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The Bobby Cruickshank Hickory Experience at Grantown-on-Spey
GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY · HICKORY GOLF · SCOTTISH GOLF HERITAGE
DISCOVER HICKORY GOLF AT GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY
The Bobby Cruickshank Hickory Experience at Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club gives visitors an opportunity to step back into an earlier period of Scottish golf while learning about one of the town’s most successful sporting figures.
The experience combines film, historic photographs and memorabilia with the opportunity to play nine holes using traditional hickory clubs. Rather than simply hiring older equipment, golfers are introduced to the clubs, their history and the story of the player whose connection to Grantown inspired the experience.
It adds something distinctive to a Cairngorms and Speyside golf trip: a round shaped by local heritage, traditional equipment and the enjoyment of approaching the game differently.
WHO WAS BOBBY CRUICKSHANK?
Bobby Cruickshank was born in Grantown-on-Spey in 1894 and developed his game at the town’s golf club. His life extended far beyond the Highlands, taking him through wartime service and eventually to a successful professional career in the United States.
He became the leading money winner on the American professional circuit in 1927 and twice finished runner-up in the US Open. In 1923, he lost an 18-hole play-off to Bobby Jones, placing him at the centre of one of the important periods in American golf history.
Despite those achievements, Cruickshank’s name is less widely recognised in Scotland than many of his contemporaries. The experience at Grantown-on-Spey helps bring his story back to the course and community where his relationship with golf began.
THE BOBBY CRUICKSHANK HICKORY EXPERIENCE
The experience begins with an introduction to Cruickshank through a short film, photographs and a collection of memorabilia. Visitors can then learn about the traditional clubs in the hickory set, including how their names, designs and playing characteristics differ from modern equipment.
Golfers take the clubs onto nine holes of the original course layout, following in the footsteps of Cruickshank while experiencing the different rhythm of hickory golf. Modern expectations of distance and forgiveness give way to feel, creativity and the challenge of adapting the swing to the equipment.
The experience also includes the opportunity to see and use Cruickshank’s Auchterlonie putter, creating a particularly direct connection between the golfer, the equipment and the history being celebrated.
For experienced golfers, the change of equipment provides a new challenge. For newer or occasional players, the relaxed and historical nature of the experience offers an accessible way to enjoy golf without focusing entirely on score.
ADD A POST-ROUND WHISKY TASTING WITH THE DRAM CADDY
The hickory round can also be followed by an optional whisky tasting with The Dram Caddy. It adds another distinctly Scottish element to the visit and creates a natural opportunity to relax after the clubs have been put away.
Led by Hamish Malcolm, the golf-themed tasting introduces a selection of whiskies through the stories, people and places connected with them. In the heart of Speyside, it is an enjoyable way to bring the area’s golf and whisky traditions together as part of the same experience.
The tasting should be arranged in advance when booking. If everyone in the group would like to take part, plan suitable onward transport or nominate a driver who will not be drinking.
PLAYING GOLF AT GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY
Grantown-on-Spey Golf Club is a traditional Highland parkland course within the Cairngorms National Park. Established in 1890, the course was developed with the influence of Willie Park and James Braid and remains closely connected to the town.
The layout divides naturally into three sections. The opening holes move through relatively level parkland, the middle of the course becomes more wooded and undulating, and the final holes return to open parkland near the edge of Grantown.
That variety provides an attractive setting for hickory golf. Woodland, changing elevations and views towards the Cairngorms give the experience a strong sense of place rather than making it feel like a historical demonstration separated from the course itself.
WHERE TO STAY NEAR GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY
Staying in or close to Grantown-on-Spey allows golfers to turn the hickory experience into a relaxed two- or three-night visit. The town provides a convenient base for the golf club and local attractions, while nearby Dulnain Bridge offers a more rural country-house setting within easy reach of both Grantown and Aviemore.
For travelling groups, the right base could bring the full experience together: breakfast before golf, the hickory round and Dram Caddy tasting, followed by further golf or a distillery visit the next day. Accommodation and transport can then be included within the wider itinerary rather than arranged separately by each guest.
EXPLORE SPEYSIDE'S DISTILLERIES
The whisky experience does not need to end with the post-round tasting. The Cairn Distillery is situated just outside Grantown-on-Spey and offers guided visitor experiences, with outdoor trails leading towards the banks of the River Spey. This makes it a natural addition to a stay in the area.
Groups spending longer in Speyside could also continue towards Ballindalloch Distillery or The Glenlivet for another perspective on the region’s whisky-making heritage. The full itinerary can be shaped around the group’s interests, available tour times and the amount of golf they would like to include.
Distillery visits and suitable transport should be arranged in advance, particularly when tastings form part of the day.
EXPLORE GOLF IN THE CAIRNGORMS AND SPEYSIDE
Grantown-on-Spey can be combined with Boat of Garten, Spey Valley, Kingussie, Newtonmore and the area’s smaller nine-hole courses to create a varied Highland golf itinerary.
The wider Cairngorms and Speyside guide includes suggested courses, places to base a trip, itinerary ideas and ways to combine golf with whisky and other experiences across the region.
ADD THE HICKORY EXPERIENCE TO A SCOTTISH GOLF TRIP
The Bobby Cruickshank Hickory Experience provides a memorable way to explore Scottish golf history while enjoying nine holes with traditional equipment in the Cairngorms.
It can be included within a longer Cairngorms, Speyside or Highlands golf itinerary alongside further rounds, accommodation and other local experiences. This gives travelling golfers the opportunity to add something different to their trip rather than building every day around a conventional eighteen-hole round.
Scottish Links Golf Tours can incorporate the hickory experience and optional whisky tasting into a tailored Scottish golf trip while handling the wider arrangements, including tee times, accommodation and transport. It provides a straightforward option for groups who would prefer to have the complete itinerary organised for them.
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