Location: North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland | Ranking: #66 — The Global Golfer Top 100
Type: Links | Designer: David Strath, extended Old Tom Morris
Editor’s Note: North Berwick is golf’s most entertaining course — full stop. The original Redan par 3 (the most copied hole in golf history), the Pit bunker, the shared wall crossing the fairway on the 13th, and Bass Rock rising from the Firth of Forth as constant backdrop make every round here a source of joy, frustration and sheer delight. No other course in the world has generated as many design homages as North Berwick’s 15th Redan.
Contact & Booking
- Website: northberwickgolfclub.com | Green Fees: From £175 | Rating / Slope: 72.5 / 131 | Airport: Edinburgh (EDI) — 30 mins.
Championship Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 |
| Yards | 328 | 415 | 392 | 163 | 370 | 533 | 120 | 444 | 508 | 3,273 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 71 |
| Yards | 176 | 374 | 150 | 385 | 379 | 192 | 337 | 418 | 290 | 2,701 | 6,420 |
Par 4Par 3Par 5
Key Strategy Notes
- Hole 15 — Redan (Par 3, 192 Yards): The original Redan — the hole that launched a thousand imitations worldwide. The green slopes from front-right to back-left; the correct approach must land short-right and feed to the pin. Every copy (including at National Golf Links of America) acknowledges what C.B. Macdonald called “the ideal short hole.”
- Hole 13 — Pit (Par 4, 385 Yards): A stone wall crosses the fairway 50 yards short of the green — an entirely original hazard that predates the Rules of Golf’s attempt to regulate such things. The Pit bunker left of the green is virtually unplayable.
The 19th Hole
- The Marine North Berwick (5★): Recently restored Victorian coastal hotel overlooking the course — the finest address in East Lothian. Book via Expedia →