Reason for an Archerfield (Direlton) Golf Club review
Myself and a couple of work colleagues thought we would do a 4 day tour of the east side of Scotland. Our final day was playing both courses at Archerfield on the way back down to Leeds.
Where is Archerfield Golf Club
Archerfield Links is in East Lothian, Scotland. Just a stone’s throw from North Berwick and only a leisurely drive along the coast before you reach the likes of Muirfield, Gullane, Longniddry and Musselburgh.
What to expect
You can expect a really tough test of golf, especially when the wind is up.
The 8th and 9th holes are an example of the difficulty of this particular course. A 427-yard par 4 directly into the wind will leave you needing to probably hit two woods to even get close to the green.
With long gorse up both sides a flailing shot left or right will likely result in a lost ball.
Don’t expect to see many trees. Unlike the Fidra course, the Dirleton course only has trees on a couple of holes, notably the par-5 5th hole down the left-hand side.
Favourite hole
I really like the 4th. A very risk-reward par 4 that doglegs to the right. Playing 290 yards you can either be aggressive and try and drive the ball as close to the green as possible, or, if the wind is up like it was when I arrived on the tee, you can layup with a hybrid or long iron.
The fun isn’t over there though, as the green is slightly raised you need to make sure your approach is accurate otherwise you’ll find yourself below the pin for your third shot onto a contouring, quick green.
Pretty majestic.
My best bit
I was thrilled at the way I handled the two difficult par 4s. Both playing into string winds and more than 400 yards. To be level par through them both was some achievement considering how bad my driving had been in previous rounds against the wind.
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It all seemed pretty simple too. On both holes I hit driver, played up with a 3 iron and made an up and down from about 50 yards.
Golf is a simple game really.
What to look for at Archerfield
You won’t be able to miss it but Archerfield house which is situated behind the 7th green is pretty special.
You will also see some amazing houses and lodges when you are plotting your way around this course. It’s imply an amazing place to play a round of golf.
When I go back
I’ll certainly make sure that I haven’t played seven rounds of golf in three days before teeing it up on the Dirleton.
Wind burn, blisters and sore feet are not the combination you want when you’re up against 18 holes of tough links golf.
I’m going to turn up fresh, have a full warm up session on the range and enjoy a nice pre-round breakfast at the clubhouse before even contemplating heading to the 1st tee.
Played by NCG: Tadmarton Heath
Played by NCG: Burhill (Old)
Played by NCG: Monifieth Links (Medal)
Click here for the full Played by NCG archive
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