Tom:
I've been working on rewriting this section of The Confidential Guide first, so I will share my reviews of the courses you noted below, plus a couple of others you might consider. I don't know what kind of golfer you are, so I won't try to predict which courses would most suit you, but that's what the reviews are aimed at. Let me know if they're of help. I didn't include North Berwick, but it's rated well above any of these others, and it is CERTAINLY worth playing again. I would never go to East Lothian and not play it.
P.S. The numbers at the end are four different ratings on the Doak scale. The first number is my own grade; the other three are from good friends who have been asked to contribute. [Can't share their identities yet, though.] So, you'll see that Elie and Gullane No. 1 got the highest grades from me [each a 6], and most of the others you mentioned got a 5; but perhaps my friends' opinions will help break those ties. And even the 4's, like Kilspindie and Musselburgh, are great fun to play.
Crail G Society. Founded 1786. Old course by Old Tom Morris, 1892; Craighead course by Gil Hanse, 1997.
Crail is the fifth oldest golf club in the world, and it’s easy to imagine that their course has changed little in that time. The holes tend to be short and quirky, with three greens lined up side by side at one point, and a bunch of short holes near the finish. But, the setting at the tip of Fife includes golf holes along two shorelines.
The Craighead course was Gil Hanse’s first solo design, and though it was quickly overshadowed by its neighbor, Kingsbarns, its greens show the kind of detail work that makes Gil’s courses noteworthy. In fact, it is quite a tough test, with some difficult and narrow targets, but the bunkers tend to hide from view and there are a couple of holes perilously close together. Old course 5 - - 5. Craighead 5 6 5 5. [1997]
Elie Golf House Club. Old Tom Morris, 1895, with revisions by James Braid.
This lovely old links was the main attraction of James Braid’s boyhood home town, with a brief stretch of inspiring holes along the coast yielding magnificent views across to East Lothian on a clear day. The par-4 13th and the downhill par-3 3rd are the best of the holes, but most memorable of all is the opening tee shot, which is played blind over a ridge from beside the clubhouse, only after obtaining clearance from the starter who consults a submarine periscope to check on the group ahead. A crafty design, it borrows from one of the design tricks from The Old Course, namely numerous greens that tilt away from the line of play. Given its sandy soil and the usual accompanying fast playing conditions, it’s no wonder that low handicaps rarely score as they expect on this 6,300 yard course. 6 6 5 5. [2007]
Kingarrock GC, Hill of Tarvit, Cupar, Fife. Frederick Sharp, 1904, restored by Peter McEvoy. 2008.
This small, hilly course on an old estate was designed in the gutty ball era, and it has been restored for play with antique hickory clubs. Simply built and simply maintained, it is a wonderful insight into the challenges of golf as the game was played 100 years ago, despite its lack of length. It’s hard to recommend it to overseas tourists who are motoring around trying to check off famous links from their bucket list, but Kingarrock is worth the attention of anyone with a serious interest in the game of golf and its evolution. 5 - - - . [2007]
Leven GC. Club from 1820; course split off from Innerleven links and extended to current 18 holes in 1909.
For many years, the original Innerleven course stretched along the shore between the towns of Leven and Lundin Links, with a clubhouse at each end for the resident golfers of the two towns. When the game became so popular that the traffic doomed the ability to use two starting points, they were forced to “split the baby” in 1909, with each course gaining nine new holes further inland; but Leven drew the short straw here, as their end of the links was a bit less dramatic. The first three holes are cracking par-4’s in rippling country near the shore, and the long par-4 18th with its approach across the Scoonie Burn provides the chance for a heroic or heartbreaking finish, but much of the stuff in between is quickly forgotten. 4 – 4 4. [2008]
Lundin Links GC, Lundin. Old Tom Morris, 1868; split off from Leven Golf Club and extended to 18 holes by James Braid, 1909.
The opening and closing holes of Lundin Links were also part of the original Innerleven course, and these were its star attractions. Architectural history buffs will study the short par-4 15th, which is the forerunner of the “Leven” hole that C.B. Macdonald paid homage to in many of his designs; but the cracking opener with its green high above the beach and the following three holes flush against Largo Bay are even better. Sadly, the newer inland holes are not of the same class, but even so, more people should include it on their pilgrimage to St. Andrews. If they ever have an open day of playing the original 18 holes between the two towns, I hope I’ll get an invite. 5 6 3 5. [2009]
Craigielaw GC, Aberlady. Donald Steel, 2001.
Built from the farm fields immediately above Kilspindie Golf Club, the new Craigielaw course aimed at a higher degree of difficulty, and may have succeeded too well. Its small, elevated greens are so fortified by bunkering and fall-offs that on windy days, which are hardly unusual here, even the best players are sometimes unable to find a way to hold certain greens in regulation. - - - 4. [2010]
Dunbar GC. Golf from 1856, with revisions by Old Tom Morris, Ben Sayers and James Braid.
The easternmost of the links of East Lothian, the course is laid out along a very narrow strip of low-lying linksland, playing between the sea and the wall of an old estate until one gets to the far end of the course. But, it’s got too many holes of similar length and setting to really be a standout. 5 - - - . [2007]
Glen GC, North Berwick. James Braid and Ben Sayers, 1906.
Also known as the East Links, this short and sporty cliff-top course has many detractors, but it is as beautiful a setting for the game as one can imagine, with its views out along the coast and over the town to the volcanic cone of the North Berwick Law. Its best hole is the long par-4 ninth, playing sharply down to a lower plateau while making a beeline for Bass Rock. The bunkering and greens design is plain and uninspired, but just this once, let’s forget about that and revel in the setting. 4 – 3 - . [2006]
Gullane GC. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 courses by Willie Park, Jr., 1884-1898-1910.
With the creation of several new links courses in Scotland, Gullane No. 1 seems to have fallen off the radar as a mandatory stop, which is too bad since its sandy hillside setting provides more variety than many well-known links. There is no refuge on a windy day, as Gullane Hill faces west toward the prevailing wind from Edinburgh, but on a good day the views from the top are unsurpassed and the golf is always good.
I must also confess to having seriously underrated Gullane No. 2 in the previous edition of this book, and I will even put in a shout for No. 3, the 5500-yard course which has the best greens of the bunch. My old friend Archie Baird used to play it as often as Muirfield or Kilspindie where he is also a member, and he enjoyed Gullane 3 just as much as the others. #1 course 6 – 5 6. #2 course 5 – 4 5. #3 course 5 – 4 5. [2006]
Kilspindie GC, Aberlady. Willie Park and Ben Sayers, 1898.
This lovely little course occupies a broad point jutting into the Firth of Forth, just to the west of Gullane. The small clubhouse and the par-3 1st hole are perfectly welcoming, and the par-3 8th across the beach at the far end of the course is a hole you’ll remember long afterward. At 5500 yards from the tips, many would dismiss it, but if there were more courses like this where you could play in two and a half hours after dinner, golf in the rest of the world would be thriving. 4 – 4 - . [2009]
Longniddry GC. H.S. Colt, 1921, with revisions by Philip Mackenzie Ross, 1945.
Most of this course runs along the sea (just across the road), yet the clubhouse up on a hill gives it a different perspective than other East Lothian links, with views out to the water framed by pine trees. There are some lovely two-shot holes in the middle of the course, but sadly they are all around 380 yards instead of a better mix. 5 – 5 4. [1998]
Luffness New GC, Aberlady. Old Tom Morris, 1894.
Lying adjacent to Gullane #3, this is the first part of the vast expanse of 72 holes you see when driving out from Edinburgh. The first five holes are in a small loop to the south of the road, and the rest of the links are at the foot of Gullane Hill. The club is less dependent on visitor play than most in Scotland, so it is not as well known as it might be. 5 – 4 - . [2000]
Musselburgh Old Links. Golf from 1672!
These small, affordable nine holes within the Musselburgh Raceway are in fact the oldest documented golf course in the world. Between 1874 and 1889 it hosted The Open Championship six times, while also serving as home for the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. But its nine holes could not accommodate the growing demand for golf, so the links were abandoned by those clubs in the 1890’s for greener pastures in the more affluent suburbs, and for years the Old Links survived only because it was the infield for the racecourse; it was almost paved over for development in 1985 before public outcry saved it and some money was raised to fix it up.
There is still some good golf here, most of all the long par-4 4th with its green in the far corner of the links, and the road dangerously close at hand. Mrs. Forman’s pub behind this green was golf’s first half-way house – they served golfers drinks through a window in the wall – and it was there that Old Tom Morris had to take refuge from a hostile gallery during his match with Willie Park Sr. in 1882. Every golfing visitor to East Lothian should stop in here to pay homage to the humble beginnings of the game. 4 – 3 - . [2007]