Muirfield
Links golf since 1891, par 71 over 7,245 yards. Visitors play on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.
A day at Muirfield is one of the great days in golf, and the lunch is as famous as the links.
This is the home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, a club with records going back to 1744, on the edge of Gullane in East Lothian. Sixteen Opens have been played here, from Harold Hilton in 1892 to Phil Mickelson in 2013. It's a private club, but visitors are welcome on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a handicap of 24 or less. Apply well ahead for a summer round, and pack a jacket and tie for lunch in the Dining Room.
A ring of sand round a raised island of turf, known as the doughnut, the ringed bunker, or simply the bunker with an island in it. Its walls are stacked turf, and a ball in the thin strip of sand can be hard to get out.
The heart of the clubhouse was built as one big room: locker room, dining room, sitting room and bar all at once. The lockers have gone, but the room is as it was in 1891, and its display cases hold the club’s most important treasures.
The terrace and the balcony have outdoor seats looking over the course to Fife.
18 holes. Par 71 and 7,245 yards from the white tees, down to 5,983 from the blue.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 450 | 367 | 379 | 229 | 561 | 469 | 187 | 445 | 558 | 3,645 | 472 | 389 | 382 | 193 | 478 | 447 | 188 | 578 | 473 | 3,600 | 7,245 |
| Red | 446 | 365 | 377 | 182 | 510 | 440 | 147 | 443 | 505 | 3,415 | 470 | 354 | 380 | 156 | 449 | 394 | 186 | 506 | 418 | 3,313 | 6,728 |
| Blue | 404 | 336 | 336 | 136 | 463 | 404 | 131 | 419 | 454 | 3,083 | 416 | 315 | 356 | 133 | 395 | 362 | 139 | 460 | 324 | 2,900 | 5,983 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 35 | 71 |
| Stroke index · Red | 5 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 6 | |||
| Stroke index · Blue | 3 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 6 | |||
| Score |
The holes tinted yellow are the highlights below. Press one to read about it.
Harry Colt remodelled the course into two loops in 1925. The front nine runs clockwise round the edge, and the back nine turns the other way inside it, so the wind comes at you from a new angle almost every hole. There's only one blind shot, the drive at the 11th.
5The 5th
The first of the three par fives, 510 yards from the red and yellow tees. It's a birdie chance with the wind behind you, but it has more bunkers than any other hole on the course.
- 9
The 9th
A grey stone wall and out of bounds run all the way down the left. Short of the green is a partly hidden fairway bunker named after Tom Simpson, the architect who remodelled the 13th.
- 13
The 13th
An uphill short hole to a long, narrow green that slopes from back to front, with three bunkers on the right and two on the left. Tom Simpson remodelled it in 1935, and many rate it among the best short holes in Open golf.
- 17
The 17th
The longest hole on the card, and a birdie chance for those who can reach it. At the 2013 Open, Phil Mickelson hit two big shots onto this green on his way to winning.
- 18
The 18th
A long par four home, with the clubhouse just behind the green. Right of the green is the famous bunker with an island of turf in the middle of it.
The Honourable Company's links at Gullane, where sixteen Opens have been played and visitors come on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a round and a famous lunch.
- Holes
- 18
- Par
- 71
- Yards
- 7,245
- Club founded
- 1744
- The Open
- 16 times
Booking
No online tee sheet and no phone bookings: each year’s diary opens for a short window the spring before, when you email the club’s form to golfservices@muirfield.org.uk with up to three dates. Tuesdays and Thursdays, handicap 24 or less; fourballs only from May to September. 2026 is full from mid-April to October.
Green fees, 2026
- A round, 2026£395
- 36 holes with lunch, 2026£605
- A round, winter 2026 to 2027£150 to £200
- A round, 2027£420
To hire
- Caddie, a day’s notice£80
- Buggy, for those who need one£40
- Pull trolleyfree
The clubhouse
Lunch in the Dining Room: a carvery at long shared tables, in jacket and tie.
Coffee and drinks in the Smoking Room; club merchandise in the Muirfield Room.
Muirfield is on Duncur Road, Gullane, East Lothian EH31 2EG, the last road on the left as you leave Gullane for North Berwick; follow the signs for Greywalls.
It's about 20 miles from Edinburgh by the A1 and the A198, and about 45 minutes from Edinburgh Airport. The nearest stations are Drem and North Berwick.
Scotland, in print.
We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.
More courses in East Lothian, and the collections this one is in.
For further reading, before you go.
- Visitors and green feesVisitor days, the 2026 and 2027 fees, and when each year’s diary opens.muirfield.org.uk↗
- The booking formThe application form for the 2027 diary, to save, fill in and email.muirfield.org.ukPDF↗
- Visitor notes of guidanceHandicaps, caddies, buggies, cancellations and getting there in time.muirfield.org.uk↗
- The dress codeWhat to wear on the course and in the clubhouse, and the rule on phones.muirfield.org.ukPDF↗
- The scorecardEvery tee, par and stroke index, and the strokesaver.muirfield.org.uk↗
- The courseThe club’s own description of the two loops.muirfield.org.uk↗
- Course historyOld Tom Morris, Harry Colt, Tom Simpson and Martin Hawtree.muirfield.org.uk↗
- The clubFrom Leith in 1744 to Musselburgh and Muirfield.muirfield.org.uk↗
- Past championshipsThe Opens, the Amateurs and the matches played here.muirfield.org.uk↗
- The clubhouseThe Dining Room, the Smoking Room and the rest of the 1891 building.muirfield.org.uk↗
- Golf Monthly on MuirfieldA review of the course, ranked 4th in the UK and Ireland.golfmonthly.com↗
- Top 100 Golf Courses on MuirfieldThe course’s history and holes, with golfers’ reviews.top100golfcourses.com↗
- LINKS Magazine on the lunchThe famous Muirfield lunch, and the Smoking Room after it.linksmagazine.com↗