I loved being back on golf course despite winter greens and lost balls - and where I'm playing next

The weather, for the most part so far this year, in Scotland has been dreadful and, in fact, it wasn’t until this week that I made a first outing of 2026 at my beloved Aberdour Golf Club.

Tee times that had been booked for previous planned games had been scrapped due to a combination of the course being closed or the fact it was, quite frankly, bloody miserable on the Fife Riviera.

“It was more snow and ice for us,” declared Mark Laing, our head greenkeeper, of the course having been closed for five days in January and likewise for two days in February so far. “We had 23.8mm of rain in January compared to 128.2mm last January.”

That actually came as a surprise, but, then again, the skies had been so grey on the east coast of the country for a spell that you probably thought it was raining outside yet it wasn’t.

It didn’t matter that it was winter greens

At long last, we got a day earlier this week when the sun was splitting the sky and, thankfully, it coincided with a latest attempt to get back out on the golf course after my last game in 2025 had been in early December.

The one downside was that, due to an overnight/early morning frost, we were on winter greens but, even though I’ve never been a big fan of temporary putting surfaces, I didn’t give two hoots on this occasion.

It felt great to be standing on the first tee again and, as anyone who has visited Aberdour will know, that really is an absolute treat when the sun is shining as you look across the Firth of Forth towards Edinburgh, with the snow-capped Pentlands adding to what is a stunning backdrop.

Under the circumstances, it was rewarding to simply get my opening shot airborne, albeit it a tad heavy, before almost landing a well-struck wedge straight into the hole at the second.

There was the odd decent shot thereafter, though more bad ones and I sincerely hope that the loss of three balls - all from wayward tee shots - isn’t going to set a tone for the rest of the year because that could mean I’d have to buy some and, luckily, it’s been a long, long time since that happened.

It wasn’t just being back out swinging a golf club again and enjoying some fresh air and exercise that I’d missed. It was the banter from playing a game with my mates and there’s certainly plenty to talk about when it comes to chewing the fat about Scottish football at the moment.

The day after our game, an email dropped from the golf club about renewing my membership or, as it was described, my ‘bill’ for the period covering the year from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027.

The annual subscription for a full member at Aberdour is £745, which, if you can make proper use of, is still good value for money, even though it is up just under £50 from last time.

I’m already playing catch up in terms of the calendar year, but it was nice to be reminded that there are few things better for both mind and body than being out on a golf course.

It made me feel even more excited about a list of Scottish courses I intend to play for the first time in 2026 and thanks to Harry Roulston, a former Edinburgh Evening News editor, for inviting to host me at his home club of Stonehaven.

Turnberry, Gullane No 3, Askernish, Old Petty at Cabot Highlands and Schloss Roxburghe are the other courses on that list and I’ll be working my way through them as the year progresses.

Though not for the first time, I’ll also be heading to Dalmahoy Golf & Country Club for a hit this year after buying a four ball in an auction at the welcome return of a Gents’ Dinner at Aberdour last Friday night.

“Why?” asked my better half on revealing that news and, though I couldn’t come up with a decent reason at the time other than supporting what was a good night, I do actually have more than one.

As a boy, I used to visit Dalmahoy to attend a star-studded Pro-Cel-Am and, long before the days of selfies on mobile phones, loved getting autographs. It’s also where I’ve covered some memorable events over the years, including a European win in the second edition of the Solheim Cup and brilliant versions of the Scottish PGA Championship won by Sam Torrance, Andrew Coltart, Colin Gillies and Brian Marchbank.

Great days and those memories always come flooding back at what was one of Scotland’s top tournament venues back in the day.