Dunbar Golf Club
3 June 2014
The moment you realise this place is the real deal.
A round at Dunbar Golf Club is immensely entertaining. The first two holes — both par 5s playing up and back from the pro shop — are laid out in an old deer park and are nothing special. Indeed the most fascinating part of these holes is the old brick wall separating the deer park from the coast and the hint of the unknown course that lies beyond. The third hole is a short par 3 — still in the deer park — which plays from high on a hill directly at the wall and offers the first of many stunning views of the North Sea, the coast and Dunbar village.
From there, the next 15 holes hug a tiny stretch of land between the sea and the extension of the old brick wall denoting out of bounds in an out-and-back layout. At some points, the 6th and 17th fairways spring to mind, it is a wonder that one let alone two fairways can squeeze into the slither of land. The narrowness leads to careful shot selection, especially with the wind blowing straight off the North Sea.
And by the 16th hole — a par 3 with possibly the best views on a layout presenting plenty of pleasing visual stimulation — realisation that this is how golf is intended to be played and that thus far there has been a huge amount of smiling.
