THE ROYAL BURGESS GOLFING SOCIETY - 15 POINTS
Edinburgh is a wonderful city with history on every corner, a thriving restaurant and pub scene and world renowned festivals. However, for many golfers it is merely a city passed through en route to the golfing Meccas of Fife and East Lothian.
That’s understandable, and I’m not going to pretend that you should be forsaking at a round on one of the great Scottish Golf Coast courses to play in central Edinburgh. However, life is not all one big golf tour and sometimes an opportunistic round close to a city centre is called for, and Royal Burgess would fit that bill just fine.
The approach to the 11th is one of the most memorable shots you will find at The Royal Burgess
This is a club steeped in history, indeed it lays claim to being the oldest club in the world. However this claim comes with a big asterisk because it applies to the club, rather than the course. In its early years the club played its golf over the Bruntsfield in central Edinburgh and the society met in local bars. In 1872 the society moved out of the city centre to Musselburgh Links, on the east of the city. There was a lot of competition with other clubs to play at Musselburgh so the society decided they needed to find a new location and the move was made to the current site in Barnton, just to the west of the city centre.
Many of the greats are said to have had a hand in Burgess’s development but it was a combination of Willie Park Junior and James Braid who produced the course largely as it is today.
I have to confess that I very rarely play parkland golf these days and it was nice to play a classic parkland layout. The trees have been well managed over the years and while they frame the holes nicely, you will rarely find a good shot punished by them. On an autumn day the colouring was really lovely and they added to the enjoyment of the round.
The conditioning was excellent considering the recent rain. Edinburgh courses suffer in comparison with their coastal neighbours but Royal Burgess has done a lot of work to improve over recent years and it has paid off. The greens were running well and recent bunker renovations have helped raise the bar.
The course itself is a very pleasant, realtively straightforward layout. There’s nothing tricked-up here. The course was wide enough from the tees and while you are rewarded on your approach if you keep the ball on the fairway it is playable from the rough too. The bunkering is strong, both off the tee and around the greens.
The course itself is a 6,158 yard par 70 from the white tees - with 4 par 3s and 2 par 5s. However, there is plenty of variety in length with the par 4s stretching from 299 yards to 446. There was a variety of strong holes, the third and fourth are a good pair of 400 yard plus holes with trees and out of bounds on the right and excellent bunkering on the left.
On the back nine the 11th would be the standout par 4 - a lovely dog leg around to the right where a well positioned tee shot down the fill leaves a short iron over a burn to a well-set green. The course continues to charm all the way to the 18th. You never feel like it’s beating you up and there are opportunities to score in a really pleasant setting.
The 18th is a bit of an odd one. It plays as a 232 pard par 3 from the regular tees but a 244 yard par 4 from the back tees. The car park lies to the right if you hit a big slice making it a rather scary hole to end with.
I didn’t make it into the ‘arts and crafts’ style clubhouse due to Covid restrictions but it has a reputation as a treasure trove and I’m sure would be a lovely place to have a drink and a bite to eat before or after a round.
If you are in Edinburgh and looking for a half-day diversion, I would absolutely encourage a trip to Royal Burgess. Edinburgh is steeped in history and Royal Burgess adds to that.
BOOKING THE COURSE
Visitors are welcome at Royal Burgess 7 days a week, members’ competitions depending. I found the club very accommodating when I contacted them to organise a game, they will get fewer visitors here than the coastal clubs so will be glad you decided to visit!
The green fee is £175 a round (dropping to £100 for UK club members), or £250 a day. You can either book online through the website here or give them a call.
Prices correct as of August 2023.
TOUR TIPS
Royal Burgess is only a twenty minute drive from the heart of the Edinburgh, and just ten minutes from the airport. So, as well as being a good city centre option, you could also add it on to a trip from further afield if you’re flying in to or out of Edinburgh airport.
If you are looking for other courses to play in Edinburgh city itself then neighbouring Bruntsfield is a 5 minute drive away and would make for a good double-header. Mortonhall and Dalmahoy would be other good options for parkland golf if that’s your thing.
More likely though, if you are here just for a golf trip, you will likely be heading to East Lothian (it’s a 40 minute drive from from Royal Burgess to Gullane) or to Fife (St Andrews is an hour away).
CONTACT DETAILS
The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh
181 Whitehouse Road
Barnton, Edinburgh
EH4 6BU
Web - www.royalburgess.co.uk/
Email - professional@royalburgess.co.uk
Phone - +44 131 339 2075
