Muirfield

“Architecturally it is a gem,” well-known golf architect Donald Steel has said of Muirfield. A clockwise outward half encases a counter-clockwise inward nine, an arrangement that ensures that players have to make incessant adjustment for wind direction.

Muirfield holds the honor of being the only golf course to host the Open Championship (15 times, most recently in 2002), the Amateur, the Mid Amateur, the Ryder Cup Matches, the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup. The distinguished roll of winners of Open Championships staged at Muirfield over the past 130 years, speaks volumes for the quality of the golf course: Hilton, Braid, Vardon, Ray, Hagen, Perry, Cotton, Player, Nicklaus, Trevino, Watson, Faldo, Els and Mickelson. Muirfield is also home to The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which has existed since 1744, when the company wrote golf’s original 13 rules which remain on display in the clubhouse.

Guests are highly encouraged to partake in the Muirfield tradition of playing a 4 ball in the morning, having a formal lunch in the iconic clubhouse dining room and returning to the course after lunch for an alternate shot match.

While peak season tee times are very difficult to get, Muirfield does offer ideal year-round playing conditions and doesn’t employ wintertime temporary tees or greens.