The Golf Courses of Edinburgh's Braid Hills

[JJShanley]

East Lothian offers a greater variety of excellent golf than does anything found in the City of Edinburgh. That said, I do enjoy the golf courses situated on Edinburgh's Braid Hills: Mortonhall (private) and Braid Hills (municipal). I typically play the latter any time I visit Edinburgh with my golf clubs. And obviously the Braid Hills offer more convenient access to Waitrose than does East Lothian.


As much as I have enjoyed walking and playing golf at Braid Hills, I don't know much about its history, other than it had two 18 hole courses as late as the early-1990s. (I played BH#2 as my first proper round of golf for my 10th birthday.) I wondered if anyone had any details about its development from the 1880s, when I understand that it opened. I think the current starter does maintain an interest in the courses' history. I had found a 1990s-era yardage book in a second hand bookstore, which he swapped me for an updated version, given that he had never seen that edition. A Millennium initiative resulted in the planting of thousands of trees on the east of the property. A recently-published history of African American golf mentions that United Golf Association Amateur Champion Frank Radcliffe played there in 1939 on a wider British tour (reported, it would appear in the Australian press! Demas, Game of Privilege, 97; 286n24).


I think that the Braid Hills had been the result of a volcano and then a glacier. There is no realistic way that Edinburgh Council would revamp the course to better use the topography, but in theory the landforms offer great potential.

Across the fence lies Mortonhall. Mortonhall doesn't have the same extremes in routing, but it does have a little bit of quirk. I enjoyed playing there once or twice a year as a junior. It has a reputation for quick greens, with considerable slope. While you can't see them from the existing routing, four unused holes appear to exist at the north edge of the property. I think the club maintains them as practice holes. I don't know if they are of architectural merit, but you do get some excellent views of the city from that part of the property.

Does anyone have any other information on either of these courses?

[BCrosby]

Peter Lewis' book "Why Are There Eighteen Holes?" discusses the early history of Braid Hills. See pp. 173 et seq.


Bob

[Colin Macqueen]

JJ,


I am sure the following is not quite the insightful information that you were hoping for but nonetheless.......... Braid Hills was the course my Mum and Dad used to frequent (to play golf mind!) whilst courting one another in the early 1940s!


If this is of any use yer welcome!


Cheers Colin

[Jeff Schley]

Braid Hills was the course me and my dad played upon our visit to Edinburgh for the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield.  We were looking for a local course online during an open afternoon and I found it on the Edinburgh Leisure website.  Booked a taxi and away we went to a very brown and fast course.

https://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/venues/braid-hills-golf-course

I remember we teed off just ahead of their members who were in their regular league play in the early afternoon.  One guy had painter overalls and boots still on and was playing behind us.  Pretty blue collar crowd and informal, which was relaxing for us.

[JC Urbina]

JJShanley,


Had a chance to see Braids Hill many- many  years ago, unfortunetly I didn't get to walk all of the holes, knee was a little tender at the end of the day, but excellent views  with some interesting  greens. 


My fonderst memory of the visit was when two elder woman joined me on one of the benches on the golf course.  They asked where I  was from,  I answered Denver Colo, the one asked if knew the Carringtons.


  They watched the prime time TV all the time.

[Mark Pearce]

There's at least one Mortonhall member on this board, so he may chime in on the course, which I really enjoyed on my one play, despite hitting what I thought was an almost perfect approach to the last and never seeing that ball again!