Course: Muirfield - Gullane

A golf holiday to Scotland is perhaps one of the busiest and the most pleasurable for any avid golfer. Playing golf in the birthplace of the game is an unparalleled experience and one course that features on every tour is the Muirfield Golf Club in Gullane. One of the greatest tracks in the world, Muirfield is the course of The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and the worlds oldest golf club, formed in 1744. However, the course at Muirfield opened for play only in 1891 and before that the game was played over the links at Leith. Interestingly, the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith are credited with having drafted the original 13 rules of the game of golf.

Apart from the historical importance attached to it, Muirfield is a must play for its unusual layout, originally designed by Tom Morris. Most links courses of this period were laid out in the simple nine out, nine back format but Muirfield is quite a surprise. Two loops of nine holes, with the second resting within the first make the layout extraordinary and a difficult one to navigate. No two holes lie in the same direction and the wind makes matters worse on every hole ensuring the player stays on his toes.

Host to 15 Open Championships, Muirfield is an enigmatic course not to be missed. The layout spread over 7,034 yards playing for a par of 71 offers some great holes like the par five 9th and the uphill 13th, considered one of the toughest on the Open circuit. Muirfield is a tough course perhaps best known for its bunkering looming in unsuspected on the putter. With no water hazards or trees coming into play, Muirfields wares are open to anyone who wishes a duel with the best of the courses in the world.