Muirfield (6673 yards; par 70) is famed as the course of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, the world’s oldest club, founded in 1744. It stems from the 1920s and came as a result of the club moving from the increasingly crowded Edinburgh area.

The course is rated among Britain’s best, its design particularly clean and intelligent, since the layout makes golfers face every possible wind direction during a round. Otherwise this is a traditional links course, with no water features, but deep bunkers whose fastidious grooming is something of a Muirfield trademark.

However, Muirfield’s only one of several courses in the tiny golf-obsessed East Lothian town of Gullane. Some have handicap restrictions and it can be difficult to get a tee time, so bear in mind the presence of the seven other courses, with much the same regional flavor, dotted around the small towns of North Berwick, Haddington or Aberlady - all a short drive away.

Practical Info

Duncar Road, Gullane

Muirfield Green Fee: £360 for one round (Mid-Nov–mid-Mar £160)

muirfield.org.uk