Gullane Golf Club: No. 1

Gullane Golf Club is home to three courses, two of which are must-plays. Gullane No. 1 is a Final Qualifying site for the Open and has hosted the Scottish Open. About 40 minutes east of Edinburgh, Gullane No. 1 overlooks the Firth of Forth.

From an old Dan Jenkins piece on Scotland: "Gullane is a classic links course. Humpy, bumpy fairways, fast greens and deep, sod-faced bunkers. It winds up, around and down Gullane Hill, although only two holes—the second and fifth—involve serious climbing duty. Actually, the view from the seventh tee, the highest point on the course, is worth a few minutes’ pause. On a clear day you can see the distant tracery of the great Forth bridges—rail and road versions—the southern coast of Fife, and behind you, far below, the links of Muirfield.

The back nine is long and tough, especially when the prevailing west wind is blowing either into your face or from your right. You do get a break at the end, though, if only for the reason that any course that goes uphill must eventually come down. The 17th hole—again take in the view from the tee—is straight downhill. It’s drivable if (A) you happen to be the master of the high slinging hook, and (B) the club decides to remove the two 30-foot-wide bunkers directly in front of the green.

At Gullane, you play up an enormous hill and spend most of your time hitting shots along a towering cliff with exquisite vistas of the sea until you come down again. One hole, the par-4 11th, plays along a cliff where stone gun placements still exist, a reminder that the Scots once feared a German invasion.