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| Home Scottish Links Golf The Basics Detailed information AFSD - how to determine the real length of a golf course Helpful Websites Aberdeen & Grampian Highlands Royal Aberdeen, Cruden Bay... Ayrshire Royal Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick... Just east of Edinburgh Scotland's Golf Coast Castle Park Craigielaw Dunbar Gifford Glen Gullane Haddington Kilspindie Longniddry Luffness New Muirfield Musselburgh Musselburgh Links North Berwick Royal Musselburgh Whitekirk Winterfield Northern Highlands Royal Dornoch, Brora, Nairn... St. Andrews area Other golf courses Machrihanish, Pitlochry... . Links Lite Great links golf for everyone Donate What others say |
Gifford Golf Club © Small is not necessarily a negative when it comes to golf courses. In the USA, 9 hole courses are usually executive courses or sub-standard golf courses installed in the middle of a housing development so that the developer can brag that his homes have "golf course view." That's not necessarily true in the UK. England and Scotland have a plethora of 9 hole golf courses that are of the highest standards. For example, Royal Worlington & Newmarket course in Suffolk, England is a 9 hole golf course and a favorite of many golf writers, as is Tobermory Golf Club in Tobermory, Scotland, a testing layout often described as the best 9 hole course in Scotland.Because of the restrictions of land availability when they were laid out, many fine golf courses did not have room for a full 18 holes, so rather than squeeze in 18 holes with an overabundance of par 3s, golf course architects designed imaginative 9 hole courses with standard numbers of pars 3,4 and 5. These courses were designed for two rounds to make up the 18 holes. The tees are moved to different positions on the back nine so the second half of your game presents you with the same greens but new challenges as to how to get to them.
Gifford Golf Club is for locals and independent traveling golfersA golf tour company will never bring you to a 9 hole layout like Gifford Golf Club. For one thing, they can't make enough money on it. And, secondly, the average person desiring to play golf in Scotland would never think a 9 hole golf course could be challenging. But as an independent golf traveler you can play little jewels like Gifford encrusted here and there all over Scotland.Gifford Golf Club -- fine 9 hole course that plays like an 18 hole courseNestled in the Lammermuir Hills in a woodland setting just outside the East Lothian village of Gifford, Gifford Golf Club is a gently undulating parkland golf course that can easily be walked. The greens are finely maintained and the course is playable all year (a testament to the unusually fine weather in East Lothian). A stream--The Speedyburn--meanders through the course and comes into play on four of the 9 holes (which, of course, actually makes it appear on 8 holes when playing a full round of 18 holes).Two of the tees are moved on the back nine to make the layout more interesting. Hole number one is played as a 362 yard par 4. When the same hole is played as #10, it's played as a 172 yard par 3. The 5th and 14th also share the same green but are played from different tees--the 5th a 153 yard par 3 and the 14th a 216 yard par 3. I like the idea of playing the same holes a second time. One of the problems with playing any course for the first time is the lack of experience in knowing where to lay up, how the greens break, etc. When you play the same hole a second time only 2 hours after playing it for the first time, you gain an advantage on the course. I'll take any advantage I can get. Gifford Golf Club is a good play and for the price you really can't go wrong. It's an especially good course if you're looking for a second course to play in a day. Because of the reasonable fee and the interesting layout, I recommend it. And it's especially good if you're traveling with someone who's proficiency level at golf is not quite good enough for the other golf courses in the area. Directions: Just outside the village of Gifford to the southwest, 5 miles from Haddington. Easy to find. Locate it on your Ordnance Survey map. Golf Nook Scotland rating -- a PAR. www.giffordgolfclub.com ______________________________________________________________
This golf course is somewhat apart from several
of the places you may want to visit,
so if
you do not have a car you might opt
to remain
in North Berwick. If so, please refer
to
the Golf Coast area. But if you do have access to a car, by
all means consider visiting Gifford.
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