There are few golf courses that contain as many purely fun golf holes as the West Links at North Berwick Golf Club, located a few miles beyond Gullane and Muirfield, and for this reason North Berwick is always a favorite of the many fine courses comprising the typical eastern Scotland golf tour itinerary. Golf has been played at North Berwick for close to 175 years and it is readily apparent that the course was designed more by nature than by the hand of man.
While there are no weak holes at North Berwick, there are certainly a number of holes that will forever linger as wonderful memories of the visitor's Scottish golf vacation. On the front nine, there is the short par four 1st, where the golfer hits a fairway wood or iron to the base of a rugged hill in the middle of the fairway and then attempts to float a short iron onto the elevated green set next to the rocks and beach, the par four 2nd, where the golfer hits over the beautiful beach set below the tee, and the long par four 3rd, where the golfer must carry the first of North Berwick's many ancient stone walls with his second shot. The remainder of the front nine contains a fun and challenging series of holes, yet it is the back nine where the fun really begins at North Berwick .
First, there is the unforgettable 13th (named “Pit”), a par four where the golfer must feather a short iron onto the narrow green set behind yet another one of North Berwick's stone walls. Next is the world famous 15th (named “Redan”), the prototype for many great par threes around the world, where the golfer must play a precise iron shot to the front right portion of the green, in order to avoid the deep bunkers guarding the left side of the green, from where it will feed back to the pin as the green slopes away from the golfer and towards his left. Finally, there is the unique 16th, with a green unlike any in golf, containing two raised plateaus separated by a steep valley.
There are few golfers who would argue that North Berwick is as good a championship golf course as its neighbor, Muirfield, but there are quite a few golfers who would argue passionately that North Berwick is as fun a golf course as one should ever be so privileged to play. We highly recommend including this personal favorite in your next Scottish golf trip.
