The 36 hole Bruntsfield Short Hole Golf Course is set out on Bruntsfield Links, near the west end of The Meadows, a public park in Central Edinburgh a mile or so south of the city centre. This is the World's oldest short hole golf course and home to the Bruntsfield Short Hole Golf Club. The World's oldest golf clubhouse still stands there too and for more information on golf at this site and the history of golf in Scotland generally, see www.scottishgolfhistory.net. Although I played the 36 hole course a few years ago, I simply forgot to list it in the list of courses I'd already played when I wrote my first posting on this blog, so I'll need to play the 36 hole course again sometime. Anyway, although the 36 hole course is only open between April and October, the City of Edinburgh Council, which owns and operates it, provides a separate 9 hole Winter Course as advised in this notice on the BSHGC's Starter's Hut.
I played the Winter Course on 10 March 2012, on a warm and cloudy day. The holes are all around 70 yards long, making the course roughly 600 yards, Par 27, so I'd only taken my wedge and putter and 3 balls. As can be seen from this course plan, the Winter Course is bisected by public footpaths (and if your ball goes over a footpath it's deemed to be out of bounds). Although I was the only player on the course at the time the area was very busy, with walkers and joggers frequently passing within a few yards of almost every hole, so it was certainly a case of waiting my turn to play once everyone was out of range. The course looks pretty easy, but the greens are tiny, no more than 20 feet or so across and although it's only March, the greens were lightning quick. I played 3 balls from each tee, taking the first as the "scoring ball" and was round in 26, with 8 pars and a birdie 2 at the 8th.
This is a view of the 1st hole. Both courses are also handy for my favourite Edinburgh shop, the excellent Lupe Pinto's (see www.lupepintos.com) so that's another reason to visit!
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