Craigielaw Golf Club Course Review
GF Round: £73 Mon-Fri, £100 Weekend
Par 71, 6,601 yards
Slope 127
GM Verdict A thoroughly entertaining links in a lovely setting with tricky green sites and plenty of fun
Favourite Hole The opening hole, a picture-perfect, risk-reward short par 4
Right in the heart of Scotland’s Golf Coast, East Lothian, Craigielaw is perfectly situated for a trip to play one or more of the bountiful, wonderful courses nearby. Just as importantly, it also has its own, fine, modern links. It was designed by Donald Steel and Tom Mackenzie just over two decades ago, but is mature way beyond its tender 20 years. The course hosted the Scottish Senior Open in 2018 and 2019.
FRONT NINE
Deep, revetted bunkering protects the opening green
The course opens with a very attractive left-to-right dogleg to a raised green, an ideal hole to ease you into your round unless you fancy your chances of going for it.
The par-3 third has the glorious backdrop of the Firth of Forth
The long second hole is usually wind assisted and so may raise hopes of getting home in two. This is followed by the first short hole at the northern end of the course.
You play over an old drystone wall at the sixth, a lovely par 3
The next two run back and forth either side of an old wall, after which you reach the second short hole, Kilspindie. This is played directly towards the car park of the neighbouring golf club and has bunkers left and a run-off area on the right.
The view from the clubhouse out over the ninth green
The 7th and 8th run alongside Kilspindie before you head back to the clubhouse via a gentle par 4 whose main protection is a well-bunkered green.
BACK NINE
An aerial view of the clubhouse and lodge with the first and closing holes right beside
Having walked up past the first tee, the putting green and beside the car park, you come to the tee at the par-3 10th. Into the breeze, once again the green is very well protected.
Overshoot the green on the par-5 eleventh and you will find the twelfth tee… at Kilspindie!
An intriguing three-shotter leads straight out towards the Firth. Here, a snaking burn appears on the left of the fairway some 120 yards short of the green. It then accompanies you all the way, crossing just in front before slithering back on the right.
The green on the par-4 thirteenth
You now have a run of a handful of par 4s, three of them tough, one of them not so, and one extremely! If you are lucky, the wind will be your friend on most of them.
The green at the drive-and-pitch par-4 fifteenth
The least demanding of the five is the 15th, but it’s all relative and it is still all too easy to find a bunker or run-off area. The par-3 17th is fronted by pot bunkers, and the closing hole is a par 5 that will raise hopes of a good finish if the wind is behaving. IF.
There are several Golf Monthly Top 100 and Next 100 courses very close by including three of the best golf courses in East Lothian; Muirfield, North Berwick and Gullane. A real joy of this is that links golf is fully enjoyable at any time of the year. There is a 6-hole, par-3 Academy Course, extensive practice facilities and some roomy and very well-priced accommodation. I thoroughly enjoyed all the elements of my stay at Craigielaw which makes for a perfect base for golfing trips of any duration. It is also a complete resort in its own right.
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