SKIBO CASTLE - BADEN BADEN - EDINBURGH - GENEVA - GLENEAGLES - HARROGATE - HAWICK - KELSO - LONDON - MILAN - ST MORITZ - STOW-ON-THE-WOLD - TURNBERRY - ZURICH www.hawico.com competitively with us before really bought into it. We’re delighted that Scottish pro-golfer Sandy Lyle will join us again. Last time we ended up in the hallway of the castle with him at midnight, having putting competitions! It was a real breath of fresh air.’ The Longest Day event on 21 June takes advantage of the daylight hours and the course’s fine closing trio. Golfers and non-golfers head out with glow-in-the-dark balls and one club each from 9pm onwards, with a bar set up on all three tees. Fun inevitably ensues. ‘Last year we had a father and his two daughters, who were not golfers, go out, and at a quarter past midnight they were halfway up the 18th,’ Mackenzie-Smith smiles. ‘But all the members stayed and walked out onto the final green to greet them in. That’s what the event, and golf at Skibo, is all about.’ Skibo’s 2018 golfing events programme will culminate with the annual club match against The Nairn Golf Club, for the Spirit Kettle, on 13-14 October. Again, friendly rivalry outweighs serious competition, and the social programme is somewhat lively in nature. Golf may be a big part of The Carnegie Club, but the Skibo experience is about so much more than that. Whether you’ve been working up an appetite wandering the 8,000-acre estate, expending energy on an exhilarating quad-bike trek, putting your accuracy to the test with a shotgun, or simply indulging yourself in the Skibo Spa, the Clubhouse is there for all to enjoy – it is not just for those who play golf. ‘We wanted to create something that people could use in a 360° way,’ Gruber explains. ‘We also wanted to connect the spaces a little bit better and maximise the views. The sunset to the west is absolutely spectacular as the shadows form over the golf course. We wanted to make the most of these views from wherever people were sitting, and this Clubhouse now allows us to do that.’ ‘The castle is spectacular,’ he says in conclusion, ‘and when you bring guests for the first time, that’s Skibo’s wow-factor. But as the membership develops, this Clubhouse is getting used more and more. It’s such a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere that contrasts with, and complements, the castle beautifully.’ ª Above: The Carnegie Links is set among breathtaking scenery to rival the best golf courses in the world – 42 – G O L F T H E C LU B H O U S E I S FO R A L L TO E N J OY – I T I S N OT J U ST FO R T H O S E W H O P L AY G O L F