Braid Hills Golf Course

Overview: Braid Hills is Edinburgh’s historic municipal course on the exposed southern slopes of the city. The layout climbs and falls across open heathland, with blind crests, gorse, changing lies and panoramic views that include the skyline and Arthur’s Seat. It is a course where finding the right side of a ridge can matter as much as carrying a bunker, and where the terrain supplies much of the architecture.

History: The course opened to the public in 1889 and is associated with Bob Ferguson and Peter McEwan, who designed and laid it out as Edinburgh’s first public course. The municipal setting made the course part of the city’s everyday golfing life, while its unusual elevation and natural contours gave it a character very different from the flatter links around the Firth of Forth.

Did You Know? Braid Hills was originally offered as a possible site for the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers before that club chose Muirfield. The current white-tee card measures 5,858 yards and plays to par 71, a compact scorecard for such a demanding hillside round.