By the time we reach the serious planning stage, we’ve likely got a firm idea of where we want to play, but the phrase ‘hidden gem’ continues to hum in the background.

In truth, ever since the internet exposed them, Faraway Fairways are probably of the view that very few ‘gems’ are truly ‘hidden’ any longer, (although we think there are still a few flying under the radar a bit)

Instead of being hidden however in the traditional sense of great value, what we think exists these days are smart additions, which are ways of sneaking things into an itinerary which logic says we shouldn’t be able to, or aren’t particularly obvious. It’s perhaps closer to adding value than it is unearthing a true hidden gem

We thought we’d start this section however not by nominating a course, but a whole region.

We have little doubt that the hidden region is north west Ireland, sometimes referred to as the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’. This is a section of coast that broadly runs from Lahinch to Rosapenna

A combination of peat bogs and a lack of transport infrastructure meant the Connemara was slow to develop. With their wild coastlines, impressive dune systems, and naturally favourable terrain however, we’re tempted to wonder if we’d be talking about Carne Links, Enniscrone, and County Sligo today, instead of Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Waterville

In recent years we’ve begun to see developers and architects move in as places Like Nairn & Portnoo, as well as Portsalon have been added to the wider region

Bookended by Lahinch to its south, and Rosapenna to it’s north, there is a value tour here, but it possibly needs to be played out and back based on Shannon Airport

To some extent the courses of St Andrews and Fife hide in plain sight. With so many to choose from, a few can go under the radar

A few years ago, Faraway Fairways had a client who rated the Craighead Course at Crail to be superior to Muirfield. Whereas that might be over stating things, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard high praise. Indeed, we mentioned it to the booking team at Crail, who sort of laughed and said that they were aware of the preference noting, “I’m not sure our members would appreciate you sending players to the Craighead instead of the Balcomie”, as they explained, the clubs membership had also drawn the same conclusion, the more modern Craighead links had actually overtaken the older course in terms of its preference

Royal Burgess isn’t a links course, and if that’s a disqualification, then fair enough, we understand that, and you should indeed move past it. Instead this Edinburgh parkland course is included primarily for two reasons.

The first is its proximity to Edinburgh Airport. For many this is our point of arrival or departure so the scope exists to slide it into a half day at either end, it’s only 20 mins away after all

The second consideration is that of status and a unique claim to golf’s heritage.

Royal Burgess is the oldest golf club in the world (with a continuous verifiable history). It’s quite a traditional club that takes it’s history seriously and has an air of understated class about it

With plenty of justification you might be tempted to check the title of the page or the definition of ‘hidden’. You’d be correct. It’s pretty difficult to suggest that a course that holds a world top-50 ranking could seriously be considered ‘hidden’, on top of which, a series of green fee price increases has also drawn some of the value away from North Berwick that it used to hold

The nomination owes more to the proximity of Edinburgh Airport, which can make it a ‘shrewdie’ instead of anything that is ‘hidden’.

Rather than charging north to St Andrews on landing, it’s worth considering sneaking east to North Berwick for what is only likely to be a half day. We can potentially snaffle a big name without stretching to do so, and along with Kingsbarns, North Berwick remains one of two we’ve never heard a bad word about

A bit like North Berwick, it’s difficult to suggest that Royal Aberdeen belongs on any ‘hidden’ list, but we’ve included it in many respects because of the train. It’s more accessible from somewhere like Edinburgh, than golfers realise and consequently they never consider it

Once we’ve played North Berwick, (and Muirfield if we’re lucky), we begin to struggle for trips on the Lothian Coast if staying in Edinburgh. Gullane and Dunbar are probably the only two left, but it’s easy to overlook that a direct train from Edinburgh only takes 2.5 hrs. You might say of course that there are nearer courses? There are, but they involve a change at Glasgow, Dundee, or Perth, or a lousy train that trundles along rather than one that can operate at 100mph.

Royal Aberdeen is located on the first links land north of the city, so only a 15 mins taxi from the station. It’s actually a lot nearer than you might imagine, and with the ‘iron horse’ taking the strain the distance needn’t be the factor that you normally associate with the time needed

‘The Boat’ is probably the most commonly cited ‘hidden gem’ in Scotland, and we can imagine people making a slightly disapproving noise as yet another website nominates it. Sure its not an original selection.

The reasons it’s so frequently noted however still apply.

The green fees are historically inexpensive.

It’s in a line of travel between the highlands and Edinburgh, so anyone heading up to Castle Stuart or Dornoch from the capital is going to drive past it.

The course is relatively short at 5600 yds, so fits the fun rather than challenging category, but framed by the River Spey on one side, the Strathspey steam railway on the other, and the snow capped Cairngorm mountains in the distance, its a visual delight as we breeze along its birch lined fairways

Western Gailes is a traditional out and back links, albeit the location of the clubhouse does mean there is a slight twist on that. It’s more like 4 out, 9 back, and 5 out again.

It tends to get overlooked as golfers target Troon, Turnberry and Prestwick, and even the emergence of Dundonald which is better equipped for hosting championship events is starting to relegate it further from the thinking of visiting golfers.

We can also accept again that we’re stretching the definition of ‘hidden’, and that maybe Barassie or Prestwick St Nicholas is a more faithful selection in the spirit of ‘hidden gems’, but there is a difference perhaps between overlooked and unheard of, and the risk of putting visitors onto an unheard of course isn’t one we tend to run given that time is rarely on the visiting golfers side. We can’t easily afford to gamble a day (unless we’re doing 36 holes)

Western Gailes is probably Ayrshires gem therefore