Gullane (No.2) - Lothians - Scotland

I would recommend any golf trip to Scotland to make a stop in Gullane: the atmosphere of the village is pure golf, and that feeling is evident everywhere in the village.

As for no.2, it is definitely a brilliant golf course.

The first 3 holes are not the most appealing of all, but, from there, when you reach the top of Gullane hill, apart from a superb view, there are some really remarkable holes, being the best, in my opinion, the 4th and the 7th, two masterpieces.

Holes number 10 to 12 will take us to the farthest and most isolated part of the course, and golf is still of great quality almost until the end, where the last two holes offer two birdie opportunities: the 17th is an abrupt downhill par 4 and the 18th is a driveable but nice par 4.

Maybe they are not the best holes in the world, but they will allow us to close the round with the possibility of lowering numbers in the card.

In short, a great golf course, in a fantastic setting and at a reasonable price.

MMA.

So far, of the Gullane courses, we have only played Gullane II, and we loved it. The course starts in the valley in front of the visitors clubhouse and ends there as well, the other holes are played around the hill with nice views over the bay and surrounding golf courses. When we played it was not overly crowded, but I can imagine it can get a bit crowded on busy days.

We played that day with a 2 club wind, and that is when the fun begins! Especially on top of the hill, the wind was forcing us to punch our way around, making sure to keep the ball in play.

I found the hole three uphill a bit funny, but all the other holes were excellent golf holes, with good design, sufficient length, excellent links turf & rough and outstanding green complexes. Gullane II offers both excellent short and long holes. If Gullane I and III are of the same quality as Gullane II, this is an exceptional collection of quality links golf holes!

Maybe the only hole that is out of sink with the others, is hole 19: the visitors' clubhouse. Whilst the members' clubhouse sits beautiful alongside the first tee of Gullane I, the visitors' clubhouse is a rather unwelcoming place near the first tees of Gullane II & III. So we missed the after round member & guest interaction in the clubhouse that other courses provide. But the good news is: Gullane offers a variety of pubs and restaurants for your cool down after the round.

We played the course from the yellow tees and I scored a decent 72, so you can wake me up any time of the day to play this course again!

Gullane is definitely on the list when we come back again.

OCB

The type of links golf encountered at the No.2 course is very similar in character to that at the No.1 layout. In fact you could take almost any hole and place it on the main course and it wouldn't look or feel out of place.

The No.2 course is preferred by many locals and whilst it doesn't quite demand as much from the golfer it's easy to see why it is so well liked. As a whole the No.1 course in my opinion is undoubtedly superior and consistently produces on 18 occasions but it could be argued that the second course has the stand-out holes. The fourth, 11th and 13th certainly have the 'wow' factor and are seriously good golf holes. I could also make a strong case for it having at least as strong a set of short holes too.

It comes in 500 yards shorter than its elder sibling and houses only one long par four (which is played downhill) but the par of 71 is still a sound test.

The condition of both courses was, as you would expect, immaculate. The greens ran true and the fairways produced that tight lie only links golf can provide. The bunkers were immaculately maintained, both the sand and the surrounds. It has a reputation for excellent winter golf too and I can well imagine that being the case.

One key feature we noticed on both courses is the bunkering on a lot of the holes gives the appearance that the hazards are much closer to the green than they actually are. This may fool the first time visitor but you will certainly know for your second round, and third, and fourth... This is a course that once you have played it you will want to return to time and time again.

I can't speak highly enough of our experience here. It is very rare that you come across a club with two courses where there is such a consistent quality throughout both of them.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

We played our third day of our eleven course tour at Gullane 2, amid all the preparations for the Scottish Open on 1. After two challenging, windy days, our day at Gullane was surprisingly calm and mild, and many of of us had our best scoring day there. I very much liked 2. I had played 1 on a previous visit and knew we would be playing on the same ground, up and down Gullane Hill at a very reasonable price. Two of the holes, 7 and 8, will be part of the composite course used for the Open. Number 11, the long par three down the hill with stunning views from the tees, is a great hole. There are many good holes, fun and challenging on Gullane 2 .

From the public clubhouse you see only the 1st and 18th. Two rather flat and uninteresting looking holes on the east side of the A198. Once you cross the road, there is a wonderful variety of holes, some reasonably hilly. The first seven holes run alongside the No. 1 course and then they head more towards Aberlady Bay.

The 3rd hole is uphill but is a very short par four of just 237 yards. Provided you drive straight then you will be close to the green with a great birdie chance. The easy 3rd is followed by a long par four of 454 yards and rated index 1. This is a really good hole and features no less than five bunkers in front of the green.

The 17th has the same wonderful views as its counterpart on the No. 1 course. Although 361 yards in length, down the steep hill this hole is very driveable. You cross over the road to the 18th tee to return to the public clubhouse. At only 305 yards, this par four presents a very real birdie prospect.

The No. 2 course is not far behind No. 1 in terms of quality and degree of difficulty. The greens at No. 2 are excellent and, in general, the course provided far more variety than I had expected. The bunkers are quite small so invariably you will find yourself right up against the sides or front wall with little means of escape.

This review is an edited extract from Another Journey through the Links, which has been reproduced with David Worley’s kind permission. The author has exclusively rated for us every Scottish course featured in his book. Another Journey through the Links is available for Australian buyers via www.golfbooks.com.au and through Amazon for buyers from other countries.

Gullane really is a kind of 'golf heaven'. I played course No. 2 after using No. 3 to warm up the day before. The day was dry bust very blustery, with strong winds coming over the Firth of Forth, which made club choices on the round quite a challenge! Holes 11 to 14 are really beautiful and I think this part of the course is as good as No. 1. At the downhill par 3 hole 11, my ball seemed to hang in the windy air for an eternity before settling down on the immaculate bowl-shaped green. Drives on the 13th, 17th and 18th were close to 300 yds. due to the strong following tail wind. This made me smile, as I had battled into and across the wind on the outward nine - sometimes having to 'club up' by a factor of 2 or 3 to reach targets. I recommend this course to anyone who enjoys links golf. It is well laid out and the greens are really excellent. The clubhouse facilities are good as well. I will definitely return here.

If this course had another name than No.2 which implies, at least to me that it is second best it might be higher up the list. Conditionwise it is every bit as good as No.1 (as is No.3). It is much more managable being slightly shorter and thus for most golfers more enjoyable. The holes are not easy and some are being included in a composite course for the Scottish Open in 2015. In particular hole 4- a long par 4- which sweeps down hill towards the sea with great views. There is not a bad hole on the course unlike no.1 which has some long boring holes up and down. A must for those who enjoy links golf.

Gullane village is a must visit for all golfers. Gullane's 3 courses, Muirfield, Loughness, Renaissance. If Gullane was a county in England it would be classed as one of the best golfing counties in England. Never mind being a sleepy village of 3,000 people.Played no.2 in October (brave i know). We were the only people on the course. Views amazing, course in superb condition with fairways even better than Muirfields, greens immaculate.Clubhouse nice, but to get true atmosphere head to the 'old clubhouse' pub overlooking the village par 3 course!

Gullane No.2 was my first experience playing a links style course as we don't have many of this type of course where I live in central Canada. The course was in wonderful condition in August 2011 when we played, adding no doubt to an overall wonderful experience. Most memorable was the severely down hill 17th ( if I recall correctly), where the tee shot seems to be airborne forever. I would strongly recommend this course to golfers of all skill levels. Staff very helpful and friendly. Truly outstanding.

Gullane is a wonderful place and #2 course is sheer golfing heaven. The 4th might just be my favourite hole in the world but there are so many fine holes here. This is pure links golf - and on a clear day there is nowhere I would rather be.