Muirfield (pictures)

[Philip Gawith]

I visited Muirfield last week - only 10 weeks or so since the GCA event - and the rough has grown up markedly. They are obviously readying the course for the British Seniors Open and it really is punitive in the best Muirfield tradition.

The feature of the course - other than the wonderful clubhouse - is the amazing variety of the bunkers. I tried to capture some of this in these pictures.

I also had the pleasure of meeting and dining with Alastair Brown who has been secretary for four years. He is excellent company, a really nice man and clearly a strong contrast to some of the rather austere personalities who preceded him.



The 2nd green...



View from the back of the third - a tricky approach because the mounds in front of the green forshorten things. The green itself is very long - around 35 yards.



A view from the side of the short 4th




The 5th green



The 6th fairway - the hole with most character on the course.



The 8th viewed from the 7th tee...



Cross bunkers short of the 8th green...




Bunkers protecting the right of the 9th - and the hidden central bunker which captures the unsuspsecting.



Looking back at the 11th tee, with the 10th on the left and the 18th in the distant on the right



The 11th green with the pin on the right ledge...



The wonderful short 13th...



A serious links bunker on the right of the 13th.



Looking towards the 14th fairway



Bunker on the 14th...



Centre bunker short of 15....plays a big role on the hole, helping make the approach look much more daunting than the reality



The short 16th...



The "coffin" bunker on the 17th - a really brutal hazard.



Looking up the 18th....



Doughnut bunker on the right of the 18th green



Looking back down 18....

[PThomas]

great pics Philip!

[K. Krahenbuhl]

What a great place to spend an entire day.  Thanks for sharing your pictures!

[Tim Pitner]

More than any other course on the rota, including St. Andrew's, Muirfield says the British Open (in American-speak) to me.  Thanks for the photos.

[Coral_Ridge]

Absolutely great golf setting!

[Marty Bonnar]

Close-cropped rolling fairways set in a sea of waving grasses.
Never did a golf course look any more like a Maze! A true golfing puzzle to be unravelled.

Also, fine view there to one of the Paps of Hilton (TM - Benham)

FBD.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Great memories Philip, looks like we were luckier with the weather in March.


We all know this as a trademark of Muirfield (r Colt 1925) but does anyone know of him repeating it anywhere else?


But was it more of a colt trademark. another 18th, from 1926?


Does anyone kknow of other examples?

[Tim Pitner]

Close-cropped rolling fairways set in a sea of waving grasses.
Never did a golf course look any more like a Maze! A true golfing puzzle to be unravelled.

Martin,

You should try the Sheep Ranch.  

[David Stamm]

Philip, thank you for posting these pics. I've heard some complain that Muirfield is bland and the like, but after seeing these, I will truly make the effort to play it when I finally make it over there. It looks like great fun!

[Michael Christensen]

that rough does look a little more penal than when we were there in March.....great view of the sea too!

[Kalen Braley]

Very nice pics indeed.  Thanks Phillip...

That coffin bunker does look very intimidating, did Engh perhaps use this as inspiration for his bunkering style?  

I really liked the variety in the green complexes in terms of the humps and hollows and placement of the bunkers.  Looks fantastic!

[Jeff Doerr]

Philip,

Is it easy to see your line off the tee and approaching the green? The images seem to indicate that you can see a fair amount for the topography. That Coffin bunker looks like a ball eating monster. Do you think the long grass next to the walls protects the player from the walls or keeps the errant shot next to the wall? To me it looks like a double penalty, as the long grass will trap any slow rolling shot and make it not only a long rough shot, but a sideways shot because of the rock wall.

[Mark_F]

Nice pictures Philip.

It does indeed seem to be a very austere plain,albeit natural, place.

It's easy to see from the photos why Muirfield causes the dissention it does.

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

H.C.E.G.,
Oh how I miss thee...

[Rich Goodale]

H.C.G.C.,
Oh how I miss thee...

...even without the necessary "E."
and with the superfluous second "C.".......

[Philip Gawith]

Jeff - not sure if I understand your question 100%. Are you talking in specific in relation to the bottom of the face of the coffin bunker having a bit more grass on it? Frankly, i am not sure it makes a whole lot of difference (if you are). That bunker is about ten feet high - the chance of you having a lie that allows you to play out forward (assuming you have the skills to achieve the necessary elevation) is about zero. If you are in that bunker, you are normally going out sideways. Chances are you are also out of the hole! The bunker is more difficult than the picture suggests.

As to your point about the line - yes, that is why Muirfield has its reputation about being "fair" - because it has less blind shots than many links. Exceptions would be the 11th (you can see the hill you have to drive over in the right background of the last pic) and the 6th.

[Jim Franklin]

Man I need to get back over the pond to play again soon. Great photos!

[Ash Towe]

Philip,
Thanks for the pics.
Brings back memories of a great course and a wonderful golfing experience.
Must get back there someday.

[Philip Gawith]

Tony - where is that less elegant doughnut you are displaying - photographed in inclement circumstances - to be found?

[Philip Gawith]

Michael - that the rough has grown since we were there goes down as serious understatement. BTW - I got to stay at Greywalls for the first time. What a nice place, especially when someone else is paying!

FBD- I love the look of the course in some of those pics with the long wavy grass and the closely mown fairways. But it is not much fun looking for your ball, or playing out of there when you find it! Lucky the sponsor was generous with the ammunition!

[Tim Pitner]

Philip,

Are balls hit in the hay automatically lost, or are they findable?

Are any of the lies in the rough of the wispy variety?

[Doug Wright]

Philip,

Terrific photos! Reminds me why Muirfield remains in my top 5 I've played. An understated but masterful course IMO.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Tony - where is that less elegant doughnut you are displaying - photographed in inclement circumstances - to be found?

Oddly enough in the only council course Colt ever did. More info soon, but there's one in the bunker either side of their 18th.  I'm trying to be sure they were there from the beginning and not added later.

[Doug Siebert]

This is a great example of the kind of bunkers I just love on links courses that you never really see in the US.  Not the one in the foreground but the second one behind it that can barely see in this photo.  You get in the first bunker off the tee and are relieved that your ball is in the center where you have a full swing, but then you have to think long and hard about how close to that pin you try to get because of where that next bunker is located!

[Philip Gawith]

Tim - You can normally tell from the tee. If you see the ball bounce, you are normally OK. If it just dives out of sight, you are unlikely to find it. The rough as shown in these pics is punitive by any standards. That said, there were one or two golfers in our group who went round 36 holes with the same ball.