Welcome – One of my objectives with the Dog Golf website is to evangelize dog-friendliness in the golf community. I always enjoy discovering new dog-friendly courses, but especially pleased when I find a new one on the scene that has recently welcomed them. Still, having friends who are members of Hennerton, some people there are still probably getting used to it so a bit of extra care and consideration by dog-owners would be good. When we were there, everyone was delighted to see Margo (the Vizsla we look after from time to time).

Walk – The course has lots of ups and downs (come quite steep), but it is quite a short course at only 4200 yards (yellow tees) so the walk is quite manageable.

Water – There is only a water hazard on the 2^nd and 18^th holes and no water supplies on the course, but the course does come right back to the clubhouse at the 11^th close enough to run into to refill your water bottle.

Wildlife – Quite a few squirrels scurrying in and out of the trees surrounding many of the holes.

Wind Down – Hennerton also has a clubhouse restaurant with a full bar and extensive food menu. Dogs can’t come in the clubhouse, but are perfectly welcome at the outdoor patio where you can be entertained by people finishing their rounds on the 18^th hole.

Welcome – When people express surprise at the notion of taking a dog on a round of golf, I note that some of the most famous courses in the world welcome dogs. And they don’t get much more famous that St. Andrews, the home of golf. And they don’t get much more dog-friendly. We had the bucket list honour of playing the Strathtyrum course during our recent visit to the Edinburgh Fringe (our daughter Isley has a play there, “Jobsworth”, which is getting rave reviews including a number of “best of the Fringe” lists like – CityAM…and it too features a pup). As soon as we emerged from round check-in, we were greeted by a queue of canine caddies who had just finished their rounds including Willow (photo directly). The welcome continued on the course itself when this Belgian sheepdog (see above) came over to say hello to me while I was waiting for my group to finish their putting.  And their trash separation even includes a special receptacle for poo bags (see bottom).

Walk – St. Andrews is probably the flattest course I have ever played. Situated on the St. Andrews peninsula of Fife, it is an expansive of low-lying sea marsh.

Wildlife – Sea gulls! And a few other small birds and rabbits in the bushes.

Water – No water hazards, but there is a toilet block at the 13^th green where you can get some water. And the course doesn’t swing back by the clubhouse until the 18^th hole. So bring a bottle along for your doggy too.

Wind Down – Strathtyrum/Eden clubhouse includes Café Spike with an extensive outdoor dining area where dogs can join you for some 19^th hole refreshing.

Another guest post from our canine correspondent (way) up north – Bertie (ably assisted by her person, Steve). I am getting out on the course again myself and bringing along pooch pals when I can, but mostly just playing at my club, Temple. So contributions from afar are most appreciated and help expand the database of useful information on dog-friendly courses for everyone.

Bertie is 4 in December so we are now combining a dual passion of owning a dog and playing golf. So the holiday choice was quite simple, let’s hire a camper van and do somewhere remote and the Shetland Isles came out on top.

The Shetland Isles has three golf courses, one is a 9-holer and they don’t allow dogs so we will move swiftly on.

Shetland Golf Club is just outside the capital Lerwick, it is set in a valley with a sea view at one end of the course. Its 5536 yards with a 68 par. It’s £35 each as a visitor. It is very well maintained and given the time of year (June) it was a lot firmer than our local course in Lancashire. It has a modern clubhouse which to be honest isn’t open most of the time. We played on a Monday and the weather was pretty poor with heavy rain most of the day.

Now Monday, unknown to us, is a big grass cutting day at Shetland Golf course and we could see 6 or 7 ground staff cutting, rolling the greens etc. On arrival spoke to one of these greenkeepers and Bertie was no problem as there were no sheep on the course!!

So off we go waterproofs on, and Bertie wearing his coat!! After a couple of holes one of the staff approached in a big mower having cut some fairway rough down a bit. Now you always think there is a problem as officialdom approaches but far from it. Introduced himself, thanked us for playing the course and gave some balls he had found in the rough. Turns out its members volunteer day and most of the green staff are members of the club and they are doing maintenance. I nearly asked if I could have a go on the mower!!

They are a really friendly club and as we worked our way around the course several of the members stopped us to talk about the club, they have lost their full-time green keeper and are in a gap before the new one arrives. The greens were immaculate and the course in brilliant condition.

Bertie had a great time running about in the wet and he discovered a new game as Cormorants dive bombed him as he was obviously near a nesting area, they would swoop down towards him screaming at him and he would respond by chasing after them.

There is a stream running through the centre of the course with a number of bridges to traverse, Bertie was true to his character and insisted on being carried across every one of them!!

Welcome – Our visit to North Wilts Golf Course was one of the warmest welcomes throughout the day that we have ever received. We saw lots of dogs and asked if they went around the course (we were looking for a poster puppy for this post), but unfortunately, they all just visited the clubhouse with their persons as well as walked around the grounds. But everyone commented how many members did bring their dogs around for a round. We had lots of welcoming chats with various members throughout the day.

Walk – One of the finest aspects of North Wilts is its aspects. Brilliant views of the Cotswold hills that just gets better as the first 5 holes climb higher and higher. But the gradient is quite gradual so it is not exhausting.

Water – The course has no water hazards nor other water sources, but it does circle back to the clubhouse where you can top up on refreshment.

Wildlife – We also didn’t spot much wildlife on the course so no distractions there.

Wind Down – While we enjoyed a bit of 19^th Hole refreshment at North Wilts, we decided to head down the road to the Waggon and Horses pub for a more substantial meal as the sunlight was waning. It was not only dog-friendly, but the dog, Ollie, we sat next to had particularly friendly owners. In fact, we ended up spending most of the meal chatting with them about the area, dogs, and all manner of topics.