Braid Hills No. 1, Edinburgh: A Hole-by-Hole Review

Played Wednesday 11 March 2026. 9:12 am tee time. Temperature 4°C at the first tee, 9°C by the 18th. Wind south-westerly, 10–12 mph, dropping. Two players. No caddie. Stand bag. £22 weekday adult rate, Edinburgh Leisure Active discount of £2 applied.

The short version

Braid Hills No. 1 is the best municipal course within a 30-minute walk of Edinburgh city centre. It is also the most exposed, the most testing, and the most likely to take your scorecard apart. Views that embarrass most private clubs. Fairways narrower than they look on the card. The greens, for a muni, are well above what you pay. We'd play it monthly if the wind forecast allowed.

The walk-up

Parking is tight. The small lot by the clubhouse at Braid Hills Approach fills by 8 am at weekends. On a weekday before 9 it's fine. Bus 11, 15, 23 or 38 from the city centre drops you within five minutes of the pro shop; we came by bus 11 from the west end. The starter is housed in a wooden hut that predates several Prime Ministers. Hand over cash or card, you get a printed ticket, and the first tee is a two-minute walk uphill from the shop. The second hut, the one at the tee itself, has a coffee machine that intermittently works and a whiteboard listing the current pin positions.

Hole by hole

1st — par 4, 335 yards

Downhill, dead south-west. The tee sits at the highest point of the course and the fairway drops away in front of you like a ski jump. The line from the tee is the left edge of the clubhouse below. A smart driver runs thirty yards after landing. A bad driver runs into the gorse on the left. The green is below the fairway, protected by two modest bunkers. Three-putted from the back edge. Good opening hole, punishingly public — half the walkers in the park can see you tee off.

2nd — par 3, 152 yards

Across a small gully. Mid-iron. The green slopes back to front more than it looks; anything short spins away to the front apron. We both missed left into the rough and made par from there anyway. Not a stand-out hole. Useful after the exposure of the first.

3rd — par 4, 421 yards

Uphill all the way. In a westerly this becomes a driver-4-iron hole for most handicap golfers. The fairway is honest but the approach is not — the green is set into a bank and won't hold anything played long. One of us made bogey, the other double. Felt about right.

4th — par 5, 498 yards

Signature hole, in our view. Plays across the shoulder of the hill with the full view of the Pentlands on your right and the Forth on your left. The fairway is generous but the second shot is blind over a crest. A marker post tells you where the green is. We both laid up, both hit the green with the third, both made par. A four is available here if you trust the blind second, which we didn't.

5th — par 4, 378 yards

Into the prevailing wind. Dogleg left around a stand of gorse. Brave line clips the left edge and leaves a short iron in. Safe line leaves a six or seven. We played safe. Playable even in a strong wind, which is saying something on this hill.

6th — par 3, 183 yards

Across a valley onto a tabletop green. Downhill, so plays shorter than the yardage. In a helping wind, a 7-iron got there. The green is tiny. Anything long is dead. Two bunkers short-right catch the bailed-out shot.

7th — par 4, 345 yards

The wind hole. Exposed, elevated, facing south-west. The tee shot into a 12 mph wind plays about 370 yards. We hit everything we had and both came up 80 yards short. The locals call it "the Sore Throat" apparently, which is either a reference to the name of the hill behind the green or the sensation after playing it. We were not sure which.

8th — par 4, 402 yards

Back towards the clubhouse. Wind now behind. A driver ran out to a flat lie 250 yards down. Approach was a wedge for both of us. Easiest hole on the front nine.

9th — par 5, 510 yards

Finishes the outward loop. Plays along the top ridge. The tee shot is the widest on the course — a 40-yard fairway — and the second is played to a crest. Three-shot hole for a handicap golfer. A good scoring opportunity; we both made five.

10th through 13th

Four holes on the far side of the hill. Mostly sheltered from the prevailing wind. None individually remarkable. All par 4 or par 3. Condition on these holes was the best on the course — firm fairways, true greens. We both played this stretch under our handicap. The course rewards you for surviving the front nine.

14th — par 3, 169 yards

A memorable short hole. Played across a small burn to a green hung above it. You can see the Forth bridges from the tee on a clear day. We could not, owing to low cloud by this point in the round. Six-iron, pin-high. Made par through luck.

15th — par 4, 387 yards

Sharp dogleg right. A blind tee shot. The walking guide from the shop suggests aiming at the whitewashed chimney of a house in the distance. The chimney is not whitewashed any more. The line is still correct. A drive finishing there leaves a 130-yard second to a green protected by a single deep bunker front-left.

16th — par 4, 352 yards

Uphill. The last real climb on the course. A 4-iron second shot. We both took too little club and were short. Not a difficult hole. A tired hole for a tired golfer.

17th — par 3, 208 yards

The one hole we would redesign if given the chance. Plays uphill into what is usually the wind. For a 14-handicap player, it is three wood or driver. The green is small and tilted. No satisfying way to play it. Moved on.

18th — par 4, 331 yards

Finishing hole back towards the clubhouse. Downhill, welcome after the 17th. A short iron second. A gentle par or birdie hole to close. Both of us finished with bogey, because the card was already beyond repair.

Conditions on the day

Fairways: running hard for early March. Tight lies, clean takeaway. A dry week had done the course a favour.

Greens: aerated in late February, some sanding still visible on six greens. Putted better than they looked. Running about 9 on the stimp, we'd guess.

Rough: short, playable. The gorse is gorse, and gorse is unforgiving, but the primary rough was three-quarter-inch and you could find the ball.

Tee boxes: in reasonable shape. A few worn patches.

Bunkers: well raked by 9:12 am on a Wednesday. Sand fair, if a little wet.

Practical

• Fee: £22 weekday, £28 weekend. Twilight rate after 3 pm £14. Edinburgh Leisure Active members get £2 off.
• Booking: online via the Edinburgh Leisure website. Walk-ups accepted outside peak.
• Dress: muni rules — collared shirt and trousers, but no formal code enforced.
• Trolley: £5 hire from the shop.
• Buggy: not available (terrain prohibits).
• Clubhouse: basic. Coffee, bacon rolls, beer. Don't expect anything grand.
• Where to eat after: The Braid Hills Hotel, five minutes' walk.

Verdict

For the money, one of the best rounds in Scotland. Would not suit a true beginner — the wind and elevation will punish them — but for anyone with a steady handicap it's a proper test on a proper hill, at a price that makes no sense given the quality.

Played three times before this round, will play again. The 4th remains the best hole. The 7th remains the one you want to skip.

Notes taken at time of play on a scorecard and transcribed later. Yardages from the white tees on the 2026 scorecard.