Eyemouth

Eyemouth Golf Club nestles on the rugged Berwickshire coastline, just five miles north of the English border, and its course sits near the centre of Eyemouth’s pretty little fishing village. The fairways all lie close to the coast but nine of them are more parkland in nature as they occupy a cliff top setting, where there’s little sandy soil available to create firm and fast playing conditions.

The club was formed in 1894 and for a hundred years members enjoyed their game of golf played over a 9-hole course. The opportunity to expand the layout to 18 holes arose in the mid-1990s, when the local council approached the club with a plan to run a new road through the course, allowing easier access to the harbour area and the fish market.

Almost one and a half million pounds was raised for the new development from the Sports Council, the R&A, the local authority and lottery funding, with the new layout designed by local architects Bain and Swan. After a period of upheaval, the new 18-hole was unveiled to an expectant membership in 1997.

The upgrade was radical. The only green remaining from the old course is the 8th, which used to be the 5th and the 7th hole along the coast was formerly the 5th, only it’s now played in reverse. Most of the additional nine holes were laid out to the south of the property, linking back to the higher ground at the clubhouse via the right doglegged 16th.

The new layout features a couple of extraordinary holes, one on each nine: the dramatic par three 6th, “A-Still-No-Ken,” requires a heroic 170-yard carry to the green across a rocky coastal inlet, and the gargantuan par five 13th is reckoned to be Scotland’s longest hole when played from the 656-yard back tee.