A thin ribbon of links between a red sandstone wall and a rocky North Sea shore.
Dunbar is the last links on the East Lothian coast before the Borders, and the club has played its east links since 1856. The ground is a narrow strip squeezed between an old red sandstone deer park wall and a rocky shoreline, so the sea is close for much of the round. It has been an Open final qualifying course when the Championship goes to Muirfield, and in 1968 it staged the first PGA Championship on the European Tour. Visitors are welcome in set windows from March to October, with the course kept for members from November to February.
Dunbar takes visitor bookings online, by email to secretary@dunbargolfclub.com, or by phone on 01368 862317, option 1. The tee sheet is tightly zoned. From March to October, Monday, Wednesday and Friday visitor times run 10:09–11:57 and from 13:27; Tuesday 10:09–11:39 and from 13:36; Saturday and Sunday from 11:48. There are no visitor times on Thursdays, which belong to members, and the course is closed to visitors from November to February. The club asks you to reserve well ahead. Short-notice games and planned group visits go through its contact page. No handicap limit appears in its visitor pages, so ask what certificate you need when you book.
March 2027 shoulder rate, Monday–Wednesday, per round. Summer 2027 (April–October): £195 Monday–Wednesday, £225 Friday, £265 weekend.
| March 2027, Mon–Wed | £135 |
|---|---|
| March 2027, Friday | £145 |
| March 2027, weekend | £155 |
| Apr–Oct 2027, Mon–Wed round | £195 |
| Apr–Oct 2027, Mon–Wed after 14:30 | £165 |
| Apr–Oct 2027, Mon–Wed day ticket | £340 |
| Apr–Oct 2027, Friday round | £225 |
| Apr–Oct 2027, Friday day ticket | £385 |
| Apr–Oct 2027, weekend round | £265 |
Golf in Dunbar is documented over more than 400 years, and the Dunbar Golfing Society was playing on the west side of the town in 1794. The present club arrived on the east links in 1856, and the club says Old Tom Morris was among those who reshaped the course over the years. The club describes the wind off the sea as constantly changing, and on such a thin strip there is little shelter from it. The opening hole, Deer Park, is a par five of 491 yards from the back, played into the prevailing wind on a climb you barely notice. The 3rd, Shore, is a short par four squeezed between the wall and the beach. The 10th, Girgie Mire, is a 460-yard par four and stroke index one. From the back the course runs to 6,547 yards, with two shorter sets at 6,182 and 5,696 yards. Braid, Vardon, Taylor and Bobby Locke all played here.
Monday to Wednesday gives you the most visitor slots and the lowest summer rate, and the £165 later rate from 14:30 suits a first day after a morning drive or train from Edinburgh. If you want two rounds, the day ticket on a Monday to Wednesday costs £340 and Friday’s £385. The club also sells a three-course Championship Tour with Goswick in Northumberland and The Roxburghe in the Scottish Borders, from £315 a person; enquire through the office. The visitor information guide on the club’s site sets out dress code and clubhouse rules, and the clubhouse opens early for food.
Edinburgh Airport is about 40 miles west, roughly an hour by car via the A720 bypass and the A1. Dunbar station is on the East Coast Main Line, with trains from Edinburgh Waverley in under half an hour and direct services from Newcastle and London. The course lies on the eastern edge of the town, a taxi ride or a longish walk from the station.
Nearby: 1. The Glen Golf Club (14 km) · 2. North Berwick Golf Club (West Links) (16 km) · 3. Muirfield (21 km) · 4. Gullane Golf Club (No. 1 Course) (22 km) · 5. Craigielaw Golf Club (23 km) · 6. Kilspindie Golf Club (24 km) · Compare all East Lothian tee times
Most visitors stay in Dunbar itself, a small harbour town with hotels, guest houses and self-catering cottages a few minutes from the first tee. The club lists local accommodation on its website. If you want the bigger hotel choice of North Berwick, it is about 20 minutes north-west, and The Marine there makes a comfortable base for a week covering both ends of the county. Edinburgh is near enough for a city base if you are content to commute by train.
The Glen and North Berwick’s West Links are both about 20 minutes away and give you a second clifftop round and a historic one on the same trip. Gullane’s three courses are around half an hour west. For a longer trip, the club’s tour adds Goswick, a links near Berwick-upon-Tweed, and The Roxburghe near Kelso. Off the course, John Muir’s Birthplace museum is on Dunbar High Street, and the John Muir Way coastal path runs right alongside the links.
These packages have a confirmed round at Dunbar Golf Club in the itinerary, with the other courses, nights and hotels listed so you can compare like with like.
10 nights B&B, 8 rounds
Rounds: Western Gailes · Prestwick · Royal Troon · Dunbar · Crail Balcomie · Carnoustie · Kingsbarns · North Berwick
Stay: Ayrshire, East Lothian and Fife, including Rusacks St Andrews
Eight links in ten nights, mixing Open venues with Prestwick and Western Gailes, which many first trips miss.
Prices are Golfbreaks’ published per-person guide prices in US dollars, checked November 2026; your quote depends on dates and group size. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How we work
Visitors can play from March, when the shoulder rate applies, until the end of October. From November to February the course is for members only, so winter trips need to go elsewhere. Thursdays stay closed to visitors throughout the season, and weekend visitor times open only at 11:48, so a Saturday or Sunday round is always an afternoon one in practice.
Explore golf by monthYes, from March to October, on every day except Thursday. Visitor tee times fall in fixed windows: late morning and from about half past one on weekdays, and from 11:48 at weekends. The course is closed to visitors from November to February.
For 2027 the club lists £135 for a March round Monday to Wednesday, rising to £195 in summer. A Friday summer round is £225 and the weekend £265. Juniors under 18 pay £55 a round in summer.
Yes. The club says it has served as an Open final qualifying course when the Championship is played at Muirfield, about 20 minutes along the coast. It also hosted the first PGA Championship on the European Tour, in 1968.
Yes. Dunbar is on the East Coast Main Line, with trains from Edinburgh Waverley taking under half an hour. The links is on the east side of town, so most visitors take a short taxi from the station with their clubs.
Last checked 11 November 2026. This is an independent planning guide, not a first-hand review or a booking service. Check live availability, access, fees and travel details with the operator before booking. Airport suggestions are starting points for route planning.
How we research our guidesPhoto credits and licencesShared greens, the Swilcan Bridge, and the town where golf feels at home.
A modern links shaped by hand above the Fife shore, six miles from St Andrews.
Eight Opens, the Barry Burn and a finish that has humbled the best in the game.
