Dunbar Golf Club

Favorite Hole

No. 9, par 5, 465-532 yards

This is as striking and unique a par 5 as I’ve seen thanks to the topography it traverses. You tee off from a hollow to a blind fairway up a massive hill. There is a step ladder next to the tee that you can use to monitor the progress of the group ahead. The fairway falls off to the right, but playing left lengthens the hole. Until you reach the top of the hill, you can’t conceptualize how big the elevation change is. From there, you can finally see where the hole is going and take in the tremendous view of the Whitesands Bay Beach and the golf ahead. The rest of the hole tumbles back down toward the sea, starting an unforgettable stretch of holes.

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Overall Thoughts

Dunbar is a stunning and enjoyable links that should be on every golfer’s East Lothian itinerary. The course has some of the most thrilling holes in the area, but it’s awkward in spots because of the constrains of its property. It’s an extraordinary feat that 18 holes exist on this site. If Dunbar were built today, I’d have a hard time believing it would be a full regulation course.

The property contains three distinct parcels: the opening inland area, where the clubhouse sits; the narrow and flat middle section along the sea; and, farthest from the clubhouse, a sublime meeting of rolling linksland and ocean. Each of these areas provides a distinct experience. Maybe my favorite aspect of Dunbar’s routing is how it creates a journey across these different types of land. The clubhouse and narrow seaside sections are visited early on and returned to on the way back. The doubling back gives you a sense of familiarity but also an understanding that the round is coming to a close. This is a common feature of many links courses that travel roughly out and back. Like the Old Course and North Berwick, Dunbar starts in town and works away from it. Then, on the returning holes, the town gets closer and closer as the round concludes. It makes the course feel like a fully fleshed-out adventure, with rising and falling excitement.

1. The start and finish

I’ve seen a lot of people complain about the first few holes at Dunbar. I don’t understand that. To me, these holes are effective tablesetters for the journey ahead. The opening portion of the property contains the first three holes as well as the 18th. It’s a nice, firm piece of linksland with some good micro-contour. It also introduces one of Dunbar’s key features: the wall. This wall acts as an important hazard for starting and middle stretches of the course. After the par-3 third, which tees off from a ridge and looks right at the North Sea, you walk through a doorway in the wall, which symbolizes your departure from civilization and entry into the wild.

2. The middle

When I say that Dunbar wouldn’t be 18 holes if it were built today, it’s because of how hemmed-in Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, and 17 are. These holes play through a narrow passageway between the wall and the coast. While a bit claustrophobic and unsafe by modern standards, the holes themselves are quite good. Their strategy relies on the wall as a boundary line or the North Sea as a hazard—or, in the case of No. 4, both. The holes occupy the flattest land on the course, but the combination of wall and sea make up for the lack of topographical interest. The terrain begins to transition on the seventh, a neat par 4 that doglegs right with a bend in the wall. On the approach, you start to see some roll in the land. It’s a semi-blind shot to a green that runs away. At the back of that green, the wall turns inland, and an epic expanse of linksland opens up.

3. The far out

In the heart of the round, Dunbar starts rocking. Gone is the flat coastal land. Here players arrive at some truly dramatic linksland. The par-4 eighth hole climbs uphill and would be better served losing a few bunkers; the ninth, as noted above, is one of the finest par 5s in the world; the 10th is a brute of a par 3 with a charming abandoned house on the left that is very much in play (speaking from experience); and the 11th and 12th play on rumpled linksland along the coast. The latter holes, back-to-back outstanding par 4s in one of the most beautiful settings anywhere, are Dunbar at its best—a nirvana experience. It’s reminiscent of a great rock song with a raging guitar solo in the middle. The 13th moves inland but is a stellar par 4 with an approach into a blind hollow, and the final part of this thrill ride, the 14th, starts on a high dune, allowing you to look around at everything you have just experienced before ripping a driver on another strong two-shotter. This is an exhilarating stretch of golf that makes the journey out worth it.

The way the different phases of the course work together and intermix gives Dunbar Golf Club the feel of a five-act play. The first three holes are the exposition, the stretch of 4-7 the rising action, 8-14 the climax, 15-17 the falling action via a return to a familiar setting, and the walk back inside the wall for 18 the resolution. Dunbar’s greatest strength is the coherence of its storytelling. -AJ

1 Egg

(How We Rate Courses)

While Dunbar offers an incredible experience and is one of the most beautiful places you can play golf, it doesn’t reach an elite level in any of our three criteria (land, design, presentation). The land is stunning but narrow in parts, flat in others, and limited in its capacity to accommodate 18 great holes. If the entire course had topography such as that traversed by Nos. 9-14, the land would merit an Egg by itself. The design and presentation, like the land, are very good but not exceptional. Put Dunbar’s virtues in the three categories together, however, and you get one Egg, no problem. There is an argument, however, that a nine-hole version of the course, featuring just Nos. 7-15, would be at least a two-Egger.

Additional Content

Skip to 52:29 in the podcast below to hear Andy and Garrett’s Dunbar discussion.

Course Tour

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