Playing Bruntsfield Links
The aged, lichen-covered sundial sits next to the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society’s quaintly tiled Starter’s Hut. When tee times were a more relaxed affair, a quick glance on the way to the first tee would help confirm the start time for many years, although the starter was always in charge. Willie Park Jnr’s course was laid out in 1898 and, dull days aside, the introduction of British Summer Time in 1916 re-affirmed the role of the starter: no-one shifted the sundial twice a year to take account of this.
The Clubhouse lounge enjoys a towering position over this picturesque parkland course, looking out over 3 full compass points and offering distracting views of matches teeing-off and finishing. Whilst the club’s name reflects its historic roots, the 4th oldest Club in the world eventually settled itself here on rich, fertile land which used to be the hunting grounds and forests of the King. From your arrival in the car park, through the quietly imposing green, wrought-iron gates, it’s clear that any pre-arrival research off Google maps will give you no sense of the elevation changes this course is going to throw at you. The immaculately presented open driving range bays fire downhill from beside the Clubhouse, the parallel 18th fairway protected by a line of tall, mature trees down the range’s left side. From the mats, and from the Club’s wide terrace you are looking down to the Firth of Forth, shimmering in the sun as it often does. The flickering white sails of the sailing club’s yachts over in Dalgety Bay in Fife dot the waves as they make their way past Inchkeith and Cramond Islands. By the end of the round, your smartwatch will tell you that you’ve made over 300ft of elevation gain during a walk which is well over 6.5 miles. It’s clear why this course was repeatedly chosen as a regular Final Open Qualifier.
An expansive, tiered putting green slopes between the nearby white and yellow tees of the 1st hole, ensuring that you have the opportunity to practice the kind of breaks you are going to find out on the course. Members also have the opportunity to enhance their skills in the recently upgraded practice / coaching areas as well as their new Swing Studio. For the visitor, the game is about keeping it out of the trees, with every hole switching direction and ensuring that the wind will confuse you on every shot.
Heading off up the 1st fairway, and off the yellow tees (6132 yards, par 71), it’s more than likely into the prevailing westerly breeze. The fairway is narrowed by a pair of bunkers which sweep in from the left to marry up with the beginning of a line of trees up the right. This narrow landing point is around 225 yards away, and only 23 yards wide. The fairway slopes right all the way to the green, and if the greenkeepers have decided that today is the day to test the players then by positioning the pin near left, and protected by a high-side bunker, it’s a challenge for your second shot of the day if you dare to take the pin on. The worst you might find is that the sand in their bunkers is as soft and fine as any you’ll play from.
The 2nd, along with the 8th , provides the player with clever hole designs that ask you to step back for just a moment from your tee’d up ball. Admire the view, the vista of tree tops and red tiles and the distant Ochil Hills. The devious positions of the five randomly-shaped bunkers on this par-4 hole are set to catch out the many golfers who think the steadily dropping fairway will give them sanctuary. If you can fade the ball on demand, or even unconsciously, the right-hand side of the fairway is best but it leaves you with a carry over two consecutive bunkers. This course requires you to play strategically and you need to know your carry for each club, not just your run-out total. The sandy spots are so cleverly positioned that weaving from side to side with successive strokes might seem passive, but it’s the right way to play Bruntsfield.
With four par-5s, the course will challenge you at every turn and the combination of elevation, slopes and forest demands reasonable accuracy from every tee and fairway shot to make your handicap work for you. As two of these monsters are back-to-back on 12 and 13, it’s understandable that your concentration can begin to slip: into wind, or wind-assisted, the yardage numbers will keep jumbling around in your head.
The loop of holes 9 through 11 are a firm favourite of members and visitors, encircling a circular copse of woodland which hides an old granite quarry, the source of blocks which form the pedestal of New York’s Statue of Liberty. The 9th , one of the par-5s, presents a generously wide fairway whose second half climbs steadily to the level of the 1st fairway’s lower right edge. You can’t see a green thought. Midway from the tee to the fairway’s distant apex lie a couple of large bunkers. Again, it’s worth noting that there’s not a single, circular bunker here: each is a distorted kidney-bean shape, with indents and dips in the face and often running at an angle to the surrounding slope rather than in line with it. It makes them much more interesting visually off the tee or fairway, and more challenging when you’re digging around in them. Also, in the middle of this particular fairway, lies a large, raised drainage culvert walled by a neat set of the adjacent quarry’s stone. This is the lowest point of the course and, over the years, the Club’s investment in drainage has paid dividends in creating a wonderful experience for the players. It also acts as a good target to stay clear of. The quirkiness of this hole, though, is that the green is tucked sharp left around the side of the copse, and demands you play a sensible second shot to lay up. This is no dogleg – it’s a hockey stick of a hole.
The par-3 10th follows, offering the most sublime views out over the Forth which can momentarily distract you from the challenges of the green and its surroundings. Slopes run off on all sides, more steeply to the left, and two ominous bunkers guard the front corners. It’s a long putting surface, but never flat, and the pin can be quite tricky when tucked behind the front left bunker. And if you survive the 10th then the 11th will test you once more. The perfect line off the tee is squeezed by the encroaching forest from the left and two fairway bunkers on the right. Too far right, perhaps pushed by the prevailing wind, and any straight-in approach to the green’s dogleg-right position is blocked. Just to make sure that you are reminded of this… there’s a large bunker left side to catch any shot which flies straight and doesn’t fade. Once again, you can see why it has been used as a Qualifier.
The memory of taking on the par-3 16th , a full shot to a relatively flat green but protected by the large loch, is one you will never forget: think Augusta, or The Roxburghe. Off the yellows it plays about 150 yards, but when the pin is cut back left it quietly brings more of the water into play for the direct approach. If you have a score, common sense should prevail, and into wind a reliable fade will drop your ball on the front right edge of the green, hopefully just missing the large bunker. Walking off with a par is a very good, if not surprising, result. Off the white tees this hole can stretch to around 170 yards and guarantees a full, nervous carry across the loch.
History aside, the succession of designs which have created this majestic course will still offer you glimpses of Park Jnr, Mackenzie, Braid and Hawtree and the more recent shaping by Mackenzie & Ebert has kept true to their visions. Being so close to Edinburgh’s city centre means that in no time at all you can swap your view of the castle for the views from one of the country’s most rewarding, challenging and welcoming parkland spaces, just as the King did – except he was hunting deer, and you’ll be hunting birdies.