Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society

The society takes its name from the short links beneath Edinburgh Castle where its members played from 1761, sharing the ground with the Royal Burgess golfers and with anyone else who turned up. As the city grew round it, the golf moved: to Musselburgh in 1876, and then in 1898 to Barnton, on the western edge of Edinburgh above the Forth, where the club has been ever since.

Founded in 1761, Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society is the fourth oldest golf club in the world. The original links it left behind is still public ground in the middle of Edinburgh, where anyone can play a short hole today for nothing.

What it asks of you

Mature parkland rather than links, which is not the usual East Lothian bargain and is the point of the place: old trees, changes of level, and views north across the Forth to Fife from the higher holes. Willie Park Junior laid out the course and later hands have worked on it since.

The fairways are wide and forgiving and the course is not long, so the examination is on the greens, which are quick and precisely cut and are the feature reviewers rate most highly in the region. The variety is the other strength: uphill and downhill shots, long irons and short, holes turning both ways, and greens of quite different characters.

Recent work has redesigned a number of holes and rebuilt the turf for all-season play, which has dealt with the waterlogging that used to be the club’s weak point in winter.

What players say about it

Visitors and societies play by arrangement, so the review record is substantial. The notes below summarise recurring themes across specialist golf sites, traveller review pages and player discussion threads. They are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course. We report what comes back repeatedly rather than isolated remarks, and we do not name or quote individual reviewers.

What comes up in its favour

• The greens are the most praised feature, described as among the best conditioned around Edinburgh, and at their peak in the autumn.
• The welcome is mentioned in almost every account. Staff helping visitors with hire clubs and a friendly clubhouse come up repeatedly.
• Variety within the round is a recurring compliment: the course keeps changing what it asks rather than repeating itself.
• The drainage work is noticed. Regulars report that the old waterlogged feeling has gone.

What comes up against

• Price is the sharpest criticism. More than one visitor considers the green fee steep for a parkland course of this length, particularly with cheaper and better-known links nearby.
• Length and shape are the other reservation: wide, forgiving fairways and a modest yardage mean better players find it undemanding even from the back tees.
• It is parkland in a region famous for links, and visitors who came to Scotland for the coast sometimes wonder why they booked it.
• The history belongs to a piece of ground the club left in 1876, which some accounts find a slightly awkward claim.

Getting there and when to go

Barnton is on the western edge of Edinburgh, fifteen minutes from the city centre and ten from the airport, which makes this one of the most convenient courses in Scotland for anyone flying in or out. Royal Burgess is next door.

The course plays all year and the recent turf work has made winter golf genuinely playable. October draws particular praise for green conditions, and late spring for the parkland itself. Visitor booking is by arrangement.

Green fees

Rates and visitor tee times are handled by the club and vary by season. See the club’s own site.

How this page was made

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap for the location, Wikipedia and published historical coverage for the society and its moves, and the club’s own site for access and booking. The opinion section summarises public reviews and player discussions read in September 2026; we report recurring themes rather than individual voices, and we do not reproduce or attribute quotes.

We have not played this course, and nothing here is a substitute for that. The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say in what it says. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.