Merchants of Edinburgh Golf Club

The Merchants of Edinburgh Golf Club winds through the Easter and Wester Craiglockhart Hills on the south side of the city, originally designed by Ben Sayers and remodelled in 1936 by James Braid. At par 65 and 4,835 yards off the black tees it is short by modern standards, and the club makes no apology for it — the layout is built around the natural contours of the hills and rewards smart play over raw power, with seven par 3s that do most of the examining.

The views are the thing nobody forgets. From the 13th tee — a 207-yarder the club calls Tap o' the World, played from an elevated position — you look directly down to Edinburgh Castle and the Firth of Forth, with North Berwick Law and the Pentlands turning up elsewhere in the round. The 13th is the standout, but the course has other quirks worth the visit, including a rare square green, a traditional feature that asks a genuinely different question of your short game. Hole names like Deil's Run, Beer Knowe and Doon 'n Up tell you the club doesn't take itself too seriously.

This is the practical answer to the Edinburgh problem of wanting a full eighteen without losing the day: the club pitches the par-65 layout as a brisker round than the traditional courses, ten minutes from the city centre, good for a morning game or after-work golf on the long summer evenings. Visitor fees are £60 weekday and £75 weekend in peak season, dropping to £45 and £55 off-peak, booked through the club's online visitor system. The Pentland Bar handles the post-round debrief.