Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club

Kilmarnock (Barassie) Golf Club is to be found on the outskirts of Troon, Ayrshire , on the west coast of Scotland and has been offering the golfer a magnificent links golf challenge for over an hundred years. Formed as Ossington Golf Club in 1887, the first course was at Holmes Farm in Kilmarnock. The Club quickly became Kilmarnock Golf Club. The club moved to Barassie in the 1890s.

The town of Kilmarnock boasts a proud sporting heritage with some of the oldest football, rugby, cricket and bowling clubs in Scotland and the UK. It is therefore unsurprising that one of the country's most well known clubs originated there. (See Kilmarnock FC ; Kilmarnock RFC)

The course itself is a Open Championship Final Qualifying venue with a well deserved reputation for some of the best maintained greens in Scotland. The club has undergone considerable changes over the past few years and not only has twenty seven holes with which to test the golfer but also has much improved facilities in the clubhouse and professional's shop.

The additional nine holes are part of the championship course and have added a different dimension to Barassie with a Par of 72 and a Standard Scratch of 74. The course measures at just under 7000 yards and the new holes provide some wonderful challenges perhaps no more so than the par 3 fourth hole or the quirky double dog leg par 5 eighth.

The course is tough, but is typically what Scottish Links golf is about - large undulating greens, deep bunkers and doglegs. The course has generated some excellent publicity in recent years having been host for the British Amateur Championships in June 2001 along with Prestwick Golf Club and played host to the European Youths Championships the previous year. The Open Championship at Royal Troon in 2004 saw Barassie play host to the Junior Open Championship

Well known members include Alan Bruce, Jim Milligan and Gordon Sherry who played in successful Walker Cup teams and Alan Reid who was the Scottish Amateur Strokeplay Champion. Milligan was Scottish Amateur Champion in 1988 whilst Sherry was The Amateur Champion in 1995. Alasdair Watt was Scottish Amateur runner up in 1987, losing to one Colin Montgomerie of Royal Troon Golf Club. John Montgomerie won the Scottish Amateur in the 1950s.As well as being Scottish Club Champions, Barassie have also been European Club Champions in the 1990s.