Gullane Golf Club Course Review

West Links Road

Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, EH31 2BB

44 (0) 1620 842 255

www.gullanegolfclub.com/

From Golf Courses of the British Isles (1910), Bernard Darwin writes of Gullane “There is probably no other golfing centre that is quite so good as Gullane, in the East Lothian.” He added that the turf there is the “finest, smoothest and most delicate that was ever seen.”

This writer visited a bit later, in 2004, and can report that nowhere has golf seemed so much at home as at Gullane with its three superb courses. (There were only two when Darwin wrote about the area.) Within a span of a few miles are such additional courses as Lufness, Kilspindie, and Craigielaw, not to mention lofty Muirfield and its neighbor at North Berwick. The views from Gullane Hill, especially from the 7th tee on Gullane No. 1, of Aberlady Bay are eye-filling, providing much nourishment for the golfing soul. The eyes travel to Edinburgh, Fife and beyond.

Course No. 1, designed by Willie Park Jr., was built in 1884, in a setting of links grasses, bunkers and sea breezes. It’s third hole has been voted among the worlds top 500 golf holes by Golf Magazine. No. 2 was built in 1898, also by Park Jr., and runs alongside No. 1 for several holes, sweeping down to the nature reserve by Aberlady Bay before returning to the Visitors’ Clubhouse.

No 3., designed by H.S. Colt and built in 1910, is where this writer played, in a hickory match with members of Dirleton Castle Golf Club, founded in 1854, the oldest club in continuous existence playing on Gullane Links. It was a magnificent round, despite one’s own poor play. (Poor Chuck McMullin has the patience of angels.) There are those who come to No. 3 as a last resort, having found tee times scarce on the larger courses around East Lothian. They come thinking they are getting poor seconds, they leave congratulating themselves on the discovery of a superb links that takes the best of all the other courses and packs them neatly within its smaller, and shorter confines. At only 5,252 yards, it is the perfect spot for hickory play. There are strategic bunkers to avoid, the characteristic fast putting surfaces, and conditioning the equal of its two larger brothers. The first three and the final three holes play on the east side of the A198 road. The remaining holes traverse the south side of Gullane Hill. The fifth tee offers views from the top of Gullane Hill that bring into light the great bay and distant views of the land beyond the Firth, including the golfing lands of Levin, Lundin, and Elie.

Said one course reviewer:

“There is only one par five on the card – even that is only 443 yards long – and of the five par threes, the pick of these is the 176-yard 15th hole which plays back down Gullane Hill to a green way below tee level near one of the opening holes on No.2 course. It is a genuinely thrilling way to finish an excursion up, over and around the hill that began a couple of hours earlier.”

This current review is, of necessity, brief. Do what you can to learn about the courses of East Lothian and the Gullane area. The experience of Gullane, the town, the people, restaurants and shops, will always bring pleasant memories. It is a beautiful area, the fresh air, sea and golf courses conspiring to lift the spirits. A visit to the golf courses of East Lothian should be on every hickory golfer’s “bucket list.”

A book recommendation – Playing Through – A Year of Life and Links Along the Scottish Coast by Curtis Gillespie (2002, Three Rivers Press/Random House). This delightful volume by Canadian writer Curt Gillespie follows his family as they take up residence in Gullane for a year. Along the way, Gillespie meets up and befriends Archie Baird, learns about golf history, and provides a friendly, intimate look at this wonderful town and its inhabitants. There’s lots of golf, too. Good read and excellent look at Gullane.

The website of the Gullane Golf Club provides yardage, visitor information, and a history of the courses.