Scotland Golf Bible

A guide to green fee value for money

Category: Edinburgh & The Lothians (Page 3 of 7)

126. Haddington. 24 Sep 2021

March 15, 2022 /

You’ll need your best putting game on the excellent greens

Round £55. Par 71. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 69.3/124. Value (out of 5) – 3

The town of Haddington, lies just off the A1, about 17 miles east of Edinburgh, and is very easily accessed. At the heart of East Lothian, Haddington is likely to be a popular venue to stay if on a golfing holiday to play the many world class golf courses on the self proclaimed “Golf Coast”, home to Muirfield and Gullane to name but two.

Moly playing the challenging par three 16th hole – take 2 more clubs than the distance, to get up the hill, plus there is little danger over the back of the green.

So if you’re planning to visit the area, should Haddington be on the play list?

First thing to say is that for a course, or rather club, founded in 1865 and claiming to be the “19th oldest course in the world”, no mention of the course architect can be found.

We found the greens very slick at Haddington, here the large green at the par three 10th.

The course is set in the nice mature parkland of Amisfield Park, much of it still walled, with some spectacular trees; it is a place with a wide and rich history, ranging from a Medieval Cistercian nunnery, through to playing a part in the Jacobean rebellion, the Napoleonic war and both world wars. The former grand Amisfield House is long gone, but its sandstone was, interestingly, used to build Longniddry Golf Course clubhouse. The park’s boundary to the north is the River Tyne, but the river doesn’t play a part on the course.

The short par three 4th, showing the mature parkland setting of Haddington.

The town of Haddington is relatively small with a population of 10,000, but in the “high middle ages” (AD 1000 – 1250) it was the fourth most significant Scottish city. So its glory days are long gone – that seems fitting in that the golf course is also a minor player in the Lothians. It’s Okay, but priced too high in my opinion.

Fran tees off at the 6th at Haddington – a par 4 of 375 yards (yellow)

The condition of the course was very mixed. The greens and fairways were very good, but the tees were terrible, other than the red ladies tees. The greens were also very large, and coupled with the fast speed, led for a real challenge to avoid 3 putting. The fairways, were wide and forgiving, but there are some excellently placed fairway bunkers, that need to be navigated.

The nice fairways at Haddington, here shown at the 9th, a par four of 329 yards (yellow)

In extremely high winds, I struggled to a gross 107, for 21 stableford points (from a playing HCP of 16). This included a birdie 3 at the long par four second hole, measuring 421 yards from the yellow – the wind was strongly behind of course! In total I lost 5 balls, never nice!

The approach to the par four 15th at Haddington, again showing the mature setting.

Haddington, is in summary over-priced in my opinion, and not worth prioritising in a Lothian golfing trip. The clubhouse building is also rather run down.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 72 (2 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 3 par 3s)

Distance: 6038

Moly’s Gross score: 107

Wind played havoc with Moly’s game, finishing with a 107, including a 10 at the last.

125. Gifford. 23 Sep 2021.

March 15, 2022 /

Like a roller coaster that leaves you wanting to get straight back on.

Round £25. Par 34. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 34.1/127. Value (out of 5) – 4

I can’t imaging many golfers not wanting to be a member of Gifford Golf Club. This easy walking nine hole course in the delightful and upmarket village of Gifford in East Lothian has an alluring appeal. No sooner than finished the ninth you’ll want to go straight back on – just like a great roller coaster, that you see kids jumping back in the queue time after time.

Moly driving at the very tough par four 6th hole at Gifford.

I imagine there’s been quite a few people have gone round here at least 4 times on a summer day – I wonder what the record for most times played in a day is? This is no easy course though. The Slope of 127 will tell you that.

It was designed in 1904 and by all accounts has not changed much since being laid out. It has by all account only had 4 greenkeepers in the nearly 120 years of its existence; that would explain the excellent all round condition including the greens which were quite varied and all challenging.

The second hole, a par 4 of around 350 yards, at Gifford is typical of the challenges awaiting.

Despite searching, I couldn’t find the architect, but I imagine it was a top designer given how well the course flows, the excellent hole framing and the variety of challenges presented.

The course starts with three holes played out into the prevailing wind – the first, a well bunkered par 3, one of only two par 3s on the course, needs enough club as the danger is all at the front. The second, although a relatively short par 4, is a difficult hole, where the approach shot into the green, is played over a small burn, and is difficult to judge – trust your distance device here. The third, is the SI 9 hole and is the only ‘easy’ hole on the course – I got a ‘blob’.

The excellent par four 7th, here showing the great condition of the teeing ground – a sure fire measure of greenkeeping excellence.

The remainder of the holes constantly change direction, making for great variety depending on the wind. Set in open and undulating countryside, you are exposed to the elements, so wind will normally be a dominating feature playing here.

I found the challenge of the wind when I played a little too difficult and I scored a 48, 14 over par, thereby using all my handicap on the “first” nine holes. There are a couple of the holes, which have significant alternative tees, to enable a “back” nine to be played, albeit I never consider this anything other than 9 holes. It would be like classifying different tee boxes as constituting a different hole.

The good greens at Gifford, here shown at the par four 5th.

The clubhouse is also delightful and give yourself time for the exquisite but homely baking on offer.

On having a discussion with the very friendly attendant/cook, I found out that many local resident of Gifford village – a very well heeled place – are members of both Gifford and Gullane. Now that does make me envious!

Worth playing Gifford.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 34 (7 par 4s, 2 par 3s) – “front 9”

Distance: 2882

Moly’s Gross score: 48

Moly’s 48 – for 12 stableford points – on this delightful nine hole Gifford course.

123. Melville Golf Centre. 24 Jun 2021.

March 8, 2022 /

Good ‘family friendly’ 9 hole “Pay & Play” course is no ‘pitch ‘n putt’

Round £14.50. Par 32. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 30.0 /98. Value (out of 5) – 3

Look at Melville Golf Centre web site and you would think it is just a ‘Top Tracer’ driving range. However, alongside the ‘family friendly’ range is a nice little 9 hole course that, according to the web site, is built to US PGA Standards. There is no trace of the course architect, unfortunately.

My partner Fran at the 7th with the Pentlands in the background.

The course is only a few miles outside Edinburgh, near the village of Lasswade, not far from the intersection of the A720 Edinburgh bypass and the A7 route to the Borders. It is therefore ideally located to pick up transiting golfers, albeit the range has stiff competition from the nearby Kings Acre golf course.

The tricky 2nd green, a short par four.

Dig a little deeper, and you find that the Melville Golf Centre has attracted EU and Scottish Government funding through an organisation called “Tyne Esk LEADER”, a development vehicle for the ‘River Esk – River Tyne’ region, basically covering The Lothians, which of course is one of the best areas in the world for golf. Why some of this public money should be needed to help develop ‘Family Friendly’ golf, in an area rich in golfing history, with more golf clubs per head than any country in the world, is a sad indictment of the state of Scottish Golf and the lack of funds going from richer clubs back into the grass roots of the game.

The uphill par four 5th hole, which needs good distance judgement with the approach.

Set aside the politics, and Melville Golf Course does indeed provide an excellent setting for introducing people to golf. No frills, and in decent condition, there are a good variety of holes to test the full game. Set in relatively open parkland, you’re not likely to lose too many balls either.

The greens, fairways and tees were all pretty good. Along with great views of the Pentland Hills, from a number of the holes, and this is a handy way to spend a little more than an hour grabbing a very quick game of golf.

The makeshift greenkeeping at the par three 8th hole, with the bricks shoring up the bunker lip:)

The highlights of the course for me, were the tricky uphill par three 3rd, where a difficult club choice awaits, followed by the long par four 4th (SI1), then the uphill par four 5th. Other than these 3 holes, the rest are birdie opportunities for many golfers.

The 4th at Melville, clearly the most difficult hole off yellow (par 4), but a relatively easy par 5, from the white.

This is no ‘pitch ‘n putt’, it’s a nice little course if you have a couple of hours free. I shot 39, seven over the yellow card of 32. This included a 6 at the par four 9th, where after losing my first drive right, my second drive went through the green at 270 yards – it was windy!

Why it attracted EU and Scottish Government money, is blog article for someone else.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 32 (5 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 2057

Moly’s Gross score: 39

Moly’s 39, 7 over par at Melville Golf Course

121. Newbattle. 22 June 2021.

February 24, 2022 /

This oasis might be the cheapest Harry Colt course in the world?

Round £40. Par 69. Course Rating / Slope Rating (yellow) 68.1/127. Value (out of 5) – 5

Drive through Dalkeith, which might appear a bit drab, and through the car park of Newbattle GC and you are met with a graceful parkland layout, with many magnificent trees, that just seems so unexpected. The course is an easy walking affair, other that the 2 holes (2nd and 17th) that play across the river esk valley that sits between the opening and closing holes and the rest of the course. With a substantial club house, this makes Newbattle a great venue for a group or society day out.

The delightful 17th at Newbattle, a par 4, stroke index 4, which must be a formidable match play hole. The River Esk is just visible, and never comes into play.

We know about the genius of some golf course design; the majestic Augusta of Alister McKenzie, the natural beauty and guile of The Old Course, the brutal nature of Pete Dye’s Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. Sometimes though, great golf course design is difficult to put your finger on.

When I played Newbattle, in Dalkeith near Edinburgh, it felt great, not because I played well, not because the weather was nice, but because ‘it just did’. It was almost indescribable why the course flowed so well and that I think is real genius. That was what Harry Colt design can be.

The very well bunkered par three 11th hole, ‘Roundel’, at Newbattle.

Although the Newbattle club was formed in 1896, the current full 18 hole course, the Colt legacy, was built in Dalkeith in 1934. Originally linked to Dalkeith Golf Club (1880), it’s called Newbattle as it’s within the historic boundary of Newbattle Abbey, a Roman Catholic monastery, and a key part of the Scottish religious story.

The tee markers, here at the 9th, are typical of the small yardage differences at Newbattle

When Fran and I played on a delightful mid summer day, the course was very busy, but never seemed to get back logged. The tees, fairways and greens were immaculate, with the bunkers still unraked due to the ongoing Covid Pandemic.

After pulling my opening drive about 2 yards out of bounds left, then hitting my second ball over the back of the first green, that turned out to be my only ‘blob’ in returning an 89, for 35 stableford points. If it were a competition though, it wouldn’t have troubled the scorers on this ideal day for golf.

The approach to the 13th at Newbattle, with Arthur’s Seat in the background

Play aside, this is a great little course well worth playing as part of an East Lothian tour. In terms of East Lothian value for money, it must be near the top of the pile. It’s certainly underrated in my opinion. The stand out holes for me, were the 5th, a long par 4, and easily the Stroke Index 1 hole and the long par 3 14th hole. To score well though, you need to avoid the clever and penalising bunkers.

The relatively easy finish at Newbattle, except if you find the copse of trees beside the green

There is an argument to say Harry Colt, the main contributor to many of the world’s great courses, including 3 on the Open Championship rota (Muirfield, Royal Liverpool, Royal Portrush), is the foremost designer of his age. I think Newbattle might just be the cheapest green fee of the more than 100 courses designed in whole or part by Colt.

Course Type: Parkland

Par 69 (1 par 5s, 13 par 4s, 4 par 3s)

Distance: 5753

Moly’s Gross score: 89

Moly’s scorecard – a very decent 89
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