Our take

Half the appeal at Craigielaw is the lodge beside the course; the other half is a modern Donald Steel links that starts throwing punches at the 2nd.

• Serious golfersDonald Steel built tricky greens and genuinely huge bunkers here, and the round bites early; the 2nd and 3rd are the two hardest holes on the card, so loosen up on the range before you go.
• Higher handicapsThe walk is as gentle as links golf gets, barely 36 metres of climb all round, so the challenge is the wind and the sand rather than the ground under your feet.
• SocietiesThe Lodge sits on site, Edinburgh is half an hour away, and there are 22 other courses in East Lothian to build a week around; as a group base it takes some beating.

Tell us who’s coming and how you like to play, and we’ll shape the right trip around you.

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