Beyond the Claret Jug

Scotland is home to some wonderful championship venues, but as Mark Alexander explains, even greater riches lie beyond

The North Berwick Golf Club, one of the most historic courses in the world

The North Berwick Golf Club

If you like your courses quirky, then you might want to also consider the West Links at North Berwick. Rather than being planned, the course gradually emerged from the East Lothian coastline adapting to the humps and hollows that were already there. The result is an idiosyncratic course with unexpected twists and unconventional holes that are fun and challenging.

Few people finish their round at North Berwick without a smile on their face or their golfing soul suitably topped up to overflowing. The short and teasing closing hole certainly plays a part in this sporting nourishment, but the real work has already been done early on.

By the time you reach the short 13th (known as “Pit”) you’re hooked. In fact, this curious par four, with its sunken green guarded by a wall running the entire width of the approach apart from two small openings, begins a stretch of mesmerizing holes that includes the famous par-three 15th (“Redan”), which is one of the most copied holes in all of golf. www.northberwickgolfclub.com

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Written by Mark Alexander

Photography by Mark Alexander

Click here to see the published article.

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