Scottish weather tends to vary somewhat depending on the region, and as the old Scottish saying goes, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes!” So even though Scotland isn’t blessed with year-round sunshine and tropical temperature, that doesn’t mean to say that, the weather gets in the way of having a great golfing holiday.
Generally speaking, the east coast of Scotland tends to be cool and dry, while the west coast is often a slight bit milder and wetter. Importantly for golfers though, if it does indeed rain, given Scotland’s ever-changing weather patterns, chances are that it will not last long.
Your best chances of fine golfing weather are in May, June and September, with July and August usually warm, but possibly wet as well when the average monthly rainfall is at its highest.
It is generally warm between May and September (15° to 22°C), with July and August normally the warmest months in Scotland, with temperatures averaging 19°C. It grows increasingly cooler from October through January (5° to 7°C), with temperatures getting milder again from February onwards. It’s generally a few degrees cooler in Scotland than in England because of the hilly terrain and the Atlantic Ocean.
Daylight hours are long in the summer, with the sun setting around 11pm in the Shetland Islands and even Edinburgh evenings seemingly last forever in June and July. Come December though, daylight hours are much shorter, with the sun not showing its face until after 9am, and descending below the horizon as early as 4pm.
