Our final round on what was an amazing Scotland golf adventure was at Gullane #1. This was our only round on the east coast of Scotland and by far the hilliest. Host to multiple golf championships and great views across the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh, Gullane 1 was a lot of fun, challenging, but fair. Below is our review of Gullane 1 and to read an overview of our entire Scotland golf trip, click here.
About Gullane #1
The Gullane golf courses sit across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh and offer a unique range of golfing experiences for members and visitors alike, combining a major role in the history of golf in Scotland, great golfing conditions, and a truly spectacular environment. Golf has been played over the links at Gullane for more than 350 years. Today, Gullane Golf Club is one of Scotland's most prestigious member clubs, mixing the finest tradition with some of the most admired natural links land in the world.
Gullane No. 2 (1898) was laid out by the legendary Willie Park Jr and has been used for Open Championship Qualifying as well as the Seniors Open Amateur.
Gullane No. 3 (1910) was also designed by Willie Park Jr. It may be the shortest of the three courses, but it provides a wonderful test based on shot-making skills rather than power.
History
The history of golf in this part of East Lothian dates back to 1650 when the weavers of Dirleton played the weavers of Aberlady annually on Old Handsel Monday. Despite the regularity of the matches, there was no organised club and this remained the case until the early 1800s when a number of local farmers began meeting to play golf. The initial enthusiasm was short lived and the resulting club was disbanded around 1848.
The idea of forming a golf club was resuscitated a few years later with an association being formed in 1859. While that body still plays today under the auspices of the East Lothian Golf Club, the oldest club in existence still playing on Gullane links is the Dirleton Castle Golf Club which was founded by the shopkeepers and artisans of Dirleton and Gullane in 1854.
Towards the end of the century, in 1882, eight gentlemen of Gullane met to discuss the links and agreed that to keep them in good order, a club should be formed under the name of The Gullane Golf Club. Local golfers were contacted about becoming members with 32 making the first roll of honour. A year later, the membership had reached 125. There are now over 1,200 members.
As the popularity of golf grew, the village prospered with the club’s facilities being expanded to keep up with demand. By 1910 there were three 18-hole courses, plus a children’s course.
Gullane No. 1 (1884) has a long history of hosting national and international championship golf events, including the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and Ladies Scottish Open, the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in 2015, as well as Local Final Qualifying for the Open Championship at neighbouring Muirfield.
7th Hole Gullane 1
The Course
Gullane 1 is not a very long course, tipping out at 6,900 yards from the back tees. However, when the pros play here, they open up a handful of tee boxes that are much further back than the normal locations. The forward tees measure 5,900 yards with two sets of tees in between. It had been quite dry leading up to our trip so the course didn’t play all that long, especially since the wind was down.
To give everyone an idea of how much the wind can play into the scores, our caddies informed us that on one of the par 5’s during the Scottish Open, players were hitting short irons into the green for their second shots. The next day, driver three wood was not enough to reach the green.
One misconception I had going to Scotland was that most of the holes on a lot of the links courses were very similar without much character. I was happy to be proven wrong on all of the courses we played, but more specifically for Gullane 1. When driving up to the course, you pass a few holes, all of which look the same from the road. However, every hole out there was vastly different, whether it be the terrain, the placement of bunkers, or just the yardage of each hole. Gullane 1 was a lot of fun to play and we are glad the package included this course.
I can see where it gets overlooked, especially being located next door to Murfield and the Renaissance Club, but this course is not to be missed.
13th Hole Gullane 1
7th Hole Gullane 1
Driving Range
Range balls were included with our round but if warming up is extremely important, get there earlier than usual. There are only 15-20 hitting stations/mats and that is for golfers on all three courses. Chris and I ended up sharing a spot. Not to scare anyone, but there are two holes, one on each side of the driving range so it is possible to land it in those fairways. There is also a large putting and chipping green, both located right next to the Gullane 2 & 3 clubhouse. The putting green for Gullane 1 is located across the street near the 1st tee.
Clubhouse
There are a pair of clubhouses at Gullane. The parking lot is across the street from Gullane 1 so naturally we walked into that clubhouse. We were kindly instructed to check-in for our round across the street (in the pro shop).
The Clubhouse for Gullane 1 Members and guests is actually located across the street behind the 1st tee. There are actually two buildings, the pro shop, and the actual clubhouse. There is also parking for members and guests playing Gullane 1 behind that clubhouse. We didn’t go in this one so we really can’t speak to the atmosphere inside.
Gullane 1 Clubhouse (white Building). Credit: Gullane 1.
Gullane Links Clubhouse sits on the opposite side of the road (next to the main parking lot) to the Members' Clubhouse, enjoying a perfect location adjacent to the superb practice facilities at the Club. It offers Members and visitors playing Courses No.2 and No.3 modern, open plan facilities combining locker rooms, a Pro Shop and bar and catering facilities. The Sun Terrace provides the perfect place to relax and enjoy a drink and food before or after playing whilst overlooking the courses.
Gullane 1 Pro Shop
Gullane 2 & 3 Clubhouse and Pro Shop
Pro Shop
The selection of Gullane gear was much better in the Gullane 1 Pro Shop versus across the street in the larger clubhouse so if you can’t find what you are looking for across the street, make sure to come over to the Gullane 1 shop. They had a large selection of not just apparel and other logo’d gear, but quite a bit of golf clubs, shoes, etc. Just like every other course we played during our trip, I picked up a coin, flag, and yardage book.
If you forgot to pick anything up during your visit or just want some gear before you arrive, Gullane operates a Facebook Marketplace page that includes quite the selection.
Credit: Gullane 1 Pro Shop
Gullane 1 Pin Flag
Gullane 1 Yardage Book
Restaurant
After our round, we took a few pictures, picked up a few things in the Pro Shop, then headed back to Edinburgh for some more sightseeing. This was the only course we didn’t stay and eat at for that reason. However, there is a sit down restaurant in the Gullane Links Clubhouse that guests can enjoy.
Pricing
Our entire golf trip was one package so we couldn’t tell you exactly what it cost us to play Gullane 1. However, they do have their green fees listed on their website. For 2023 summer months, they are as follows:
Obviously Gullane 1 is the most expensive course, running £210 for weekday rounds in the summer to £250 for weekends.
Gullane 2 is £85 for a weekday round and £95 for the weekend. Gullane 3 is £55 (weekday) and £65 (weekend).
They offer discounts for all day play on one course or multiple rounds in one day for different courses.
2nd Green at Gullane 1
Behind the 18th Green
Staff
Everyone we interacted with at Gullane was very friendly. Even though they had three courses, one of which has hosted some major tournaments, the overall vibe felt more like a small town muni course. Even though we tried to check-in at the wrong clubhouse, the gentleman made sure to give us our driving range tokens and told us to hit balls first before going across the street to save some time. He also mentioned that he would let the proper shop know we were there and that we would be checking in shortly.
The only person that wasn’t overly friendly was the starter. He was very adamant that we play a certain set of tees, regardless of our skillset. That particular set of tees was a little shorter than we wanted to play but oh well.
Murfield off in the distance.
Caddies
We will say this for every course we played in Scotland and that is caddies are worth every penny. Since we booked a golf package, our agent reserved all of our caddies for us. If you book your tee time directly with the course, caddie bookings should be made through the Gullane Golf Club.
The cost for a caddie at Gullane at the time of our round was £55 plus gratuities, with that amount at the player’s discretion based on the level of service provided. After speaking to a few locals and doing a little online research, it appears most visitors give more than the recommended 10% so we each gave our caddie £100 after the round.
This was easily the best caddie I had all week. He was a really good player and gave me a few course tips that really helped out throughout the round, including a quick putting tip that led to me shooting -3 on the back nine including birdieing 3 of the last 4 holes and allowing me to finish our Scotland golf trip in style!
Add to that, my caddie was slated to caddy for one of the competitors playing in the Women’s Scottish Open the following week at Dundonald Links.
Gullane also offers buggies (carts), push/pull trolleys, and electric trollies. Their site makes no mention of forecaddies so we can’t speak to that.
2nd Hole going up the hill to the right. 17th Hole coming down to the left.
Final Thoughts
Of all the courses we played, Gullane 1 is the one that can really play differently depending on the conditions. Even in benign weather, the other three courses were quite challenging. However, Gullane 1 became much easier since the wind was down and the weather was just about perfect. I shot my best round here, and that includes some horrific holes on the front nine. However, given how exposed this course is, I can see where it can get very difficult in windy conditions. I’m sure a lot of golfers will drive by this course on their way to Murfield or the Renessaince Club, but Gullane 1 is not to be overlooked and worth the drive out of Edinburgh.
The final day of our Scotland trip was spent in Edinburgh, which is about 40 minutes south of St. Andrews. We toured the Edinburgh Castle, the Haunted Vaults, and had a couple good meals. Read on to see if this visit was as good as our first time in Edinburgh.