A BRIEF HISTORY OF GOLF AT GULLANE
Resting on the southern banks of the firth of forth in East Lothian lies a special strip of land, steeped in Scottish golfing heritage. When approaching the village of Gullane you are already deep into golf country. The road to Gullane from Edinburgh takes you past multiple links courses, winding its way past Craigielaw, Kilspindie, and Luffness New before meandering further, through the three courses of Gullane Golf Club numbers 1, 2 & 3. Like many other famous Scottish links courses, the courses at Gullane have the charm of starting and finishing in a town centre.
Records of golf being played at Gullane can be found from as far back as 1650. Although golf was played from this time, there was no official society created until the 1800s when a group of local farmers and brewers formed the East Lothian Golf Club. Enthusiasm for the club was short lived and the club folded in 1848.
Just 11 years later however, the notion of forming a club was revived. Shopkeepers and workers from Gullane and the nearby village of Dirleton formed the Dirleton Castle Golf Club which to this day is the oldest golfing society that still play on the Gullane links.
While the Dirleton Castle Golf Club continued to exist, it was in 1882 that the formation of Gullane Golf Club, as we know it today was formed. Eight locals agreed that the best way of maintaining the links was to form a club, and so it was that Gullane Golf Club was formed. Within one year Gullane Golf Club had attracted 125 members.
Today Gullane is unquestionably a golf town, however the future of the game of golf wasn’t always secure in Gullane. Between 1842 and 1892, racehorse training on Gullane hill was a regular activity, until prohibited by Lord Law in 1892, allowing the golf course to flourish.
REVIEW OF GULLANE 1
No. 1 ~ The No. 1 course at Gullane has been in play since 1894, just two years after the formation of Gullane Golf Club.
The course is a first class links with the finest links turf you’ll see anywhere. Finding a fairway guarantees a perfect lie, and the greens always roll silky smooth and definitively true. The turf at Gullane is so good golf is played 12 months a year – even during the coolest periods of winter. Year round golf in Scotland doesn’t come any better than on the links at Gullane.
Like most great links courses, the bunkering at Gullane is a prominent feature of the course. This becomes clear as you stand next to the starters hut and cast your gaze down the first fairway. A generously short par four, measuring just under 300 yards, is well defended by two menacing fairway pot bunkers lying 60 yards short of the green. Too dangerous to try and get too close to the green with your first blow. This is the first of many instances at Gullane where accuracy must be prioritized over length. Trying to outmuscle Gullane No. 1 will likely be punished and could result in lost balls.
Gullane No.1 provides a challenge that isn’t commonly associated with links golf. The Number 1 course is plotted around and over Gullane hill and this means golfers are required to make shots both uphill and downhill. Number 7 & 17 provide exhilarating downhill tee shots, while number 2 and 5 & 6 are stern tests of uphill distance control shot-making.
After overcoming the uphill 5th & 6th, you are rewarded with one of the best views in golf. The 7th tee makes the ascent on the previous two holes more than worth it as it offers glorious views of the course, Muirfield, across the water to Fife, the Bass Rock at North Berwick and the Edinburgh skyline. It’s a real treat and little wonder this view is so famous.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE OF GULLANE GOLF LINKS
Gullane Golf Club has hosted a number of prestigious amateur and professional tournaments. The most prestigious tournament to be hosted to date at Gullane was the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in 2015, which saw American Ricky Fowler claim the title on the 72nd hole. The tournament was played on a composite course, which comprised mostly of Gullane 1 as well as two holes from Gullane 2. Such was the success of the tournament at Gullane, it will be hosted again in 2018 as part of the European Tour’s newly formed Rolex Series.
Women’s tournament golf has been prominent on Gullane Links since the 19th century when it hosted the 1897 Ladies Amateur British Open when Miss Edith C Orr from North Berwick defeated her sister Miss Aimee C Orr in the final. More recently the same tournament was played in 2004.
Tournaments hosted over Gullane Links.
2018 ~ Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
2016 ~ Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship
2015 ~ Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
2013 ~ The Open Championship Final Qualifying
2010 ~ Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship
2004 ~ Ladies British Open Amateur Championship
2004 ~ Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship
2002 ~ The Open Championship Final Qualifying
1993 ~ Ladies British Open Amateur Championship
1992 ~ The Open Championship Final Qualifying
1990 ~ Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship
1987 ~ The Open Championship Final Qualifying
1983 ~ Scottish Men’s Amateur Championship
1980 ~ The Open Championship Final Qualifying
1970 ~ Ladies British Open Amateur Championship
1947 ~ Ladies British Open Amateur Championship
1897 ~ Ladies British Open Amateur Championship
A visit to Gullane Golf Club is guaranteed to live long in the memory.
For more information on how to visit Gullane Golf Club as part of your Scottish golf tour, please feel free to get in touch on bookings@wordpress-764532-2697600.cloudwaysapps.com or call +44 (0) 777 999 4236.
Happy Golfing!
