Scottish golf buggy policy: what Scottish Golf and the links courses allow

Scottish Golf's policy covers its championships, not your round

Scottish Golf publishes a Transportation Policy, and the version on its site when this guide was written is dated January 2023. It describes itself as the policy in force at championships Scottish Golf runs. It is not a rule for clubs, and it says so: other associations and clubs wanting a policy of their own are told to take separate legal advice rather than adopt it wholesale.

So the answer for a round at a Scottish club, member or visitor, comes from that club's own policy. The Scottish Golf document matters to golfers entering its championships, and it is useful to clubs as an example of how a governing body words a buggy request process, but it does not decide whether you can take a buggy out on a Tuesday afternoon.

What Scottish Golf asks for in its championships

Walking is a term of Scottish Golf competitions unless a member of the committee permits a buggy, and a breach carries the penalty set out in Model Local Rule G-6. To be permitted, a player, or in some events a caddie or third party, needs a valid medical certificate confirming a disability within the meaning of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, completed by a registered GP or consultant. The request goes in by the entry closing date, and written permission is needed at least 14 days before play, or on the day where advance permission was not possible.

The certificate attached to the policy asks the doctor for the principal diagnosis, the symptoms and the likely duration of the condition, and it states that any fee for completing it is the player's to pay. That is a real difference from England Golf's 2026 policy for its own events, which starts from self-certification and asks for medical evidence only where proportionate.

Permission comes with conditions. The committee may require the buggy not to exceed walking pace, the buggy is for the player and their equipment unless a driver has been approved, public highways and pavements are off limits, and a copy of the insurance certificate goes to Scottish Golf before use. A refusal has to come with reasons and can be appealed within five working days, with a same-day urgent procedure at the competition itself. Our guide to golf buggies in competitions sets the Scottish and English processes side by side.

The Equality Act applies north of the border as well

The Equality Act 2010 covers Great Britain, so a Scottish club has the same duty as an English one to make reasonable adjustments for disabled golfers, and Scottish Golf's policy states that it is written in accordance with the Act. England Golf's detailed guidance for clubs, updated in September 2025, is addressed to English affiliated clubs, but the legal duty it is built on does not stop at the border.

In practice that means a Scottish club refusing a buggy to a golfer who cannot walk the course should be able to explain why, on grounds of safety or the ground rather than habit. It does not mean every course must allow buggies everywhere. Some ground genuinely cannot carry a vehicle safely, which is the subject of our guide to buggy access on links and hillside courses.

What the championship links say about buggies

For the courses visitors build a Scottish trip around, the arrangements are set out on each venue's own website. The list below is what those official pages said when we checked them in September 2026. Numbers, fees and seasons change from year to year, so treat it as a guide to what to ask rather than a confirmation of what you will get.

• Carnoustie Golf Links: buggies for registered disabled golfers only, two available on a first come, first served basis, with a driver required because of the set-up of the course. They are booked in advance by email with documentation, personal buggies are not permitted, and a buggy booking is not guaranteed to carry over if the tee time moves.
• Kingsbarns Golf Links: buggies reserved solely for golfers who can provide a medical certificate, driven by a caddie, so a caddie fee is payable on top of the buggy fee.
• Royal Dornoch Golf Club: buggies only for medical reasons, with a medical certificate and a driving licence required, reserved through the office before arrival.
• Royal Troon Golf Club: a limited number of buggies for golfers with a valid medical certificate.
• Trump Turnberry: on the Ailsa, buggies need a valid medical certificate and must be driven by a caddie. On the King Robert the Bruce course, buggies may be hired and driven by the golfer. Availability is seasonal and should be confirmed in advance.
• North Berwick Golf Club: the West Links' undulating terrain is described as unsuitable for buggies, with trolleys and caddies offered instead.

Why a caddie so often drives

The caddie-driven buggy is the detail that surprises visitors most, and Carnoustie's page gives the reason in plain terms: the driver is required because of the set-up of the course. Routes between greens and tees on old links ground can be narrow, run close to other holes and cross fragile turf, and somebody who drives that route every week knows where a buggy can go and where it cannot.

For the golfer it changes three things. A caddie fee is payable, even where the buggy itself costs little or nothing. The caddie has to be booked as well as the buggy, and both are in short supply in the busy months. And a friend cannot simply take the wheel, because the arrangement is built around a driver the venue has approved.

Resort courses with a second or third layout are often more relaxed. Turnberry's King Robert the Bruce course, where golfers may drive themselves, is an example of a venue drawing a different line on a different course, which is why it is worth asking about every course on an itinerary rather than assuming one answer covers a resort.

Documents to sort out before you travel

Visitors from outside Scotland, and from outside the UK, tend to find out at the desk that a buggy needed paperwork sent weeks earlier. Venues that hold only two or a handful of buggies allocate them in advance, and they want the evidence before they commit one.

There is no national medical certificate for ordinary play. What venues usually want is a letter from a doctor confirming that you cannot walk the course. Our guide to medical exemptions explains what such a letter should say and why it rarely needs a diagnosis, although Scottish Golf's own championship form does ask for one.

• Ask each venue what evidence it accepts, and in what form, when you book the tee time.
• Send the documents when you book rather than bringing them on the day.
• Ask whether a caddie must drive, and book the caddie at the same time.
• Bring a driving licence, which Royal Dornoch lists as a requirement.
• Ask what happens to the buggy booking if the tee time changes.
• Keep copies on paper and on your phone for every course on the trip.

Club golf in Scotland: members, competitions and conditions

Away from the championship links, most Scottish golf is played at member clubs whose buggy policies look much like those anywhere else in Britain. The questions are the same: who may drive, how a golfer who cannot walk gains access, who closes the course to buggies in wet or frosty weather, and whether private buggies are allowed.

Club competitions follow the club's own terms, not Scottish Golf's championship policy. Where a committee adopts Model Local Rule G-6 to prohibit riding, the terms should explain how a golfer who needs a buggy is authorised, and the request should go in writing well before the entry closes.

Inland courses in the Scottish winter meet the same ground problems as courses further south, often for longer. A club that publishes a daily course status, whether as a traffic light board or a simple notice, saves everybody a wasted drive, and it is the first thing to check before setting out.

Planning a society or corporate day in Scotland

For a group, the constraint on a championship links is the policy itself rather than the number of buggies. A course that keeps its buggies for golfers with a medical certificate will not open them to a whole society, and no supplier can change that. Where a group needs buggies for most of its players, a parkland or resort course that permits them is the place to hold the day.

At a club that does allow brought-in buggies, the club's agreement on numbers, routes and conditions comes first, and a supplier works to it. If you are arranging a golf day at a venue that permits hired buggies, tell us the venue, the date and how many are needed and we can confirm whether we can serve it and quote.

Common questions

Can you use a golf buggy at Carnoustie?

Only as a registered disabled golfer, according to Carnoustie's official green fees page when checked in September 2026. Two buggies are available on a first come, first served basis, a driver is required, and they are booked in advance by email with documentation. Personal buggies are not permitted.

Do Scottish links courses allow buggies?

Some do, usually for golfers with a medical certificate and often with a caddie driving. Others, such as North Berwick's West Links, say their terrain is unsuitable. Check the venue's own website and book the buggy with the tee time.

Does Scottish Golf's buggy policy apply to club competitions?

No. It applies at championships Scottish Golf runs. Clubs set their own terms for their own competitions, and the policy itself says other associations and clubs should take their own advice on a policy of their own.

Do I need a medical certificate to use a buggy in Scotland?

For Scottish Golf's championships, yes, completed by a registered GP or consultant. For ordinary play it depends on the club. Several championship links ask for one, and Royal Dornoch also asks for a driving licence.

Can I bring my own buggy to a Scottish golf course?

Ask before you travel. Carnoustie does not permit personal buggies, and many clubs allow only their own fleet. Where a club does agree, expect to be asked about insurance and to follow the same restrictions as the club's own buggies.

Can I drive the buggy myself at Kingsbarns or Turnberry?

Not at Kingsbarns or on Turnberry's Ailsa, where a caddie drives. Turnberry's King Robert the Bruce course allows golfers to hire and drive a buggy themselves, subject to seasonal availability.