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 websiteGullane No.1
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 websiteNorth Berwick West Links
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 websiteCraigielaw 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
