The Course
In the heart of Edinburgh, a jewel awaits
Play one of Scotland’s best parkland golf courses
The Royal Burgess course at Barnton is a real pleasure to play for golfers of all abilities. Situated in beautiful parkland, it is hard to imagine you are so close to the heart of Edinburgh.
With fairways lined by trees, including some fine specimen varieties, the cleverly bunkered course will challenge and reward in equal measure. Accurate driving and a deft putting stroke on our exceptional greens are prerequisites for scoring well.
Course history
The course at The Royal Burgess has long been recognised as worthy of hosting championship golf and has a proud history of hosting both professional and amateur events.
In 1956 the Society became the first club to bring a top professional golf tournament to Edinburgh. The Penfold-Swallow was, at the time, the richest ever in the professional circuit and, for the first time, the television cameras were present. 10,000 spectators paid admission money during the tournament. A 20-year-old Gary Player made his first Scottish appearance in this event (won by Englishman Eric Lester) just three years before winning his first Open. The event was hosted again in 1959.
In subsequent years the course at Barnton staged the Pringle of Scotland Tournament (1965 & 1966), the Martini in 1973 and the 1977 Scottish Professional Championship. Amateur events staged include the British Boys and the British Youths Championships.
In more recent years The Royal Burgess has resumed its tradition of hosting professional and amateur tournaments. The television cameras returned in 2014 to cover aspiring professionals in a EuroPro Tour event whilst the Scottish Boys’ Stroke Play Championship was hosted in 2015 and the course record of 62 was set by Fintan McKenna from Royal Aberdeen. The winner, Sandy Scott from Nairn, has subsequently gone on to represent Scotland in the mens’ amateur team. In 2017 the Scottish Senior Mens’ Open Stroke Play Championship made a welcome return to The Royal Burgess, further underlining the championship credentials of the course.
The design
The legendary Tom Morris and, later Willie Park Jnr. both had a hand in the creation of the course in the early days, followed by James Braid, former Open champion and noted golf architect, who redesigned the course in the 1920s.
Now with its tree-studded parkland backdrop, smooth fast greens, lush manicured fairways and perfectly positioned bunkers, there is plenty to look forward to when enjoying a round.
Since the Millennium we have been focusing on tree planting to create further visual interest on what is already one of Scotland’s most attractive parkland golf courses.
The signature holes
Arguably the most picturesque hole is the 11th which is a 348 yard downhill par 4 dog-leg over an open cundie, crossed by a beautiful stone bridge.
But The Royal Burgess is well known for long, challenging par 4’s of which the 4th, 7th and 17th are fine examples. Accurate, long tee shots will still leave challenging approach shots to well guarded greens and trouble will ensue if you are putting from the wrong side of the hole.
On the card, the 18th looks a simple par 4 offering a good birdie opportunity. However, looks can be deceptive, and many a scorecard has been ruined at the last hole.
Presentation
As Edinburgh’s premier golf club, the course is kept in first class condition, and all the members take huge pride in the presentation of the course and attention to detail that you’ll find as standard. It’s all part of The Royal Burgess experience.
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