Muirfield Golf Course Key Information
A flowing and expansive links exuding quality, tradition and history. Muirfield presents a fair but exacting test. It's often praised for its "two-loop" layout but the quality of the playing surfaces should not be forgotten. There are few, if any, courses in our top-100 list that so consistently delivers closely mown areas and bunkering that are so well maintained.
REASONS TO PLAY MUIRFIELD
– One of the great Open courses with great history and heritage
– Fabulous layout with holes facing all points of the compass
– Famously good playing surfaces... And a famously good lunch
RANKINGS
UK & Ireland Top 100 Golf Courses 2025/26 - 4
Muirfield is one of the very finest golfing layouts in the UK and Ireland and the East Lothian Links has once again ranked in the top five of the Golf Monthly Top 100 golf courses UK&I rankings.
Despite strong competition, it is comfortably one of the best golf courses in Scotland and sits proudly at the top of the list of the best golf courses in East Lothian.
The layout at Muirfield is unusual for a Scottish links as it plays in two loops. The front nine skirts the perimeter in a clockwise direction before the 10th leads into the heart of the course and the inner loop, played in a largely anti-clockwise direction.
The routing means the golfer will never face a succession of holes with a consistent wind direction. It’s one of the characteristics that I think makes Muirfield such a wonderfully fair test of golf.
It’s simply a fabulous design providing a stringent examination of every aspect of the game, both physical and mental. For me, this is the fairest Open test of all, with everything laid out in front of you.
Although the ground is undulating, there’s only one blind shot (from the 11th tee,) Jack Nicklaus, who won the 1966 Open at Muirfield, summed it up when he said, “What you see is what you get.”
The fairways are beautifully designed, the hazards perfectly placed and the playing surfaces always maintained in optimum condition.
The run for home is extremely tough with par a particularly good score at the two challenging par 3s, the 13th and 16th. The par-5 17th provides a birdie chance though, and the opportunity for drama right at the end of a round. In the 2013 Open Championship, Phil Mickelson struck two mighty blows onto the green to secure the win.
The Open Championship has visited Muirfield on 16 occasions and the East Lothian links has been the scene of some of the most thrilling instalments of golf’s greatest tournament. Muirfield's list of Open champions really is a who's who of golf, including Harold Hilton, Harry Vardon, James Braid, Walter Hagen, Henry Cotton, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. It also played host to the AIG Women's Open for the first time in 2022, an event won in thrilling style by Ashleigh Buhai in near darkness, on the fourth hole of a playoff.
Muirfield is the home of the The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which is considered to be the oldest golf club in the world. The HCEG dates all the way back to 7th March 1744 and made the move from Leith and then Musselburgh to Muirfield in 1891.
I think the experience of visiting Muirfield is quite something. The lunches are famous and the refurbished clubhouse is exceptional.
What's new for 2025/26? What our panellists said…
This is everything I look for in a golf course but very rarely have I found it. I felt a warmness in the welcome which might have been lacking previously, a glorious sense of occasion (which I happily donned Jacket and Tie to fully experience) and a golf course I instantly wanted to play again.
On a good day, this is an unsurpassable links experience; potentially ethereal. Post round, the view from the panoramic gentleman’s lounge bar was simply magnificent. The ‘cow shed’ parking, the iconic and majestic clubhouse, the awe inspiring links layout as well as the ‘lunch’ at Muirfied, all combine to yield one of the best experiences in golf.
I have played here many times over the last 30+ years and I think the anticipation of a visit to Muirfield, the occasion as such, is always with you. The combination of a fabulous golf course that is such a fair and challenging test of golf along with a world famous lunch in the historic clubhouse is a winning and rewarding experience.
Muirfield Golf Course Location
Muirfield Golf Course Scorecard
Best Courses Near To Muirfield
Best Places To Stay Near Muirfield
Greywalls Hotel - Book now at Booking.com
The ultimate in convenience for Muirfield, the elegant, Edwardian Greywalls hotel sits right on the edge of the course. With views across to the Firth of Forth, it's a luxurious hotel and the onsite Chez Roux restaurant provides excellent cuisine.
The Bonnie Badger - Book now at Booking.com
Set on the main street in Gullane, the Bonnie Badger is a characterful but classy hotel offering very comfortable accommodation plus an excellent bar and restaurant. It's walking distance from both Muirfield and Gullane.
Muirfield Golf Course Gallery
Muirfield Golf Course Expert Opinions
JEZZ ELLWOOD - GOLF MONTHLY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Everything is laid out in front of you – save perhaps for the 6th hole and the blind drive on 11 – with the course relying on clever design rather than flashy trickery to test a player’s mettle. Your undoing or success lies entirely in your own hands – if you hit it in the right place you will be rewarded with an easier follow-up shot; if you hit it in the wrong place, appropriate punishment is meted out in the form of a tougher approach or chip. Yet the course is inherently fair – where a big hole demands a big hit, the landing area will be suitably generous; where the hole is more a test of strategy and placement than brute force, the target will be narrower.
ROB SMITH - GOLF MONTHLY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
I played Muirfield and both the welcome and, of course, the famous lunch were first-class. This superb, flowing, expansive links is absolutely packed with exquisite bunkering and brilliant greens and is an absolute must play. The course floats on the top of the crème-de-la-crème of British golf.
Muirfield Golf Course Historical Top 100 Ranking UK&I
- 2025/26 - 4
- 2023/24 - 4
- 2021/22 - 3
- 2019/20 - 3
- 2017/18 - 2
- 2015/16 - 1
- 2013/14 - 1
- 2011/12 - 1
- 2009/10 - 1
Muirfield Golf Course Frequently Asked Questions
CAN I PLAY MUIRFIELD?
Just like all Open Championship venues, Muirfield is open for the public to play. The course takes visitors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Visitors who play must have an official handicap of 24 or less.
Format of Play for 36 Holes: Morning Fourballs with availability from 08.20am to 10.10am inclusive / Afternoon Foursomes (alternate shot) tee time will be confirmed at the time of booking.
Format of Play for 18 Holes: Morning Fourballs with availability from 10.50am to 12.00pm inclusive.
For more information visit the Muirfield website
HOW HARD IS MUIRFIELD?
Muirfield is a very challenging course but is known for offering a fair yet demanding test of golf. The men's Slope Rating is 142 with a par of 71 and a course rating of 73.8 at tees measuring 6,728 yards. The women's Slope Rating is 140 with a par of 71 and a course rating of 76.3 at tees measuring to 5,983 yards.
