This 12 hole course next to Edinburgh airport feels like what you would build if you could afford your own golf course
Round £17.50. Par 70. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 64.4/111. Value (out of 5) – 5
Gogarburn golf course is located very close to both Edinburgh airport and the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS was around the year 2000 the “largest bank in the world”, but infamously came tumbling down as part of the 2008 Global Banking Crisis, triggered by the ‘unknown’ amount of sub-prime mortgages held on its books. Iain Martin’s excellent book “Making it Happen: Fred Goodwin, RBS and the Men Who Blew Up the British Economy” exposes the excesses of bankers which contributed to the crisis.
I mention this, because when I played Gogarburn, a quite delightful 12 hole course, it felt like it would be the sort of ‘spending excess’ that Fred Goodwin, the RBS CEO, would have built in his back garden. I was a bit disappointed to find it had never been owned by RBS, but I still strongly suspect that Fred must have tried to buy it at some point, as he was a great lover of golf and used the banks money to sponsor his golfing hero, Jack Nicklaus.
The golf course sits on the former 18th century Hanley Estate grounds, which had been in use as a hospital since 1948, and was actually created by some local hospital workers for their own leisure in 1977 with 9 holes, then extended in 1983 to the current 12 hole layout. So it wasn’t only bankers that overstepped their work boundaries!
The course is laid out in very mature and varied parkland, and has a clever layout, whereby 18 holes are played in competitions by using holes 6 through 8 once, and all the others twice. It would make for a lovely and easy walk for non playing partners.
Its not long, as the slope index would suggest, but it has some narrow channels to drive through, so don’t be fooled otherwise you’ll really rack up some big scores. Take hybrid or irons off the tee, or drive straight.
Some of the short par 4s are technically drivable, but are cleverly protected by very narrow green entrances between bunkers. For example, the 259 yard, par four 3rd hole, has only nine yards between the greenside bunkers – although the ‘easiest’ hole, you need to take care. The greenside bunkering, with excellent sand, is one of the good features of this course.
My round of 50, 7 over par, was made up of 5 pars and 7 bogies. I played very well and really enjoyed playing this course; not because of my score, but because of the all round condition and layout.
It’s brilliant value, especially at the discounted rate I paid of only £13 using the ClubV1 booking system; it’s still 5 star value at the £17.50 rack rate. A good place to practice your wedge game, but don’t get complacent. Overseas visitors might try and use it to overcome jet lag!
Course Type: Parkland
Par 43 (7 par 4s, 5 par 3s)
Distance: 3031 (yellow)
Moly’s Gross score: 50
