Muirfield Golf Course played 20 August 2020

As you probably already know, Muirfield is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world. And then that is not really true. There is a bit of confusion.

The golf course is called Muirfield, why, I have not been able to find out.

The golf course is situated towards the coast and in the outskirts of the town of Gullane in East Lothian, overlooking the Firth of Forth. Today – at least – there is no town or not even a little hamlet in that area with the name of Muirfield.

Anyway the club called The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers started to play golf at a golf course called Leith Links wayback in 1744. In the beginning of 1830 Leith Links became overcrowded with players from different golfing societies and the members of the Honourable Company moved to the Musselburgh Links in 1836.

Musselburgh Links was and still is a nine hole golf layout placed within a horse-racing track. More about that course later.

Then after 60-70 years on the Musselburgh Links this course also became overcrowded and the members decided to build their own course and in 1891 they bought the land outside Gullane and asked Old Tom Morris to design a 18 hole golf course, which they then called Muirfield.

Like many other old courses there have been changes made to Muirfield’s design and length. The last one to fiddle with the layout was Martin Howtree in 2010-2011 to make it ready for the 2013 Open.

Muirfield have hosted The Open several times as well as the Ryder Cup one time.

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers can also take credit for formulating the first 13 basic rules of golf. This happened in the end of the 1770.

As mentioned Muirfield have hosted The Open sixteen times – being a part of what is call the Open Rota.  Most recently in 2013 when Phil Mickelson lifted the trophy. Other past winners at Muirfield include Ernie Els, Nick Faldo (twice), Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Henry Cotton, Alf Perry, Walter Hagen, Harry Vardon and Harold Hilton.

Muirfield has also hosted the Ryder Cup in 1973. So, as you can understand, this is like coming to play on the holy grail. A bit like going to play St. Andrews Old Course for the first time. We where both very excited, curious and even a little nervous.

Now, before I go to our game and my evaluation of the course, let me – add, in 2016 the R&A told the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers that they would not be a part of the Open Rota in the future if they did not open for females to become members of the club. So the club needed an general assembly to make a vote on this issue. The first vote the majority of the members voted no. That was in May – so a couple of months later they had a new vote where a majority voted yes. Today, as far as I am informed, there are 10 female members of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

All this just to give you an idea of the frame of expectations we had when we arrived at the Muirfield golf course and club house. It is not like entering the Old Course at St. Andrews, but close to. The welcome was fantastic. The starter, George, was ready to greet us and give us instructions with regard to starting time and Covid-19 restrictions and the Reception ready to give us scorecard and course guide. The weather was great and the course looked fantastic. We teed off with a 4,5 handicapper, around 32 years old from England – also his first time on the course.

He could hit the ball a mile, and that gave us the first – let us say – more negative impression of the course. The rough was – as you can see from the pictures – high thick grass. Very difficult to find your ball. Both because of the long grass and because there are no fixed point helping you to indicate the area where the ball went into the rough. That’s a negative. Not just that you lose your ball, that’s ok, that’s golf, but if you go into the rough there will be no flow.

I know that Muirfield is recognized as one of the best links courses in Scotland. And then again, I was surprised. If you play the links courses in and around of St. Andrews as well as other well know links courses, like Royal Troon, Turnberry, Royal St. George, Carnoustie, you learn that links courses is associated with fairways build on sandy soil and rough of heather, gorse and bracken and, of course, deep pot hole bunkers and wind. And especially in the summer period you do not expect fairways with green grass.

Anyway, Muirfield golf course, was not what I expected. It – to me – is not a really links land course. Green fairways with not a lot of bump and run, but with plenty, plenty of pot bunkers and as said rough of high grass the same type you will find on many golf courses in my home country.

Anyway; Muirfield is a fantastic golf course, especially if you play in according to your handicap and NOT in according to the par of the holes.

What do I mean? If you are a single handicapper your strategy will be to play for at par on all holes. If you have 18 strokes your strategy will be to play for a par or one over and accept a bogey.

If you play for your handicap, you are running the risk of not getting the right line or the right length and then, on a course like Muirfield you will be in trouble.

If instead you play the course, realizing that a second stroke on a par five have to carry a hazard of 3 big bunkers across the fairway 125 meter in front of the green and therefore require a perfect stroke with the perfect carry you realize that instead of ending in the bunker (and I tell you that these bunkers are not some you can get out of with any length toward the green to compensate for at not so perfect shot), you accept to lay up short of the bunkers with 130 – 140 meter for your third shot to the green, hoping you can get close enough to have a chance for a one put.

That is: always play safe, chose the shots and lengths your are, at least, 90% sure to be able to hit. Not the shots and lengths you only pull off once in two times. In the last case the chances are that you will end up in 1 of the 155 bunkers and/or the wind takes over and carry your ball into the deep rough.

On Muirfield, I learned – too late – to play the course and not my handicap and/or (you could call it play in accordance to my factual skills and not my ambitions). The course is simply too difficult.

Reminds me why Hawtree was asked to redesign the course for the 2013 Open. The club wanted to upgrade the course to challenge the skills of today’s tour players and the modern golfing equipment. The players scores seem to prove that he was successful.

During the Open tournament on Muirfield 482 rounds was played. Of these rounds only 2 was played in 66 (par is 71), 1 round in 67 and 9 rounds in 68.

Just for comparison. Shane Lowry won the open in 2019 on Royal Portrush with a score in 15 under par for the 4 rounds. Phil Mickelson’s winning score on Muirfield was 3 under. No one else was under par for the 4 rounds on Muirfield in 2013.

More facts about Muirfield

Muirfield is an 18 hole course, with par 71. Back tee 7209 y the front tee 5983 y. Course rating range from 74 from the back tee to 76 for the front tee.

Course record

Sorry, I haven’t been able to collect this information.

My game

Believe that I have covered this issue. We did play the course twice. 18 holes in the morning starting time 09.30. A bit more than 4½ hours of play. Then a great lunch in the club house. Dress code – under normal circumstances – jacket, tie and shirt with collar. The day before I bought this attire in a charity shop for £13 and was actually looking forward to wearing it and show respect for the tradition. But unfortunately, the dress code requirement was cancelled due to Corona because we were not allow to use the changing room.

The second round was supposed to be a foursome – that is alternate shots – but we were allowed to play on our own, and played stroke play. I did not apply my “play the course” strategy, but did play a bit better. Compared to our first round where we played with the young long hitter and spend some time in the rough, this round we played in only 3 hours and 40 minutes. Next time I will try to suppress my self-overestimation and play the course and not my ambition. For the record; my first round was played to 25 points. The second to 31. So, I learned a little.

Evaluation of Muirfield Golf Course played August 20, 2020