Golf in Shetland - FAQs

There are two 18-hole courses in Shetland, and three smaller courses offering unique golfing experiences.

Shetland Golf Club at Dale, just to the north of Lerwick, is the biggest course and the most popular club in the isles. Featuring a large and recently renovated clubhouse, it is regularly used by hundreds of members during summer competitions.

Whalsay Golf Club is one of the highest-rated courses by visitors anywhere in the UK. Located on the island of Whalsay, a 30-minute ferry trip from the Shetland Mainland, it routinely appears on lists of must-do courses around the country.

Asta Golf Course offers a nine-hole course just between Scalloway and Tingwall and is a fun test for regular golfers – and a nice way to learn for amateurs, with fewer lumps and bumps.

The Knab in Lerwick also offers a small nine-hole course next to a much-used public footpath in the heart of the town, while the remote island of Fair Isle – a ferry or plane ride away from the Mainland – also has a unique six-hole course next to its south lighthouse.

And finally, Lerwick has a more child-friendly putting green at the Jubilee Flower Park. In the summer months, you might even fancy a bit of family fun at the crazy golf course at the North Mainland Leisure Centre in Brae!

Of course. Non-members are more than welcome at all of Shetland’s golf courses listed above.

Daily fees can be paid at Shetland and Whalsay Golf Clubs, which can also be booked online before arrival. Asta Golf Course does not require any prior booking but has an honesty system in its clubhouse for visitors to pay for nine holes or a day rate.

Fair Isle golf course is free, but donations are welcome, while the Knab golf course is just free to play.

Golf balls and putters can be hired for the Lerwick putting green from the nearby Islesburgh Community Centre, and it’s free to play.

Whalsay is the UK’s most northerly golf course. A 30-minute ferry takes you across to the island either from Laxo or Vidlin, depending on where the ferry is based at the time, with two shops and two pubs on the island as well as the golf clubhouse.

Whalsay is not only a must-do for its location at the top of the UK, but also because of the quality of the course.

One final quirk of the Whalsay course – it includes the island’s airstrip, so if a charter flight is coming in, then play has to stop.

Absolutely. Golf clubs and trolleys can be hired in Whalsay or at Shetland Golf Club, while golf clubs can be hired at Asta Golf Course too.

There are no clubs or trolleys for hire at the Knab, but there is plenty of parking near the Knab for bringing your own clubs.

Islesburgh Community Centre hires equipment to be used at the putting green in Lerwick.

Shetland Golf Club has a large clubhouse, changing rooms and toilets, which also has a bar – though this will only be open if someone is there to man it.

Both Whalsay Golf Club and Asta Golf Course also have a clubhouse, while Asta has a snack bar which visitors can use – again with an honesty system.

Shetland Golf Club has had a renovation in recent years and now boasts a state-of-the-art indoor driving simulator.

With two bays, golfers can try their hand at virtually any course in the world – all from the comfort and warmth of the indoors.

There’s also the option to simply use it as a driving range, to get your swing into full flow before you head onto the course at Dale.

And there is also an outdoor driving practice area, just to make sure you are match-ready in the Shetland conditions.

The Knab site in Lerwick is ideal for a round of pitch and putt. If you’re looking for a more relaxing round than you might get at Whalsay, Dale or Asta, the Knab – with views of the ‘sooth mooth’ of Lerwick Harbour – offers a fun way to knock a ball out in town. For putting practise, there is a putting green in the Jubilee Flower Park in Lerwick.

The Whalsay and Shetland golf clubs dominate the competition scene from April to October. Rarely a Saturday goes by throughout the summer without a golf competition, but in reality, they take place all week-long.

There are two open competitions at Shetland Golf Club in June, two in July and a further three in August.

The period around mid-summer in Shetland is known as simmer dim, a period when it barely gets dark. Simmer dim golf is a great way of experiencing the sport in Shetland, giving players the chance to bask in the late evening glow while breezing their way through a game.

You can play from 7-9pm at the Shetland Golf Club in June, July and August as a visitor at Shetland Golf Club, but you can play even later if you want, at the isles’ other courses.

Whalsay Golf Club, Asta Golf Course, and the Knab can all be played as a round of midnight golf, while if you’re lucky enough to find yourself in Fair Isle over the summer, then a round of midnight golf would be a fine way to round off a visit.