7 daysEast coastSelf-drive

7-day Scotland golf itinerary

Itinerary · Scotland

At a glance

Length: 7 days · self-drive
Route: East Lothian → Fife → Angus (Carnoustie)
Fly into: Edinburgh (EDI); out of Dundee or Edinburgh
Key courses: North Berwick · St Andrews · Kingsbarns · Carnoustie
Best months: May, June, September

The route

The most rewarding first trip to Scotland runs up the east coast: fly into Edinburgh, work your way through East Lothian, cross the Forth to Fife and St Andrews, and finish in Angus at Carnoustie. Four world-class golfing regions, a different great links almost every day, and remarkably little driving — you never move more than about ninety minutes between bases.

You will cover roughly 250km across the week, so a rental car is the only sensible way to do it. Edinburgh Airport puts you forty minutes from East Lothian and ninety from St Andrews, and the roads on this route are fast and easy compared with the west or the Highlands.

The pace is deliberate. Book the marquee courses months ahead — the Old Course, Muirfield and Kingsbarns in particular — and leave room in the schedule for the towns, the coast and a slack afternoon in case the weather turns. This is a two-base week: East Lothian for the first two nights, St Andrews for the rest.

Day by day

Arrive Edinburgh — settle into East Lothian

Land at Edinburgh, pick up the car and drive east — Gullane and North Berwick are both about forty minutes away, and either makes a perfect base for the first two nights. Gullane is the more golf-soaked (three courses on the doorstep and Muirfield next door); North Berwick is a handsome Victorian seaside town with the West Links running right along the seafront.

If you land early enough, a twilight nine on one of the Gullane courses is a gentle way to shake off the flight. Otherwise walk North Berwick's harbour, look out to the Bass Rock, and have an early dinner — the golf starts properly tomorrow. See the East Lothian guide for bases and courses.

East Lothian — Muirfield & North Berwick

If you have managed to secure a tee time, this is the morning for Muirfield — home of the Honourable Company, the oldest golf club in the world, and one of the fairest tests in the game. Visitor days are limited and the club keeps its traditions (a jacket-and-tie lunch among them), so apply well ahead.

In the afternoon play North Berwick's West Links — quirky, ancient and pure joy, played over stone walls and around beaches, with the original Redan 15th, the most copied hole in golf. If Muirfield is out of reach, fill the day with Gullane No. 1 for the great view from its 7th, and Craigielaw.

Cross to Fife — into St Andrews

Take a last East Lothian round — Dunbar along the rocks, or a second Gullane course — then drive north, over the Forth bridges and up through Fife to St Andrews, about ninety minutes. Settle in for four nights in the home of golf.

St Andrews rewards an evening walk: the West Sands beach (of Chariots of Firefame), the ruined cathedral and castle, the old university, and the 18th of the Old Course running right into the town, where anyone can stand on the Swilcan Bridge. The Jigger Inn, the old stationmaster's lodge beside the 17th, is the classic first pint.

The Old Course

The Old Course is public land and the birthplace of the game — the one every golfer wants to walk. Tee times go by advance reservation, by the daily ballot (enter online by 2pm two days before), or via the single-golfer queue for the committed early riser. Take a caddie: the Old Course hides its lines, its shared double greens and the depths of Hell Bunker from the first-timer.

Note the Old Course is closed on Sundays — the town walks its fairways as a park — so plan the week around that. If the ballot doesn't come off, the New and Jubilee courses on the same links are excellent and far easier to book.

Kingsbarns & the East Neuk

Kingsbarns, fifteen minutes down the coast, is a modern classic — every hole giving a view of the North Sea, and so cleverly shaped it looks centuries old. Book it well ahead; it is one of the most sought-after tee times in Scotland.

Spend the afternoon in the East Neuk, the string of cobbled fishing villages south of St Andrews. Play the short, historic, affordable Crail or Elie, and stop in Anstruther, where the multi-award-winning Anstruther Fish Bar serves some of the best fish and chips in Britain on the harbour front.

Angus — Carnoustie

Drive over the Tay to Carnoustie, about forty minutes, and take on the hardest links on the Open rota. Carnoustie — “Car-nasty” — saves its teeth for the closing stretch, where the Barry Burn snakes across the 17th and 18th and has broken many a card. Off the medal tees it is stern but fair, and unforgettable.

Pair it, if you have the legs, with a companion round at neighbouring Panmure — where Ben Hogan prepared for his 1953 Open win — or Monifieth, two of the best-value links in the country. See the Carnoustie Country guide.

Depart

Fly home from Dundee (thirty minutes away) or Edinburgh (ninety). If your flight is later in the day, a final morning nine somewhere on the Fife coast — or simply a walk across the Old Course and along the West Sands — is a fitting way to finish. Allow ninety minutes at Edinburgh to return the car and clear security.

Getting around

The east-coast route is the easiest driving in Scottish golf: fast dual carriageways and bridges link the regions, and the longest hop of the week — East Lothian to St Andrews — is about ninety minutes. Nothing else is more than an hour. A car is still essential, as the courses sit outside the towns and public transport won't fit a golf schedule.

Drive on the left. The moment to concentrate is the first left turn of the morning out of a car park or junction, where visiting drivers most often drift to the wrong side — one deliberate turn and the habit locks in. Rural roads near the East Neuk courses are narrow; add a few minutes and give way to farm traffic.

All the courses on this route offer hire sets to a good standard, so there is no need to fly with clubs on a first trip — book them in advance for the marquee courses in peak season.

What to know before you go

Booking is everything. The Old Course, Muirfield and Kingsbarnsrelease and fill their visitor tee times months ahead; the rest of this route is far easier and can often be arranged a few weeks out. Remember the Old Course is closed on Sundays, and that Muirfield's visitor days are limited.

Scottish weather is genuinely changeable, even in summer — build in at least one slack afternoon so a rained-off morning doesn't cost the whole day. Links golf in wind and rain is a different game worth experiencing once; pack waterproofs regardless of the forecast, and layers for the sea breeze off the North Sea.

Scotland uses pounds sterling. Credit cards are accepted everywhere and ATMs are in every town. For a different week, swap in Ayrshire (Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick) for the west coast, or add three days in the Highlands for Royal Dornoch. Or skip the planning entirely — our trip planner builds a full day-by-day route, with courses, bases and hotels, in a couple of minutes.

Muirfield, East Lothian — Muirfield · Co. East Lothian

Common questions

What is the best 7-day golf itinerary in Scotland?

The classic first-timer route runs up the east coast with almost no driving: two days in East Lothian (North Berwick, Muirfield, Gullane), three in Fife and St Andrews (the Old Course by ballot, plus Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie), and two in Angus at Carnoustie and Panmure. Fly into Edinburgh and out of Dundee or Edinburgh.

Should I do the east coast or the west coast?

For a first trip the east coast (East Lothian, Fife, Angus) packs the most world-class golf into the least driving. The west (Ayrshire — Troon, Turnberry, Prestwick) is a superb alternative or add-on, and the Highlands (Royal Dornoch) reward a longer trip. Our planner lets you mix and match.