Is East Lothian the True Home of Golf?

With all the attention being heaped on Muirfield this week, it has us thinking about the incredible golfing area where this year's Open Championship venue is located. Sure, St. Andrews has its reputation gained through centuries of championships and the manner in which golf is intertwined with the town. However, a strong argument could be made that East Lothian, that amazing stretch of links land east of Edinburgh, is the true Home of Golf.

Let's examine some of the reasons why East Lothian has such an important and lofty place in the game:

1. History - The first links course you stumble upon heading east out of Edinburgh just happens to be the oldest golf course in the world, and a 6-time host venue for the Open Championship. The Musselburgh Links - Old is a course where you can sense the ghosts of golfing's past as you navigate the 9-hole layout that lies within a horse racing track. The course is tons of fun to play and a great way to stretch the legs and get introduced to links golf after an overnight flight. For those that want to feel what it would have been like to play the course in the late 1800's, the club has hickory shafted clubs on hand.

The 4th green at Musselburgh. Golfers have been known to pop into Mrs. Forman's pub mid-round. 

Championship Pedigree - Anyone watching the best golfers in the world fight tooth-and-nail to make pars can easily make the determination that Muirfield is one of the world's best championship tests. The course is renowned for being a 'pure' test of golf that will reward the best players. The list of winners at Muirfield...Nicklaus, Watson, Player, Faldo, Els, etc, lends credit to the notion that great golf courses produce great champions.

For those of us with less talent, Muirfield remains a must-do experience. One of the best days you can have as a golfer is the traditional schedule that has visitors playing a Fourball in the morning, followed by a leisurely (and delicious) lunch in the historic clubhouse, followed by a round using a Foursomes (alternate shot) format. After a big lunch and a few pints, the format is a perfect way to have some laughs and settle bets from the morning round.

Muirfield - maybe the best of the Open rota courses?

Fun - That's why we play this game, right? No course does fun better than North Berwick - West Links. Just a few miles down the coast from Muirfield, North Berwick has gone from being a cult favourite of golf course architecture aficionados to being recognized as one of the top 100 courses in the world. What makes it so good is the pure, almost childlike joy it elicits from those that play the course. There are so many unique holes that require a combination of skill and creativity, including a hole where the green is guarded on it's right side by an ancient rock wall and another green that has a 4 foot swale in the middle. We GUARANTEE that you would want to go immediately back to the 1st tee to have another go.

Bite off however much you want to chew on the 2nd hole at North Berwick.

We can understand why the first time visitor to Scotland would want to make St. Andrews their home base. But for those looking for a perfect blend of history, championship courses, and pure links fun, no need to look any further than East Lothian. You can check out a sample trip itinerary to East Lothian here:  

http://www.golfawaytours.com/index.php/sample-trips/scotland/east-lothian