|
a
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
|
a |
||||||
|
— Center of the Golfing Universe — |
||||||
|
- |
|
|
|
|
Gullane Golf Club Photos |
|
|
The south shoreline of Scotland’s storied Firth of Forth extends east from Edinburgh 30 miles or so to St. Baldred’s Boat where the sea cliffs and the ruined Tantallon Castle mark the Firth’s merger with the fierce North Sea. Offshore stands the sentinel Bass Rock, a sedimentary buoy warning shipping of their departure from friendlier waters of the firth. The north coast of East Lothian county has not always been much friendlier than the North Sea. Here the intrigues of Scottish clans helped lose Scotland its independence from England, and then win Scotland kings the very |
|
|
throne of the United Kingdom. East of Edinburgh the coast is littered with sandy wastes, dunesland that supported no crops and was too lose and shifty to support habitation. Like the dunesland along the north coast of the Firth of Forth in the Kingdom of Fife, the dunes of East Lothian attrac-ted competitive Scots at leisure, racing horses and playing the new game of golf. Golf history runs deep here — some believe deeper here than at St. Andrews on the Fife coast — with three storied courses along the coast: Musselburgh (1567? 1672? 1836?), Muirfield (1891), and North Berwick (1832). |
|
The coastal village of Gullane, population under 2,500, owes its very existence to its sandy perch. The sandstorms and erosion that might otherwise drive away residents has blessed Gullane with the ideal setting for old-style (true) links golf. Locals insist Gullane has witnessed golf on its dunesland for over three centuries. Its first golf club organized in the early years of the 19th century and its first club maintained course on Gullane sands in 1882. |
|
|
|
The sands at Gullane are broad and extend inland, not unlike those across the firth at St. Andrews. And, like St. Andrews, Gullane can support multiple courses on its extensive dunesland. The Gullane Golf Club of 1882 laid out their Number 1 course in 1884. The club hired golf legend Willie Park Jr. to design Gullane’s Number 2 in 1898, incorporating seven holes of the defunct Old Luffness golf course. Club members and the club greens keeper designed Gullane Number 3 in 1910. Meanwhile, the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (1744) moved its club course from Musselburgh Old Links to a new private course on the Gullane sands called Muirfield, built by another golf legend Old |
|
Tom Morris in 1891. And Luffness New Golf Club’s 18 hole links also occupies prime Gullane dunesland. From the high point of Gullane Course Number 1 — the 7th hole atop Gullane Hill — the landscape is surveyed with numbered flags stretching from the edge of town to the firth. This densely developed dunesland rivals any place along the Ayrshire or Fife coasts as the ground zero of Golf Scotland. |
|
|
THE COURSES:
Although Course #1 is the senior venue at Gullane, and the one that has
held the most important professional, amateur, and Open qualifying
tournaments, each of the three links courses at Gullane has its strong
merits and its enthusiastic supporters. All share the same basic
landscape, of course, and, therefore, the same natural challenges and
hazards, especially strong sea breezes, frequent rainfall, deep pot
bunkers, unplayable gorse bushes, narrow, rumpled fairways, and tricky
greens. Rare for true links courses, all three courses at Gullane are
hilly, adding the challenge of uphill, downhill, and side hill shots.
None of the courses is especially long, and none is made more
complicated by water or trees. Still, each of Gullane’s three courses
has its own distinctive character. Here’s a brief synopsis of each: |
|
|
|
GULLANE #1: On its way uphill to the 200-foot-high-point tee at the 7th hole (“Queen’s Head”), golfers must negotiate the par-5 3rd hole, probably the signature hole at Gullane. The course has seen dozens of important championships, and normally hosts the Final Open Qualifier tourney whenever the British Open is held at neighboring |
|
Muirfield. In windy conditions—often the case here on its hillside coastal perch—even the best golfers find #1 a great challenge. |
|
| GULLANE #2: Short, open, hilly, and treacherous, #2 offers only three par-4s extending 400 yards or more. The only course at Gullane with an architectural pedigree, Musselburgh’s Willie Park Jr. laid out #2 at the turn of the twentieth century, and Frank Pennick tweaked Park’s design 70 years later. Its modest length (6,244 |
|
|
yards) is a challenge here in a gale. A clue: the par-4 3rd hole measures only 237 yards. |
|
|
|
GULLANE #3: Shorter still, at 5,252 yards, #3 offers only one par-4 longer than 400 yards (but it’s a doozy, the exposed 450-yards-long 10th), and only one par-5, the 443-yard 14th. In many ways, this course is a condensed version of its longer neighbors. Expect even tighter fairways, and greens as slippery and fast as #s 1 & 2. |
THE REGION: The East Lothian Coast offers more than golf. There are fishing villages, castles, and beaches strewn along the coast. And, just a few minutes away is Edinburgh with all its attractions and shopping.
 |
LENGTH &
PAR:
•
Gullane
#1:
White Tees:
6,548 yds, par 71, SSS 72
Yellow Tees:
6,077 yds, par 71, SSS 70
Ladies’ Tees:
5,875 yds, par 74
•
Gullane #2:
White Tees:
6,385 yds, par 71, SSS 70
Yellow Tees:
5,976 yds, par 71, SSS 69
Ladies’ Tees: 5,566 yds, par 73
•
Gullane #3:
White Tees:
5,259 yds, par 68, SSS 66
Ladies’ Tees: 4,920 yds, par 69
Course
Location:
West end of Gullane village, 18 miles east of Edinburgh on the A198, the
Edinburgh to North Berwick Road.
GREEN FEES:
• Gullane #1:
Mo-Fr:
£93/round; Sa-Su: £108/round.
Maximum Handicap for
#1 only: Men-24, Ladies-30.
•
Gullane #2:
Mo-Fr:
£47/round; Sa-Su: £52/round.
•
Gullane #3:
Mo-Fr:
£30/round; Sa-Su: £36/round.
Note:
There are also special prices for day rates per course, combined day rates for
any two courses, and golf + meals packages. See the course web site for details.
FACILITIES:
•
Visitors’ Clubhouse with bar & dining room
•
Members Clubhouse with bar & dining accessible to visitors playing #1
•
Practice Area
•
Pro Shop
•
Heritage of Golf Museum next to the Pro Shop
Visitors Welcome Year Round.
See course
web site for special winter rates and packages.
RESERVATIONS
strongly suggested. Reserve a tee time:
Tel: +44 (0)1620 842 255
Email:
bookings@gullanegolfclub.com
Web Site:
www.gullanegolfclub.com/visitor_info/142/
Or, have
HOME AT
FIRST
reserve your tee times at Gullane as part of your trip to Scotland. There is no
extra charge for this service.
Nearest Home At First
Lodging Locations:
•
In
EDINBURGH,
18 miles or 35 minutes west of Gullane
by car.
•
By Melrose in the
SCOTTISH BORDERS,
about 42 miles or
60 minutes south Gullane by car.
•
Near
ST. ANDREWS
north of Gullane across the Firth of
Forth, about 75 miles or 90 minutes away by car.
•
In
CENTRAL SCOTLAND
90-120 minutes northwest of
Edinburgh and 2-2½ hours drive from Gullane by car.
TRAVELING TO SCOTLAND TO PLAY GOLF?
Let Home
At First make your advance tee-times at
Gullane Golf Club and many other Scottish
golf courses as part of your pre-reserved Scottish trip
itinerary. There’s no extra charge for this service.
MORE RESOURCES:
• Golf
in Scotland
• Home At First's
SCOTLAND travel program
|
|
|
] |
