# Golf in Edinburgh: the Scottish capital and the East Lothian links > Edinburgh is the base for the East Lothian links, strung along the Firth of Forth 35 to 45 minutes' drive east of the city: Muirfield, home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and sixteen times host of the Open, Gullane No.1, North Berwick's West Links and Craigielaw. Golfers come to play great links by day and enjoy a city of stone by night. The best season runs from May to September. - Golf guide • Scotland • Lothian - Airport: Edinburgh (EDI), 30 min transfer - Ideal stay: 4–6 nights - Best season: May – September - Updated 11 October 2026 - URL: https://www.golftripplanner.fr/en/destinations/scotland/edinburgh/ Edinburgh rises in tiers between two volcanic outcrops, the Castle Rock and Arthur's Seat, above the Firth of Forth. It is also a city of ancient golf: the Royal Burgess Golfing Society, founded in 1735, and the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society, founded in 1761, still play a few kilometres from the centre; the former began on the Bruntsfield Links, south of the Old Town, before moving to Musselburgh. The great golf, though, lies to the east. Along some fifteen kilometres of coast between Aberlady and North Berwick, East Lothian lines up some of the oldest links in the world, Muirfield, Gullane and North Berwick, and a more recent one, Craigielaw. The ground is sandy, the grass fine and tight, and the wind changes direction from one day to the next. Allow 35 to 45 minutes by car from central Edinburgh, depending on the course and the traffic. A stay therefore falls into two parts: mornings on the links, evenings in the capital, between the medieval Old Town and the Georgian streets of the New Town. Four to six nights let you play three or four courses without rushing and keep a day for the city. ## The courses ### Muirfield Architect: Old Tom Morris; Harry Colt (1925) · Opened 1891 · 18 holes · Par 71 Muirfield is the course of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, whose earliest records date from 1744, when its members played at Leith. The club moved here in 1891 to a layout by Old Tom Morris, redesigned by Harry Colt in 1925. A rare feature: the front nine runs clockwise around the edge of the property, the back nine anticlockwise inside it, so the wind keeps changing angle. Sixteen Opens have been played here. Landing areas are visible and bunkers rarely hidden: a demanding but fair links, for accomplished players. Signature hole: The 11th is the only hole where the driving zone is hidden from the tee: everywhere else, as the club points out, you can see where you are playing. Official website: https://www.muirfield.org.uk/the-course/ ### Gullane No.1 Opened 1884 · 18 holes Golf has been played on the Gullane links since the 18th century; the club, founded in 1882, runs three courses there, and No.1, laid out in 1884 by an architect whose name has been lost, is the most celebrated. It sets off from the village, climbs Gullane Hill, then comes back down towards the sea. From the 7th tee, the highest point, the view sweeps 360 degrees over East Lothian, Edinburgh and the Fife coast. The Scottish Open was played here in 2015, won by Rickie Fowler. A links with real elevation, hillier than most, open to visitors of all levels through online booking, for those happy to walk. Signature hole: The 13th, a par 3 with a green set into the slope, is played in front of a row of Second World War anti-tank blocks, just behind the green of the 12th, a par 5 running along Gullane Bents beach. Official website: https://gullanegolfclub.com/gullane-no-1/ ### North Berwick West Links 18 holes · Par 71 Founded in 1832, North Berwick Golf Club plays on links where the ball has been struck since the 17th century. The West Links runs along the Firth of Forth, the sea comes into play on six holes and the beach is a hazard. Low stone walls, relics of the course's history, cross the fairways and bar the entrance to some greens. Offshore, the Bass Rock and the island of Craigleith serve as markers. It is a course of imagination rather than power, which has hosted Open Final Qualifying and will delight anyone who loves golf from before the age of the architects. Signature hole: The 15th, Redan, a par 3 of about 190 yards, has been copied on many courses around the world, notably by Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor in the United States. Official website: https://www.northberwickgolfclub.com/the_west_links ### Craigielaw Golf Club Architect: Donald Steel · Opened 2001 · 18 holes · Par 71 Opened in 2001 on land belonging to Wemyss & March Estates, less than a kilometre west of Aberlady, Craigielaw is the coast's modern links, designed by Donald Steel. The ground rolls gently, burns and old stone walls cross the course, and the firm, contoured greens demand a good reading of the ground. The back nine is stiffer than the front, from the 11th, Quarry Park, a 540-yard par 5. The clubhouse looks out over the sea and the Fife coast. It is the closest of the four to Edinburgh, about 35 minutes away, and a good warm-up. Official website: https://www.craigielawgolfclub.com/golf/the-course/ **Concierge tip:** Muirfield welcomes visitors only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, excluding public holidays. Requests are made by email to the club when the following season's calendar opens in spring, and summer fills up very quickly. The 36-hole format combines a fourball in the morning, lunch in the clubhouse and foursomes in the afternoon: book it if you can. ## Where to stay ### The Balmoral Opened in 1902 as the North British Railway's hotel above Waverley station, The Balmoral stands at No. 1 Princes Street: house tartan, Scottish art and a whisky bar of more than 500 malts. A detail few notice: the clock in its tower runs three minutes fast so that no one misses a train, except at Hogmanay. Ask for a room facing the castle; the train to North Berwick leaves right below. ### Market Street Hotel Built on a plot left empty for half a century, Market Street Hotel pairs pale and dark stone, matched to the Old Town's sandstone, with Scottish-Scandinavian interiors. Reception is on the seventh floor, beside Nor' Loft, the champagne lounge above the rooftops: go up at sunrise. For the view, avoid the Artist's Vista rooms on the lower floors, which face the street. ## Where to dine ### The Kitchin Opened in 2006 by Tom and Michaela Kitchin in a former bonded whisky warehouse on the Leith quayside, The Kitchin won its Michelin star in 2007 and has held it since. French technique, Scottish produce delivered daily, meat and fish butchered in-house. Ask for a table facing the glass window onto the kitchen. Closed Sunday and Monday: keep it for a weeknight, after Muirfield on a Tuesday or Thursday. ### Fishers in Leith On the Shore at Leith, in a seventeenth-century watchtower, the same family has served Scottish fish since 1991, now in its third generation. Come for the house fish soup, Loch Creran oysters and Shetland mussels. Ask for the small round room by the bar, or a table outside by the water; the kitchen serves every day until 9.30pm, handy when you are back from the links. ## Beyond golf ### The castle and the Old Town Edinburgh Castle stands on the Castle Rock, an ancient volcano inhabited since at least the Iron Age; it was a royal residence until 1633 and holds the Honours of Scotland, the crown jewels. In August its esplanade hosts the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, staged during the festivals since 1950. The Royal Mile then runs down from the castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. ### Arthur's Seat and the galleries A little over a mile and a half east of the castle, Arthur's Seat rises to 251 metres in the heart of Holyrood Park; the easiest climb starts from Dunsapie Loch, and the view takes in the whole city and the Forth. On The Mound, the National Gallery, designed by William Henry Playfair and opened in 1859, covers European and Scottish art from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. ### North Berwick and the Bass Rock After a round on the West Links, stay on in North Berwick: the Scottish Seabird Centre, on the harbour, streams live footage of the Bass Rock's gannet colony, whose whiteness is visible from the shore. Sea permitting, boats circle the islands. Five kilometres to the east, the ruins of 14th-century Tantallon Castle crown the cliff. ## When to go The season runs from May to September: long days around June, mild temperatures, firm and running links. August is the month of the festivals and the Tattoo: hotels are then in great demand, so book well ahead or choose another month. April and October play well on these fast-draining sandy soils, with fewer people but shorter, cooler days. Winter remains playable, with wind and sometimes temporary greens. ## Getting there Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is 9 kilometres west of the centre, about 30 minutes by road. From the city, allow 35 to 45 minutes to Aberlady, Gullane or North Berwick; a little more from the airport. A direct train line links Waverley with North Berwick, handy for the West Links, but a car with driver remains the simplest way to string the courses together. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best golf course near Edinburgh? Muirfield, at Gullane, is the most famous: sixteen Opens have been played there. Gullane No.1 and North Berwick's West Links are the other great links on the East Lothian coast, 35 to 45 minutes from the centre. ### Can you play Muirfield as a visitor? Yes, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, excluding public holidays. Requests are made by email to the club when the following season's calendar opens, and summer dates go very quickly. ### How long does it take to drive from Edinburgh to the East Lothian courses? About 35 minutes to Craigielaw, 40 minutes to Gullane and Muirfield and 45 minutes to North Berwick, depending on traffic. North Berwick is also served by train from Waverley. ### Are there golf courses in the city of Edinburgh? Yes. The Royal Burgess Golfing Society, founded in 1735, plays at Barnton, less than eight kilometres from the centre and the airport, and the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society, founded in 1761, about five kilometres away. The great links, however, are in East Lothian. ### When is the best time to play golf near Edinburgh? From May to September for long days and firm links. April and October are quieter, and August, the festival month, means booking your hotel very early. ## Your golf trip: Edinburgh Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you. https://www.golftripplanner.fr/en/#contact