however the front 9 are far superior to the weak back 9.
The front 9 is well mapped with testing doglegs and long in yardage, it suffers slightly from poor drainage in parts, but this is forgiven due to the overall condition being very good. Holes 4,5 & 6 are good tests and require smart club selection and the 9th is a long and good test for a par 5.
The back 9 is much shorter and feels squeezed in, although in very good condition. It finishes with two cracking holes which require again intelligent club selection and I wouldn't be counting my score until the 18th green !
Staff were very friendly and the barman chatty which is always nice after a good round.
Well worth a round if you can pick up a good offer on GolfNow etc
A tale of two halves
Two very different nines at the MacDonald course in Ellon. The first nine is over the road and newer, I suspect. Not as interesting as the back nine but longer. The only hazards on the front were the occasional strategically placed bunker and the brook running through some of the holes. The back nine had lots of slopes and trees and an awesome finish. Be careful what you hit from the tee on the 18th ! Very friendly staff.
Impressed
This is the first private course I have played since getting back into the game this summer. An easy 25 minute drive from aberdeen city centre, this course has to offer a lot to the improving golfer and expert alike.
The grounds were immaculate with only a leftover dampness from rainfall the day before. Greens played very smoothly and I only spotted one fairway weed the whole way round. The course has a nice mixture of open fairways and more challenging tree bound bottle necks and dog legs. Set discreetly in Ellon town, the scale of the grounds cannot be appreciated until you play first hand.
My only caveat would be to be mindful of the volume of golfers at weekends in the peak summer season. On the flip side, this is also the sign of a great course owing to its popularity.
Would definitely play again. A course well worth the round fee in my opinion.
