Mortonhall - Lothians - Scotland

Mortonhall might just be the best of the many course in and around Scotland's capital. It is more distinctive than Musselburgh/Monktonhall where tree-lined fairways abound. It is also quite a bit cheaper than Bruntsfield and Royal Burgess at the west side of the city. Mortonhall offers a good deal of variety and changes of elevation. The 2nd, for example, has a drive from an elevated tee. Perhaps the two most memorable holes are the charming par three 17th, played over a pond that teems with wildlife, and the very unusual 18th . Much of the middle section has a moorland feel to and on this part of the course it is very hard to believe that you are close to the centre of a big city. Mortonhall has more variety and visual appeal than Braid Hills just across the road and is a very enjoyable place to play.

A very good golf course, a must for anyone staying in Edinburgh. I played a morning round before my flight back to Spain and the truth is that the course did not disappoint me at all, even after having read some of the very favorable chronicles on this website.

The undulating terrain is very well used, the design is sound, and interesting and the maintenance is painstaking. For me, the best holes are 2, 4, 6 and 8 but the truth is that there are no weak holes; maybe only the 10th, a short par 3, specially because of the awkward angle from the tee.

In my opinion, its rating should be between 4 and 5, but, in any case, I recommend it vividly as a complement to any trip to Scotland.

M.M.A, Barcelona.

Almost picked out of a hat on a recent trip - needed to be handy for the airport - we played and were hugely impressed with the condition and layout of this superb course. Multiple elevation changes may mean that you need a degree of fitness for it, but the reward is a variety of spectacular views and one excellent hole after another. We'll be back!

Mortonhall provided a great golfing experience. Playing in July the greens are particulary challenging and quick. The course does provide a challenging although enjoyable walk. A disappointment of the day of our visit was the unavailability of a hot meal, not good when you are playing on a day ticket.

The patio of the traditional, red-roofed clubhouse of Mortonhall Golf Club is generously decorated by pot plants and hanging baskets, edged by meticulously tended shrub borders and flanked by an immaculate practice putting area. This is your first clue to what Mortonhall is all about. Your second clue comes as you arrive on the first tee (passing a raised flower bed on the way!) and are faced by a beautifully defined, gently meandering and marvellously manicured fairway; when I visited the fairways were displaying those wonderful alternating-cut stripes – just like you see on the telly! As you step off the first billiard table of a green you pretty much have got the Mortonhall message – this is a place where attention to detail really matters.

The condition of this course deserves at least one more paragraph. The tees and fairways are so well cut I can only imagine the head green-keeper was a military barber in a previous life. The greens are smoother than my baby’s well talcumed botty. The semi-rough is manageable and the bunkers stand out so crisply they are strangely appealing. The yardage marker posts and fairway markers, the signs directing you to the next tee, the tee boxes, the flag-sticks, the astro-turf pathways (no gravel or chipped-bark here thank you!) i.e. EVERYTHING - looks loved. Call me an anorak but even the immature trees seemed staked and tied more diligently and neatly than I have ever noticed before. I can’t imagine there are many courses in Scotland that can beat here for condition and whatever the green-keepers take home in their pay-packets it is very well earned.

There are lots of good holes, a few crackers and even the weaker ones are quite good. The standout hole for me is the 461yrd second. The tee is elevated about fifty feet from the fairway, there is a pond, large trees and three bunkers down the left and skirting these leaves the shortest and easiest line into the green. There is a fair bit of room out right but like the best risk-reward holes an approach from there is blind and needs to carry a sizeable hummock. Approaching the green the fairway narrows to virtually nothing and there is a gorse-laden slope on the left and grass bunkers surrounding the long green.

The 4th is a genuine three shot par five and the next two holes are short but interesting fours. The 7th is a long and testing par three with a green cut into the slope and bunkers short left and right and long grass, nettles and all manner of wild flora around to catch you out. At the par five 8th the dyke that separates Mortonhall from the Braid Hills courses is a constant companion on your left and trees line the fairway to the right.

The 10th is a classic wee par 3. At only 147 yards this hole demonstrates that you don’t have to be big to be tough. The tee is a good few feet above green level. The green is only eleven paces wide at its fattest point and is guarded by four bunkers at the front and is surrounded by a virtual “moat” of grass bunkering. Tweak it even slightly left and the slope could carry you a good 25yards wide. The next hole is a marvellous par 4 – visually appealing and testing in equal measure with a very long plateau green. The par five 12th is great fun with a fairway that resembles a velodrome – if you can hit a draw here and catch the slope you might add fifty yards on to your average drive. With three large and well placed bunkers just short of the green plotting your way from the fairway requires more careful consideration. The 13th is 429yrds of slightly uphill toughness. 14 and 16 are short-ish par 4’s which are birdie-able (and bogey-able too!).

The seventeenth is a medium-iron par 3 alongside a pond. Don’t worry - you have to hit a horror shot to really disturb the ducks; the bunkering and banking of long grass around the green are much more likely to catch you out. The 18th is a dog-leg right – aim it at the gable of the clubhouse and give it a blast. At the risk of being churlish perhaps this is the one hole that most could do with a bit of muscling-up – perhaps with a bit of judicious fairway bunkering to focus the mind. The clubhouse is very spacious and elegant. However, weather permitting, I suggest you sit on the patio, enjoy a cool beer and raise a toast to the green keeping staff – they deserve all the praise they get. Derek, Edinburgh, June 08.

Mortonhall doesn’t figure prominently in Scottish golf course features that I’ve read and I cannot for the life of me think why not. Park, Taylor and Braid have all had input in its design and the hand of Fred Hawtree (from 30 years ago) is very evident in so many ways here.

It’s a very classy course, make no mistake, with a very fine clubhouse to match. Wide, rolling fairways, pleasing changes in elevation, beautiful greenside bunkering and enormous putting surfaces were several of the notes I jotted down as I played – and I have never seen Astroturf used on walkways between tees so effectively (and so pleasing on the eye).

A new green was being installed on the par three 7th hole so the club obviously have an ongoing development policy in place. Yes, Mortonhall might not be near the top of popular parkland listings but it certainly deserves to be.

Jim McCann