BEAT YOUR BOGEY HOLE WIN FOOTJOY SHOES

REGIONAL GUIDE
East Lothian
East of Edinburgh you’ll find Scotland’s Golf Coast and pure golfing gold…
WORDS KEVIN BROWN
ast Lothian has always played
second fiddle to Fife just a few miles
E
across the Firth of Forth. It has
always been a very worthy understudy to Fife
and the widely-acclaimed ‘Home of Golf’ St
Andrews – but is this long-established
reputation fair? Possibly not…
Like St Andrews and the whole region of
Fife, East Lothian is steeped in golfing history
and tradition, with a wonderful collection of
courses, chiefly of course of the links variety.
This is arguably the biggest year yet for
East Lothian golf, as the area hosts three
major professional tournaments: prequalifying
for the Scottish Open (at North
Berwick), the Scottish Open itself (July 9-12,
Gullane) and finally the Scottish Senior Open
at Archerfield Links (Aug 27-29). Oh, and
between July 27 and August 1, Muirfield
stages the Scottish Amateur Championships.
Typically though, Fife grabs back the
limelight immediately, with the ‘big one’ – The
Open Championship – taking place the week
after the Scottish Open, Gullane’s well
deserved moment in the spotlight!
Nevertheless, East Lothian has plenty to be
pleased about and plenty to offer travelling
golfers. Its astounding quality of courses
means that in many golfers’ eyes it’s not only
on a par with the Home of Golf but, dare we
say it, usurps it. It’s a view we wouldn’t
necessarily disagree with.
It fully lives up to its ‘Scotland’s Golf Coast’
➔