East Lothian

The Golf Coast

East Lothian

Just east of Edinburgh, the Golf Coast crams a remarkable density of championship links into a small stretch of coastline — including the legendary Muirfield, host to 16 Open Championships.

Key Courses

Plan a Trip to East Lothian

East Lothian — Course Map

Click a flag to see the course name and view full details.

More in Scotland

Other Regions

St Andrews & Fife

St Andrews & Fife

The Home of Golf

9 courses

 Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Open Championship Coast

6 courses

 The Highlands

The Highlands

Remote Magnificence

8 courses

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 East Lothian, Scotland

Muirfield (HCEG)

Location
Padstow, England
Opened
1891
Designer
H.S. Colt
Events
The Open Championship (16 times), Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, Women’s Open Championship, 1973 Ryder Cup
Rankings
3rd best golf course in Scotland, top100golfcourse.com, 11th best golf course in the world, Golf Magazine (2021)

Muirfield can lay claim to hosting the open more than any other golf course, minus Prestwick and The Old Course. As a result, the trophy case is quite the list of impressive victors to conquer this Harry Colt design: Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson, most recently in 2013 in the excellent duel with Hendrik Stenson. Of particular interest on the architecture side, Muirfield is generally regarded as the first golf course that someone thoughtfully laid out, rather than an “out and back routing” against the shore.

Gallery

Enquire About Muirfield (HCEG)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 East Lothian, Scotland

Gullane No. 1

Location
Gullane, Scotland
Opened
1884
Designer
Mother Nature
Events
2015 and 2018 Scottish Open
Rankings
22nd best golf course in Scotland, top100golfcourse.com

Perhaps more than any other course one can remember, Gullane’s No. 1 course—the most senior of the three at the club—relies heavily on varied stances to help provide a distinct and refreshing challenge day-in, day-out. Uphill, downhill, sidehill lies, and a combination of either of those await the golfer, as evident by its two Scottish Open’s in the past ten years (2015 & 2018). The panoramic view from the 7th tee box is worth the price of admission alone, but No. 1 is a joy to play from the 1st tee to the 18th green’s final putt.

Gallery

Enquire About Gullane No. 1

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 East Lothian, Scotland

North Berwick (West Links)

Location
North Berwick, Scotland
Opened
1832
Designer
David Strath
Rankings
5th best golf course in Scotland, top100golfcourse.com, 35th best golf course in the world, Golf Magazine (Golf Magazine)

Golf architecture fans are familiar with a “redan” template, which features a green at a 45 degree angle, sloping away from the golfer and a feeder slope short right (Pacific Dunes hole 17 or Greenbriar’s famed version), well, that comes from North Berwick. Likewise for the Biarritz, which also is credited to North Berwick’s West layout, a testament to the quality of golf that the two most famous templates originate here. For architecture fans and everyday golfers alike, North Berwick is one of the “can’t miss” courses of Scotland.

Gallery

Enquire About North Berwick (West Links)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 East Lothian, Scotland

Dunbar

Location
Dunbar, Scotland
Opened
1856
Designer
Mother Nature
Rankings
41st best golf course in Scotland, top100golfcourse.com

As opposed to other links offerings, which sit flush with the sandy coastline, Dunbar brings its own identity with a rocky shoreline, although no doubt that this is a true links golf course. Notably, the golf course has splendid views across the North Sea to Bass Rock perched out of the water, built up by volcanic buildup, but the golf itself is also quite good: the par 3, 3rd and the par 4, 17th in particular provide a unique experience in a golfing country full of individuality.

Gallery

Enquire About Dunbar