Mortonhall Golf Club; Edinburgh

	The Course
	Hole One This is a difficult opening hole, driving between the whin-covered slopes of the Braid Hills and the old wooded drive to Mortonhall House and then a blind second to a green nestling in the heart of the Khyber. Hole Two From a tee set high amidst a stand of larch trees, the ground devolves eastward to reveal among woods and knolls the remainder of the course. The Elf Loch appears on the left and stretches some 200 yards up the fairway. The trees of the old wooded drive continue to guard the right hand side. The second shot requires to be steered between two rocky whin covered banks. Hole Three This is a testing short hole invariably played into the prevailing westerly wind to a heavily bunkered green. Hole Four This is the longest hole on the course. The second shot crosses the 6th hole and a wide gully to gain the safety of a broad plain inclining eastwards to show splendid views of East Lothian, distant Bass Rock and the Berwick Law. Hole Five This hole plays westwards into the prevailing wind and a long drive is needed to make the corner of a dog-leg created by an attractive plantation on the right. Hole Six The drive crosses the 4th hole and runs down the western edge of Pheasant Wood. The green is sited on an elevated position in front of a tangle of whins and shrubs making an accurate assessment of distance necessary if disaster is to be avoided. Hole Seven The wind, as it whistles over and around the rocky promontory at the rear of the green, is an important factor in club selection at this hole set into the Braid Hills. Hole Eight The drive has to be guided between a rocky whin-covered hillock on the right and the march wall. Three cross bunkers lie some 70 yards short of the green and a judgement of wind strength and ground conditions is necessary before risking a long carry. Hole Nine This may be considered the most difficult hole on the course commencing with an uphill drive to an acute dogleg and then a second shot along a ridge to a plateau green. Hole Ten A shortish hole played from an elevated tee set amongst trees - at its best when played against the east wind. The green, angled to the tee, is surrounded by bunkers in which it is preferable to be, rather than down the steep banking on the left. Hole Eleven An extremely long two shot hole played up a gently rising slope against the prevailing wind. The drive has to be placed between a rocky hillock of scrub on the right and a copse on the left. Hole Twelve This is the first of four new holes created in the ground purchased in 1975. The drive is from an elevated tee and should be shaped for distance by following the contours of the fairway on the right. The large green can be frequently reached in two but the slopes are such that the correct line for the second shot is left rather than what may appear more obvious on the right. Hole Thirteen This green is situated on a plateau above a deep gully can only be reached by two very long and accurate shots. Hole Fourteen With the prevailing wind this is an easy 4 provided the drive skirts the right of the bunker protruding from a plantation to the left. Walking down this fairway there is a magnificent view of East Lothian and the outline of Arthur's Seat, Salisbury Crags, Craigmillar Castle, the Berwick Law and the Bass Rock. Hole Fifteen The drive should slide past the bunker on the right some 200 yards from the tee while the second shot should be struck well left to gain the advantage of the sloping fairway. The green is narrow and tortuous. Hole Sixteen This is the only hole of the original nine holes which remains in its entirety and a sea of whins makes it a formidable challenge. The drive should be to the left of the fairway to gain the advantage of the fairway slope. The second is played over a large bunker in front of the green and considerable skill is required as the green runs away quite sharply towards the Elf Loch. Hole Seventeen This is a spectacular and scenic hole played across Elf Loch to a well bunkered green in the lee of the Khyber Pass. The drive is determined by the wind as it streams through the Khyber and disaster looms both in front and to the right. Hole Eighteen This is a glorious finishing hole, doglegged to the right, and is especially tough if played against the prevailing west wind. The second shot is played to a large green, but it must be accurate as there is a steep fall on the left and the ever-encroaching whins around an old basalt quarry on the right some 80 yards short of the green.