Muirfield - The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers

Muirfield.  Golfers all over the world will know the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in Gullane, East Lothian as one of the finest links courses in the world.  I'd played it a few times and had never got remotely near playing to my handicap.  That didn't really matter since the experience of walking and playing such a prestigious layout was what it was all about.  The golf society (SEDGC) I'm still a member of used to go there every year until around the mid 1980s and if memory serves I first played Muirfield in 1981, when my handicap would have been around 18.  I didn't beat 100 net (!) and in particular, was completely beaten up by the severity of the bunkering.  Some years later I managed a gross 89 by avoiding most of the bunkers, hitting straight(ish) and putting reasonably well, but that was my best and over the years I'd harboured ambitions to try to play Muirfield again and beat that score.  

Fast forward to earlier this month when Colin, my buddy at Dunbar GC, asked me whether I wanted to play Muirfield on 24 January 2023.  His son in law Stuart is a member of the Honourable Company and had invited Colin to bring along a couple of friends for a morning fourball, followed by a leisurely lunch and light permitting, a few afternoon foursomes holes.  Suffice to say I jumped at the chance, as did Gordon, one of our other Dunbar buddies.  January in East Lothian has been typically cold, wet and pretty miserable, so much to our delight 24 January was a perfect day for golf, a bit cloudy but otherwise mild, with just a light breeze across the links.  I'll get to the actual golf, but first some history and context.

In 1744, Edinburgh Town Council agreed to present a Silver Club to the winner of an annual golf competition over Leith Links.  The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, codified and wrote the original Rules of Golf as a precondition of receiving the Silver Club, which remains the oldest trophy in world golf. From the 1820s onwards HCEG members played more at Musselburgh and by 1836 the club had relocated.  A dedicated clubhouse was built in Golf Place Musselburgh in 1865 and as one of the original subscribers for the Claret Jug, along with Prestwick and the R&A, the HCEG hosted 6 Open Championships between 1874 and 1889.  Due to overcrowding on the Musselburgh Links, the HCEG moved to Muirfield in July 1890. The Muirfield course, designed by old Tom Morris, opened in May 1891 and in 1892 the course hosted the first 72 hole Open Championship. In 1922 the HCEG purchased the existing links and added a further 50 acres of land.  The layout was redesigned by Harry Colt with advice from a past HCEG Captain and since 1892 it has hosted the Open Championship 16 times, together with the Ryder, Walker and Curtis Cups and numerous other international and national competitions.

Muirfield is different from the classic 9 out 9 back links layout, with the opening 9 holes circling clockwise around the perimeter of the course, and the closing 9 holes running anti-clockwise inside the first 9. Although there are fine sea views on some holes the course is separated from the sea by trees and natural dune land and wind can be a significant factor here. We played from the Red (front 9) and Yellow (back 9) markers, meaning the course played to 6457 Yards, Par 71, with a Course Rating of 72.5 and a Slope Rating of 139.  Note that the Red tees aren't "for Ladies'" play.  It's just another of the ways that the ECGC does things- Red out, Yellow back. At Dunbar GC our comparable numbers are 6196 Yards, Par 71, Course Rating 70.4 and a Slope of 124.  My 8.6 Handicap Index converts to a Playing Handicap of 9 at Dunbar and 11 at Muirfield so it was obvious that Muirfield would be a significantly more difficult challenge.  However, I was still hopeful that I'd manage to beat that 89 from many years before.

 

A view from the first tee back to the clubhouse.  The first hole is almost a flat dog leg right 420 Yard Par 4, played directly into the prevailing wind (such as it was).  We'd had coffee in the clubhouse rather than a warm up so I wasn't surprised to find myself still 80 yards short of the green in 2. The greens would prove to be faster than they looked (stimping around 9.5?) and after misjudging the pace my 3 putt double bogey wasn't ideal. 

The second was shorter at 346 Yards, with OOB close to the left side of the green.  Bogey there, but at least I was warming up.  Next, a 370 Yard Par 4.  The last 60 yards of the fairway is squeezed between mounds that reduce it to a narrow strip, with the mounding also restricting visibility of the green itself. Gordon on his way along the 3rd fairway.

A decent drive and a 6 Rescue to within 15 feet set me up for an easy par, but any thoughts of a continued scoring trend were ended at the 4th, a 180 Yard Par 3.  The pin was mid-right on the plateau green close to deep bunkering and grassy hollows.  I missed my "brave" target line by a couple of yards and had a blind shot up a 10 foot bank for my second.  However, a double bogey was poor from there.  

The 5th is slightly uphill and is a short 487 Yard Par 5.  Easy enough if you keep to the fairway.  Stuart's advice was to avoid the 5 bunkers to the right of the fairway and target my tee shot short of the second of 3 bunkers on the left. Unfortunately my drive went right of the right side bunkering, leaving a hugely awkward stance. I was happy enough with a bogey in the circumstances.  Next came the 419 Yard Par 4 6th, which the Course Guide describes as "probably the most demanding hole on the course." Flying the 4 bunkers on the inside of the bend in dog left left fairway wasn't deliberate but somehow I managed what for me was a long drive, setting up a 4 Rescue to the green, a mere 44 Yards long!  Bogey again but I suspect I've scored worse there. 

This is the 7th, a slightly uphill 147 Yard Par 3, played to a plateau green with heavy bunkering and grassy hollows waiting to gobble up anything remotely wayward e.g. my tee shot. I was only a few feet offline to the right but ended up 20 yards right and 15 feet below the green.  My lob wedge to 6 feet was given rightful applause by my playing partners but any hopes of a stunning par didn't last long and a tap in bogey was scant consolation.

The 8th is the Stroke Index 1 hole, for good reasons.  It's a daunting 430 Yard Par 4, requiring a good long drive, left of the 5 bunkers that hug the inside of the dog leg right fairway.  I got that bit right but I still had around 190 to the green.  Three bunkers protect the approach to the green from 58 to 17 yards out, so I tried to steer a 3 wood left to avoid them.  I hit a reasonable shot but at Muirfield the catchment areas for bunkers are often quite considerable and my approach shot rolled sideways into the biggest and deepest of those bunkers, as seen below. 

I'd a hugely tricky shot just to get out, but it was disappointing that I ended up in another bunker on my way to a snowman 8.  That meant I was now 12 over after 8 holes!  The 9th offers no relief and for me, is probably the most tricky hole on the course.  This is a 474 Yard Par 5 that plays directly into the prevailing wind.  I'd hit a decent drive but had an awkward stance in light rough.  My weakest shot of the day dribbled into a fairway bunker (again!) and after 4 shots I still had  to avoid another 5 bunkers protecting the green.  Another 8 for a poor outward 51.  This is a view of the 9th green, clubhouse in the background.

The Back 9 starts with a whopping 446 Yard Par 4 with, for me at least, a blind second shot over deep twin fairway bunkers.  I'd come up just short of the green in 2 and just missed my par.  The 11th has the only completely blind tee shot on the course and is a short 332 Yard Par 4. Thankfully the pin was at the front of the green and an easy wedge helped me avoid the 6  deep bunkers that almost surround the green.  A rare par!  The 12th is a downhill 366 Yard Par 4 that looked deceptively easy.  Avoid  fairway bunkering and it's a simple hole, if you also avoid the 6 deep bunkers around the green.  I managed to miss the fairway entirely on this hole and had the rough been at "Summer" length, my bogey would have been considerably higher. 

This is the 13th, a tricky 156 Yard Par 3.  The Course Guiide says " The green should be an easy target but but is never more than 15 paces wide and angles off to the left in a hollow in the dunes.  On top of that, it is severely bunkered on both sides, drops sharply from back to front and falls away to the right.  You just have to stay out of the sand."  And that's an easy target?

I tried a 7 iron, which thankfully stuck on the bank just short of the green, leaving around a 100 foot putt.  Aye, right, a bogey 4 would have to do, and I know I've scored far higher on this hole.  The 14th is a 432 Yard Par 4, slightly downhill and played into the prevailing wind, this is another daunting hole.  Only 8 bunkers to avoid this time.  The Par 4 15th is almost equally formidable, at 393 Yards, with a remarkable 13 bunkers and significantly sloping green.  I double bogeyed both of those holes!  16 is the final Par 3 and at 179 Yards and almost totally surrounded by 7 bunkers and grassy hollows is a severe test.  The pin was on the right side of the green and after just missing  the green, I'd yet another bogey. 

And so to the 17th, a 478 Yard Par 5 that normally plays downwind and should be fair;ly straightforward.  I'd hit a reasonable drive down the right avoid the 4 bunkers but leaving a semi blind second over another 4.  I just found this bunker, had a poor lie and was daft enough to try to play over the bunker just beyond it as shown here.  I then had an almost impossible lie and had to play back down the fairway. Another double bogey was on the card! 

The last hole at Muirfield is one of my favourite closing holes in golf.  402 Yards for club amateurs like me but a formidable 471 Yards from the tournament tees.  2 bunkers to the left of the fairway were out of range but the one on the right was worryingly well within range.  By this time I'd  seen enough of Muirfield's bunkers to last me a while.  The next challenge was to avoid another couple of fairway bunkers and 2 greenside ones, in an effort to close the round under 100.  I opted to lay up and hit a short pitch to the green.  I'd forgotten just how steep the slopes were on that green and my 12 foot putt for par was quicker than I'd really want, but I was happy with a closing bogey and delighted with the morning's golf. Great company, some really good and bad shots by all 4 of us, no lost balls in my 97 gross, 86 net, with 37 putts. A very poor 26 over par, so my personal record score of 89 remains intact for another round at least.  This a view of the 18th green.

No visit to Muirfield would be complete without their truly sumptuous lunch and a tour of the iconic clubhouse and its priceless golfing artefacts.  Although the course is open to visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays, only 3 fourballs were booked for the hole of the day, including ours and Stuart was the only member among all 12 of us. A round at Muirfield is not cheap but is an experience that goes far beyond "18 holes and there's the door" which I'm afraid I've experienced elsewhere at other major tournament courses I'd better not mention.  From start to finish this was an unforgettable experience so if you ever get an invite to play here, jump at it.  Failing that, just make a tee time reservation for the low season rate if the peak rate is a bit steep for your wallet.  Be prepared to book well in advance and remember, every hole will be challenging and you will need to be extremely skillful to miss all of the bunkers and avoid 3 putting on the huge greens. The course was in truly remarkable condition for late Winter, with full tees and greens and no matts, firm fairways and fast running smooth greens.  Even our weather was kind.  We even went out again at 1545 to play the 10th and 18th and with few lights remaining in the clubhouse and daylight fading fast, I took this final photo of our day at Muirfield.  

Thank you again Stuart for your hospitality and  kindness in making our day so very special.

Stu

Regular readers of this blog and indeed all those who have gone back to the first entries will know that I started my quest to play every course in Scotland in 2009, with the idea that I'd go round by myself.  A change of plan was made late that year when I was joined by a couple of younger guys, Craig Watson and Stu Fleming.  Craig was a Scottish Government auditor at the time and we'd met some years earlier through him working on financial records associated with my Scottish Government work.  Craig and Stu had been best friends since early school days but I first met Stu when we got together for a bounce game at the Glen GC in 2009.  Our first new course was at Archerfield Dirleton in November that year, for what would be many rounds the three of us would have together. 

This is Craig and Stu, inseparable buddies.

Being old enough to be their fathers, I'd thought there might be a slight disconnect between myself and these lads, but golf and more generally the enjoyment of life and touring round the country together meant we were quickly good friends sharing a common goal.  Craig and Stu had young family responsibilities and busy jobs that limited the progress they could make towards our target of playing every course and as the blog shows, most of my new courses were solo trips.  However, we'd a great time together playing remote courses on the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, Fair Isle, Stroma and at Dundonald, Loch Lomond and umpteen lesser known places.

I mention all of this because a few days ago Craig phoned me with the terrible news that Stu had died. The circumstances aren't relevant to this blog. Suffice to say that his family have lost a truly good son, husband and father and Craig has lost his life long best friend.  I'd not seen much of Stu in recent years, apart from when he did some electrical work at my then new house in 2019.  He was so happy then, full of life and plans for the future and it's really tragic that for all the fun the three of us had, Stu will not be around to share in any of our further adventures.  Craig is a member at clubs in Carnoustie and Panmure (playing off 0.5 having got down to scratch!!!) and we'll be playing together there later this year, and hopefully also at Dunbar and the Glen where I'm still a member.  I'll maybe also join Craig when he's playing what for him will be new courses in his own continuing quest to complete the journey around every Scottish course, but it just won't be the same without Stu. 

This is the three of us, Stu on the right, on our way to Fair Isle, the remotest and one of the oddest golf course in Scotland. I hope that one day another golfer will find some of the balls that we lost that day and wonder who was so wayward...... for the record, it wisnae me!  Use the search box near the top left of the blog, key in Fair Isle and open the You Tube links about that particular trip.  One of our best golfing experiences!

I also hope that when you read this particular blog entry, you will look back to some entries that include Stu e.g. Stroma, North Ronaldsay or Scarista on the Isle of Harris.  He was such a good guy and I treasure the memories I have of the three of us playing together and sharing the journey. 

Stu and I on the final green of the North Ronaldsay course. The clubhouse had seen better days many years before and the course no longer exists, having been abandoned and lost to the ravages of the weather.  I suspect that ours was one of the last rounds to be played there.

The lads in action at Askernish, trying to retrieve a ball from one of the many rabbit holes there.  

Note too the distinctive yellow golf bag that served me so well for most of my journey around Scotland.  It finally fell apart a few years ago but after a few indifferent bags since, I've recently tracked down a similarly bright bag that will hopefully last a good few years, starting at Muirfield next week, weather permitting.

No prizes for guessing where this photo was taken! (3rd Tee, Dunbar GC)