Relocating to Edinburgh

[mikeybusa]

Any advice on courses to become member

Am moving to Edinburgh in November. Looks like will have a flat based either in centre of town or out towards west of city. Wondering if any members lived around there and had any suggestions for good courses to join and idea of waiting lists??

thanks

[Lundingolfer]

Edinburgh clubs are either expensive and you have a long waiting list or they are not so good and still expensive. Best is to look to play in Fife 45 mins drive away tops. Leven links has the qualifying for the Open championship it is a good test and you can join tomorrow for £350 per year. My club Lundin Golf club our list is around 3 years.

Other courses you can join tomorrow Kirkcaldy Aberdour Burntisland, Pitreavie but Leven is the best here.

There are two clubs at Leven I suggest the thistle club as it is more of a golfers club with lots of good players etc

 

Good luck

[DaveyH]

Cragielaw shouldnt be too far away?
played Gullane aswell recently thats a good track.

[elwhippy]

Mortonhall and Duddingston are both excellent courses. Duddingston can get a bit wet in winter but has some superb holes. Ratho Park is OK. Just outside is Haddignton, pleasant parkland. Worth a look. Suprisingly for big cities neither Edinburgh or Glasgow are blessed with a really high quality track, good members clubs but nothing compared to say Leeds or Merseyside.

[peter macdonald]

[quote name='elwhippy' date='11 April 2010 - 09:58 AM' timestamp='1270994302' post='2373264']
Suprisingly for big cities neither Edinburgh or Glasgow are blessed with a really high quality track, good members clubs but nothing compared to say Leeds or Merseyside.
[/quote]

That's a bit of a sweeping statement that paints a bit of an untrue picture about golf in the two big cities of Scotland!

Edinburgh has a total of more than 20 golf clubs in its immediate city limits and many of them are good enough to become a member of for any standard of player. Sure, the great great courses are either in fife, east lothian or further afield, but there's still a very high quality of golf to be found in Edinburgh.

Best thing to do is wait until you move here and try a few courses out. A few of them will let you play for free or at a reduced rate if you have a view to joining.

Personally, if you can be bothered with the drive out to East Lothian for each game you play then you are spoiled for choice with links golf courses, but if you want something on your doorstep and not very far away, wait until you move and know what courses you live close to within the city. It's not the biggest city population wise, but it is quite spread out and it can be a fair hike to get to a course the other side of town. Either that or join a club that's close to your work office.

I'll give you a list of my top 3 courses to try in Edinburgh, East Lothian and in the general area just outside Edinburgh...

EDINBURGH:

Mortonhall Golf Club http://www.mortonhallgc.co.uk/pages.php/index.html (oldest course still played in Edinburgh and an amazing setting with great course conditions)
Duddingston Golf Club http://www.duddingstongolfclub.co.uk/ (great course layout with recent refurb of clubhouse and a good active club)
Swanston New Golf Club http://www.swanstongolf.co.uk (before anyone says anything about the slopes, the bad holes have recently been replaced with 7 new holes and it's a really good club to be a member off with some of the best clubhouse facilities and best condition greens/views in Edinburgh. Not everyone's cup of tea, but worth a look.)


JUST OUTSIDE EDINBURGH:

Royal Musselburgh Golf Course http://www.royalmusselburgh.co.uk/index.php/contact-us Cracking parkland layout with lots of history
Dalmahoy Golf Club http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/hotel-information/golf-courses/edigs-marriott-dalmahoy-hotel-and-country-club/ Got a few mates playing there at the moment. You pay £100 a month for full use of both courses and all leisure facilities. The east course is very special indeed.
The Broomieknow Golf Club http://www.broomieknowe.com/ Cracking parkland layout with a good membership and high quality greens. can get a bit soggy in the colder months.


EAST LOTHIAN:
North Berwick Golf Club (the single best golf course layout in the country, imo) http://www.northberwickgolfclub.com/
Craigielaw Golf Club http://www.craigielawgolfclub.com/ A modern development but you wouldn't know if while playing it. The views are amazing and some of the holes would grace any course anywhere in the world.
Gullane Golf Club http://www.gullanegolfclub.com/ membership is currently closed, but you may as well get your name on the waiting list for access to at least 2 of the best layouts in the area!!!!


Anyway, hope all that helps. I've not even touched the surface really on what the area has to offer from a golfing perspective. I for one wouldn't want the hassle to driving over the forth road bridge twice each day just to play golf in Fife. There are some amazing courses there however and you may see it as worthwhile to make the effort. I believe there's just as good available locally though. You could also take out membership of the Council's leisure card which gives you access to four or five municipal courses including the magnificent Braid Hills. It's a cheap option but it all depends what you're after.