Sheep working well

The sheep have been on for over 6 weeks now and are making a huge impact on some of our thicker roughs!

Environmental workshop

As a course manager i never thought in my career that id be attending and participating in local workshops -but at Machrihanish Dunes due to the sensitivity of our site we have embraced the ecological side of business and are trying to promote and also educate local schools and businesses on the type of work we carry out - from protecting the diversity of the site to our waste management policies. The pictures show the Kintyre Environmental day at a local venue.

Bunker work

The huge natural bunker on the 10th hole has been causing us problems for a while now with sand blow - taking many man hours to shape. We decided to split the bunker into 2 and try and reduce the wind tunnel affect. The two pictures show before and after - a break between the bunkers was created then marram grass added to enhance the natural look.

Bunker Philosophy

At Machrihanish Dunes
-we have allowed Mother Nature
-to dictate where our hazards lie.

With a little help from our sheep sheltering from the elements and with Atlantic winds shaping the sand, we believe they need very little ‘human interference’ to remain as many golfers would have found them when golf began…


As modern golf brought financial success and televised tournaments requested a more uniform approach the structured raking of bunkers - this became adopted by most in fashion.
But the first greens and fairways were formed not by men but by sheep grazing amongst the sand dunes while bunkers were created by these same animals wearing out sandy hollows as they nestled for shelter from the wind.
Modern fashions dictated and blind shots began to be eliminated from the designers’ repertoire and bunkers were no longer hidden but constructed so that they were at least partially visible.

Bunker definition -
A depression in bare ground that is usually covered with sand. Also called a "sand trap".
It is considered a hazard under the Rules of Golf.

At Machrihanish Dunes some may lie hidden, waiting to gather stray shots.
Their location and the strategy required to avoid them, the variety of shot making and the contours of the ground will keep the golfer thinking.

Our Bunkers will hopefully fulfill two objectives. Firstly to govern the play of the hole, and secondly to catch a low handicap golfer’s good shot which was not quite good enough. As Tom Simpson & Donald Ross wrote “It is a popular delusion to suppose that the function of a fairway bunker is to catch a bad shot. It is nothing of the kind.”
“Our aim is to bring out of the player the best golf in him. It will be difficult to negotiate some holes, but that is what golf is for. It is a mental test and an eye test. The hazards and bunkers are placed so as to force a man to use judgement and to exercise mental control in making the correct shot.”

Machrihanish Dunes- Bunkers are very obviously hazards!
We will carry out work to ensure they are fair for golf and retain their natural look, feel and characteristics. Back raking occasionally for extreme undulations and move sand to shape the bunker only to avoid major sandblow onto our fairways.
Apart from that they will appear as raw and natural as their maker intended. If you do end up in one, enjoy getting out!