round 1 - gullane no 2
beautifully manicured
golf has been played at gullane for over 350 years. there are three exceptional 18-hole courses, we played no. 2 which was formed in 1898 by willie park jr. it is shorter than no. 1 but is still excellent and all holes are interesting with significant variety, particularly the 3rd up the hill and the 17th back down.
the match was another battle, phil and al played well on the front 9 on the quick greens and led at half way. however, neil and nic dovetailed well coming home, both scoring over 20 stableford points and neil finished with 4 pars for a 1-up victory.
match score: neil & nic 17¼-13¾ phil & al
round 2 - musselburgh links
the oldest golf club in the world
musselburgh old links is an historic place; it is the oldest golf course in the world and one of only 14 venues to host the open championship. there are 9-holes situated inside the racecourse. it is not long but extremely tight so scoring is difficult. you can also play with hickory clubs, but considering we struggle with modern equipment we declined this option! this is a golfing gem and is highly recommended.
neil had a mental block with the tight fairways so nic was playing on his own! no team led by more than 1-hole at any stage but phil used his shots well so phil & al won the game 1-up.
match score: neil & nic 17¼-14¼ phil & al
round 3 - dunbar
view of 2nd green and clubhouse
dunbar is steeped in history and golf has been played here since the early 17th. it is laid out on a narrow strip of land with the best holes hugging the rocky coastline with views across the north sea. from the 4th it plays like a classic links; the prevailing wind means scoring on the way out and playing into the teeth of the wind coming home.
phil played the first 6 holes in 2-over par including 3 pars and a birdie. however, the lead was only one as neil had 2 birdies and 2 pars. at the turn it was all square and a further 3 pars from neil took the victory.
match score: neil & nic 18¼-14¼ phil & al
round 4 - mortonhall
the 2nd tee shot
the final round was mortonhall, one of the best parklands in the lothians. in 1975 fred hawtree added new holes and upgrade all of the others. the highlight is the 2nd tee shot, one of the finest driving holes in scotland with a stunning view from the elevated tee. there are many really interesting holes and no two are alike.
phil and al won the match with some quality dovetailing and 20 stableford points from Phil on the back nine.
the KOP was a tricky, severe left-to-right dogleg. neil and nic lost their cool, and balls in the gorse. the weather had turned against us but phil held is nerve and holed a 20-footer for a bogey to regain the trophy.
match score: neil & nic 18¼-15¼ phil & al