{"id":3371,"date":"2026-11-01T13:49:05","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T13:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/?p=3371"},"modified":"2026-11-01T14:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T14:31:45","slug":"202-west-linton-17-jun-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/?p=3371","title":{"rendered":"202. West Linton. 17 Jun 23."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A schoolmaster with a trowel, a committee with two greenkeepers, and James Braid\u2019s name on the booking sites.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price Paid: <\/strong>\u00a333 via GolfNow (a \u00a325 GolfPass voucher took it to \u00a38, but vouchers aren\u2019t prices)
Current Price (2026):<\/strong> \u00a365 weekday round, \u00a375 weekend round (list); twilight \u00a345 weekday, \u00a350 weekend; GolfNow typically \u00a347 to \u00a355 in summer
Value: <\/strong>5\/5 at \u00a333 \/ 4\/5 at current GolfNow \/ 3.5\/5 at list
Moly\u2019s Score: <\/strong>98 gross, 84 nett<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The 6th, \u201cMendick\u201d, from the forward tee. Heather down the left, pines down the right, and Mendick Hill on the skyline giving the hole its name.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

West Linton is a conservation village in the Scottish Borders, historically Peeblesshire, 17 miles south-west of Edinburgh on the A702, tucked under the southern end of the Pentland Hills. In 1863 a young St Andrews graduate called Robert Millar came to teach here. Like many students, he had found a love of the game playing St Andrews Links, but West Linton didn’t have a course. So every morning before school, in black frock coat, choker and full beard, he hit balls around the village parks in all weathers. The villagers decided he was eccentric. It took him twenty-seven years to convince them otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The railway arrived in 1864, bringing walkers and anglers, and Millar reckoned golfers would follow. It still took until June 1890 for him to call a meeting in the school, where he made the minister captain, the banker treasurer, and appointed himself secretary. The tenant of North Slipperfield let them a heather-covered grouse moor for \u00a35 a year. According to the West Linton Historical Association, the exiled King Charles X of France had once come there to shoot. Millar, the only golfer in the room, went out with a former pupil and cut nine holes with trowels, marking the tees with logs. Members were advised to keep right of the central bog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The board in the clubhouse credits the schoolmaster. A weekend round was 7\/-. Sunday golf cost extra, which tells you the board isn\u2019t Victorian.<\/strong><\/em> Based on the pricing I calculate this sign is from the 1950s.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

GolfNow and the many golfing directories list the architect as James Braid, who visited in 1926. He drew a map and wrote a report: mostly new tees and bunkers, a new 4th, and the 6th and 7th merged into one. That was advice on the original nine-hole course. The second nine wasn\u2019t built until the early 1970s, cheaply, by a three-man sub-committee and a couple of greenkeepers, and was opened by Eric Brown and Bernard Gallagher in September 1974. Therefore, half the holes postdate Braid by nearly fifty years, and the other half were laid out by a schoolmaster. Braid improved West Linton; he didn\u2019t design it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever deserves the credit, it\u2019s a very good course. Heather, pine and birch, open fairways, and genuine carries from several tees. The greens are the best feature, varied in shape. The bunkering does its job. Find the sand and you pay for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The 3rd, \u201cSyke Burn\u201d. A carry over heather into a corridor of pines. Miss left or right and you are reloading.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I played with Fran. The course was very dry and the greens were rock hard; approach shots pitched and kept going, and that is my official explanation for 98. The turf was good, the woodland floors were tidy, and Ian the pro, formerly of Shotts, could not have been friendlier. The 15th, \u201cLang Whang\u201d, is named after the lonely A70 moorland road over the Pentlands (\u201cwhang\u201d is Scots for a bootlace). From the yellows it is a 453-yard par 4. I took eight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The 13th, \u201cMacKellar\u2019s Wood\u201d. Typical of my luck on the day. Look at the ground under the trees, though: mown, cleared and findable. This course is looked after.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
The 4th, \u201cLucky Dip\u201d. A resident pheasant, unbothered by my approach, on a fairway parched by a dry June.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Value? I paid \u00a333 on GolfNow, and at that price this is 5\/5. A Golfpass voucher brought it to only \u00a38, which happens to be roughly what Millar\u2019s 7\/- weekend round would be worth today, if the board is from the 1950s. Prices have moved up since. Today the list price is \u00a365 weekday and \u00a375 weekend, with GolfNow around \u00a347 to \u00a355. The course is no worse, but it isn\u2019t twice as good either. At GolfNow rates it\u2019s 4\/5; at list, 3.5\/5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The 14th, \u201cWestwater\u201d. Bracken to carry, a drystone dyke on the left, and a fairway striped and baked.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
The 18th, \u201cHome\u201d. From the yellows it\u2019s a 222-yard par 3, uphill to the clubhouse. Not a gentle finish.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Would I go back? Yes, at the right price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facts:<\/em>
Course Type:<\/strong><\/em> Heathland<\/em>
Par:<\/strong><\/em> 68 (1 par 5, 12 par 4s, 5 par 3s)<\/em>
Distance:<\/strong><\/em> 5,867 yards (yellow)<\/em>
Course Rating \/ Slope:<\/strong><\/em> 68.7 \/ 121<\/em>
Course Quality:<\/strong><\/em> 4\/5<\/em>
Moly\u2019s Gross Score:<\/strong><\/em> 98<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
West Linton Scorecard, 98, that doesn’t take away from what a great course this is.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A schoolmaster with a trowel, a committee with two greenkeepers, and James Braid\u2019s name on the booking sites. Price Paid: \u00a333 via GolfNow (a \u00a325 GolfPass voucher took it to \u00a38, but vouchers aren\u2019t prices)Current Price (2026): \u00a365 weekday round, \u00a375 weekend round (list); twilight \u00a345 weekday, \u00a350 weekend; GolfNow typically \u00a347 to \u00a355 in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,36,47,143,19,29,32,9,132,133,13,15,27,31,38,2,18,145,62,20,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-18-holes","category-1851-1900","category-4-star","category-4-5-star","category-braid-association","category-course-architech","category-course-owned-by","category-course-quality","category-course-type","category-discounts","category-golfnow","category-heathland","category-holes","category-james-braid","category-members","category-overall-value","category-price-range","category-region","category-robert-millar","category-the-scottish-borders","category-when-course-established","category-60-79","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3371"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3395,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3371\/revisions\/3395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.scotlandgolfbible.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}