Moray Golf Club toasts links with new packages

Visitors to Scotland now have the opportunity to combine the thrill of links golf with the pleasure of sampling the very best malt whiskies through a new range of exclusive golf packages. For the first time, Moray Golf Club has introduced a range of special offers designed specifically for visitors to the club, which will host one of the UK’s most prestigious amateur championships in May.

Moray Golf Club has launched the three new experiences following the success of its ground-breaking sole-supplier agreement with one of Scotland’s most respected suppliers of wines and spirits. Along with the launch of a limited edition 15-year-old Speyside single malt, the formalisation of the club’s relationship with Gordon & MacPhail was one of the highlights of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations last year and has now been extended to a new three-year contract.

The interest it generated also led to the creation of the new packages, as John Thomson, captain of Moray Golf Club, explained. “The link between Moray Golf Club and whisky has always been celebrated by the club, but the new packages take this connection to another level. The combination of championship links golf and whiskies from every distillery in Morayshire and Speyside is a big draw, and now our tailored packages give us the means of delivering a very special Scottish experience.”

The link between Moray Golf Club – which will host this year’s Carrick Neill Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship – and whisky cannot be overstated. The club claims to have the longest association with its own malt whisky of any golf club in the world with its own malt being created when the club was founded in 1889. Indeed, many of its founders were distillery owners who collectively laid down hogs heads of whisky for the club’s members to enjoy. The club’s own current malt is a 10-year-old Glen Moray from nearby Elgin.

Within living memory, the club whisky was bottled on site with the practice only being abandoned after committee members were overcome by fumes emanating from the bottling process. The new experience packages have been designed to celebrate this link between golf and the ‘water of life’ with the first incorporating a round of championship golf on either the Old or New Moray course followed by a whisky tasting experience created by Gordon & Macphail. Hosted in the club’s Heritage Room which overlooks the sparkling waters of the Moray Firth, The Whisky Experience includes an exhilarating round of golf with a tasting session incorporating five specially selected drams.

The second package embraces the skills needed to tackle Moray’s celebrated championship links courses by playing six holes alongside the club’s pro John Murray. What better preparation could there be than picking the brains of one of Scotland’s finest coaches and an expert in links golf? The Links Experience is a unique opportunity to get some handy links tips and to test them out on the sandy turf before a full round.

The third option combines both The Whisky Experience with The Links Experience creating a full day of learning, fun and indulgence. The experience begins with either a one-to-one or group session with Moray’s resident pro followed by a round on the magnificent Moray Old and then a visit to the Heritage Room to taste some of the finest whiskies Scotland has to offer.

“The Moray Experience brings together the very best of Moray in a fantastic day of golf and whisky,” explained Thomson. “It has been devised to cater for individuals, pairs and groups, and provides a structure around which visitors can experience a day like no other.”

The new Moray experiences have been launched to coincide with the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and Homecoming Scotland’s Whisky Month in May which form part of the Year of Food & Drink Scotland in 2015.

Notes:

About Moray Golf Club

1) Founded in 1889, Moray Golf Club is situated in Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland. The club has two 18-hole courses appropriately called the Old Course and the New Course.

2) A classic layout designed by Old Tom Morris, the Old Course is one of the finest links courses in Scotland with one of the most memorable closing holes you’ll find in golf. At 6,572 yards, it has a par of 71. It is No 37 in Golf World’s Top 100 Scottish Courses (2013).

3) The tighter New Course was masterminded by Henry Cotton, whose preference for precision golf can be seen in the shorter layout and smaller greens. At 6,068 yards and a par of 70, it is every bit as challenging as the Old Course.

4) Closely associated with whisky, many of the club’s founders were distillers who collectively laid down various malts for the members of the club. In fact, the club has its own cask-strength collection called Founder’s Legacy which started with a 15-year-old Miltonduff. The second in the series is the current malt; the 14-year-old Mortlach (Dufftown’s oldest distillery). 5) The club’s first malt was Dailuaine before moving on to Glen Grant which lasted nearly eight decades before being replaced by The Macallan. Today, the club malt is a 10-year-old Glen Moray from nearby Elgin.

6) For more information about Moray Golf Club, visit http://www.moraygolf.co.uk/

7) For more information about the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, visit http://www.spiritofspeyside.com/

8) For more information about Whisky Month, visit http://www.visitscotland.com/ 

About Gordon & MacPhail 

Established in 1895 the family owned firm of Gordon & MacPhail has a number of business interests. It is as a retailer in Elgin; a wholesaler of wines and spirits in the UK; a bottler of Scotch whiskies, an exporter to over 60 international markets; and a distiller, owning Benromach Distillery in Forres.

Gordon MacPhail is one of the UK’s leading independent specialist wholesalers and distributors, stocking over 4,500 products, including an extensive portfolio of wines, spirits and UK specialist beers and ciders.

For more information about Gordon & MacPhail, visit http://www.gordonandmacphail.com/