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One of the defining characteristics of a British Open are the many pot and bowl bunkers which dot the links courses of Great Britain. Muirfield's bunkers aren't as extreme as some of the others in the rota, but there are still plenty of lies where advancing your ball forward is simply not an option Harris English displayed the best example of that on Thursday. The tee shot landing area is squeezed between a deep bunker to the left and thick rough on the right, leading many players to lay up.
Even off a really solid drive it is very difficult to chase a long running shot past the bunkers on the right to a green set uncomfortably close to the out of bounds wall that runs all the way down the left side. Click here to view Course Handicap Charts.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Trees behind those walls give it a stadium like feel. The far side of the open vista tumbles down the hillside to the private beach available to members and guests. The outward nine loops clockwise adjacent to the perimeter of the site. The inward nine circles counter-clockwise within it. The routing allows a frequent change in direction which affords infinite variety.
Perhaps the reason why it is so successful is the characteristic that accentuates it so well. What in particular? Virtually imperceptible change in elevation. For example, a gentle opening hole followed by a subtle, downhill second hole means the third tee is almost at the lowest point of the property. The third through sixth and the eleventh through the fourteenth also benefit from this subtle characteristic.
Of note, the only discernible downhill tee shot is twelve, and this may be more to do with your view of Gullane Hill than anything else. The single apparent uphill tee shot is the thirteenth, which again is deceptively long despite innocuous yardage. The revetments and bunkering are perhaps some of the best in the world. Strategically placed, they present an honest challenge to the golfer.
The course is gentlemanly in its approach. It plainly shows you what is required and leaves you the choice, rewards or consequences dependant upon whether you respect or rise to the challenge. Bunkers are not immense, but the shaping around them means they affect a greater area than the footprint of the bunker itself.
The one-shot holes, of which there are four, are superb. All are memorable and present a different challenge. Two of the four are about yards in length and the other about yards. Of particular note is the fourteenth. A false front will reject anything feeble. A punch bowl of sorts, most balls that land near the green will end up in one of five pot bunkers.
Club selection is paramount as the prevailing wind often helps and moderate yardage betrays that fact this hole has some bite. There are three par fives at five, nine and seventeen.
Perhaps the most critical and overlooked requirement of a good par five is the second shot. In this regard, the ninth is magnificent. The ninth makes use of the boundary wall, and the orientation of the green emphasises a well placed second. From the tee, if O. A careful tee shot means a more demanding layup for the second. An aggressive tee shot successfully placed taunts the player to thread the eye of the needle for the green in two.
Anything short or left is gathered up by the bunkers, and any advantage from a stellar tee shot evaporates instantly. Some would say it is not a traditional, seaside links. Some may hold the thick and heavy rough against Muirfield.
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