Braid Hills Golf Course

Braid Hills No.1 is Edinburgh Leisure's municipal course on the exposed hill south of the city, and it is one of the more honest bargains in Scottish golf. The course sits on moorland terrain — heather, firm turf, slopes that require thought rather than just power — and from several points on the round you can see Edinburgh Castle, Arthur's Seat, and the Firth of Forth simultaneously. This is a view that other courses in Edinburgh charge considerably more to offer, and offer it from flatter, more forgiving ground.

The No.1 course is the testing layout; the shorter No.2 course shares the same site. No.1 is par 70 and plays longer than the card suggests — the elevation changes are significant, the exposed position means wind is almost always a factor, and the moorland rough is not sympathetic to wayward driving. The 5th is a short par 3 that drops from the ridge to a green with the castle rooftops and the Old Town spires filling the horizon behind the flag — one of the best par-3 views in Edinburgh. The 11th, a par 4 that climbs back into the hill in the opposite direction, uses the same elevation in reverse: the approach requires more club than the number on the card, and the slope behind the green collects anything long into a difficult chip position. It is not a course designed to flatter visitors, which is part of what makes it good.

Green fee is £18–£28 weekday to weekend, with twilight rates available from around 3pm in summer. No membership required; booking through the Edinburgh Leisure website. The lack of a formal clubhouse — there is a starter's hut and a modest facility — keeps the overheads honest. For visitors who want to understand why so many Edinburgh golfers play here regularly rather than paying more elsewhere, one round tends to make the case.

Braid Hills No. 2 is a shorter layout for beginners and less experienced players, but even No. 1 is welcoming in the sense that no one is watching and no one cares about your swing. Dogs are a fixture; families with children are common; a round starting on a Tuesday afternoon in summer takes around two hours. The Braids are used as walking ground as much as golf courses, which is the original and correct relationship between Edinburgh's common land and the people of the city.