Hillside Golf Club

At 6,800 yards this links is commonly thought of as the best course in the UK never to have hosted an Open. Plaudits regularly fly in its direction; Jack Nicklaus referred to it as a "wild looking links"; Greg Norman said its back nine was "the best in Britain", while Mark Calcavecchia said its greens were among the best he'd ever set eyes on. Its greatest compliment, though, came from Rodney Pampling. Quizzed by reporters at the Carnoustie Open in 1999 when he was the first round leader whether he thought the Scottish links was the toughest he had ever played, the Australian responded: "No, Hillside at last year's Open qualifying."

There aren't too many courses in the world that can lay claim to being tougher than Carnoustie, so Hillside is in distinguished company.