Another Place, The Machrie sits on the south-west corner of Islay, an island off Scotland’s west coast best known for its smoky single malts. On one side is the seven-mile beach at Laggan Bay, and on the other is open peat moorland. Golf has been played here since 1891, when Willie Campbell, the Scot who also designed The Country Club in Brookline, laid out a course famous for its blind shots. At one point it had 17 of them.

Former European Tour player DJ Russell rebuilt the course between 2013 and 2018. He kept the holes that cross the dunes but removed most of the guesswork, and he raised several holes onto higher ground so you see far more of the ocean, especially on the front nine. The result is a proper links that plays past 7,000 yards from the tips. The fairways are generous and the bunkers fewer than you’d expect. Drive out of position, though, and you’ll often face a blind approach into big, rolling greens surrounded by run-offs and hollows. Keeping the ball low and using the ground usually works better than flying it at the flag. The par-4 12th, The Battery, plays from an elevated tee straight out toward the Atlantic and is the hole most people remember.

The hotel has just under 50 rooms, suites and lodges, ranging from compact standard rooms to the four-poster Islay Room. Some ground-floor rooms open straight onto the course.

• 18 Restaurant: a first-floor dining room under a glass roof, with a terrace over the final green. It’s strong on local seafood, including Loch Gruinart oysters.
• After your round: an outdoor sauna and hot tubs, a small spa, a gym and a screening room.
• Nearby: the Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg distilleries are all a short drive along the coast.