Gullane No. 3 is the shortest of the village's three links, yet perhaps the most revealing. Its eighteen holes measure 5,134 yards, par 67, with six par threes and a succession of compact greens that punish an imperfect first bounce. Opened in 1910, the course climbs toward views over Aberlady Bay before returning through ground that has been used for golf for generations.
The second demands a careful iron to a sloping surface, the seventh opens a panorama over the coast and the downhill fifteenth can play anything from a long iron to a putter depending on the wind. At seventeen, the routing reaches a surviving hole from Gullane's original links. These are small-scale challenges with genuine architectural depth.
Why You Should Play Gullane No. 3
No. 3 is a lesson in scoring rather than distance. At just over five thousand yards, it promises birdie chances, but the narrow greens, changing coastal wind and firm turf demand precision that a long drive cannot supply. Six par threes keep the focus on club selection and trajectory. A ball that carries exactly the right distance may still bounce through a green, while a shorter shot played to a favorable slope can be rewarded.
The first great challenge arrives at the par-three second, whose putting surface falls away from the tee. The elevated seventh asks for the correct drive past cross bunkers, and the fifteenth introduces one of Scottish golf's most enjoyable pieces of contour: a sharply downhill green shaped like a bowl, capable of gathering a carefully judged ball and rejecting one that strays wide or long. The course's famous seventeenth makes a different demand again, combining an uphill tee shot with an approach across a swale.
This is a satisfying choice for golfers who like a traditional ground game, subtle greens and the possibility of a personally good score. High handicappers can enjoy the manageable overall distance; accomplished players will find that their wedge play, putting and imagination receive a close examination. It is not a substitute for Gullane No. 1's championship length or No. 2's fuller-scale strategic links. Its strength is the freedom to play eighteen genuine holes with a different balance of skills.
The only mistake is to assume the course will be trivial because the par is 67. A good shot at No. 3 needs the correct flight, landing point and pace. On a windy afternoon, those requirements can be considerably more severe than the scorecard suggests.
The Club's Own Creation, Opened in 1910
Gullane Golf Club was formed in 1882, although the village's connection with golf stretches much further back. The club added No. 2 in 1898 and a third eighteen in 1910, creating one of Scotland's great multi-course golf centers before the First World War.
Unlike No. 2, there is no officially named outside architect for No. 3. Its layout was overseen by the Gullane club committee and constructed by head greenkeeper William Logan and his team. That is a more interesting story than attributing every course in the village to Willie Park Jr., whose design responsibility belongs specifically to No. 2.
History is visible at the seventeenth, the surviving hole from Gullane's earliest course. Playing it near the end of the round brings the golfer back to the village's older linksland and a different period of Scottish golf. No. 3's heritage rests on this continuity and the club's involvement, not on claiming championship winners from its neighboring courses.
The Second and the Challenge of Short Greens
Gullane No. 3 is deceptively demanding because it repeatedly tests a player's control of the first bounce. Modest yardages invite attack, but narrow targets and bunkers turn an imprecise short iron into a difficult recovery. With six par threes and only one par five, the routing asks far more questions about distance control and short-game imagination than driving power.
The course rises from the village toward Aberlady Bay, where the coastal wind can transform an apparent scoring hole into a much more uncomfortable shot. The par-four seventh gives a broad view across Luffness New and the nature reserve, but the cross bunkers mean that the ideal drive must still earn its approach angle. The panorama is part of the appeal, not a substitute for strategy.
The fifteenth is a particularly expressive example of the land's influence. Its steeply downhill par-three shot plays to a bowl-shaped green above the village, so height, wind and first bounce must all be judged carefully. It is a delightful kind of links challenge precisely because no amount of yardage on a card can settle the club choice.
How No. 3 Fits With Gullane's Other Two Courses
Gullane No. 1 is the principal championship course, with far more demanding length and a celebrated tournament reputation. Gullane No. 2, Willie Park Jr.'s 1898 layout, provides a traditional par-71 links with extensive cross bunkering and one of Gullane's finest dune loops.
No. 3 is a full eighteen but focuses more intensely on wedges, mid-irons and green-side imagination. The shared links terrain makes it an interesting contrast rather than a lesser version. For many visitors a two-round day on Nos. 2 and 3 gives a richer understanding of Gullane than playing only the course with the highest profile.
2027 Visitor Fees, Rating and Caddies
For 2027, the standard Gullane No. 3 visitor fee is £75 on weekdays, £95 for weekend starts before noon, and £80 from noon at weekends. Seasonal reductions include £55 winter weekdays in January–March and November–December, £65 weekdays in April and October, and £60 weekday twilight golf from 3:36 p.m. during April–September. Separate weekend offers apply by date and time.
A combined No. 2 and No. 3 day ticket costs £130 on weekdays and £165 at weekends for one round on each. This is a different product from a single No. 3 green fee.
The official rated configuration measures 5,134 yards (4,695 metres), par 67, with Course Rating 65.3 and Slope 114. There are six par threes, eleven par fours and one par five. Those figures describe the stated 5,134-yard configuration and do not automatically apply to other tees.
Caddies are optional, allocated to one golfer and booked in advance. Gullane's year-labeled 2026 caddie price is £75 per individual round, plus gratuity, paid directly in cash; confirm the current amount before booking. Forecaddies are not permitted, and motorized buggies require medical documentation submitted in advance.
Gullane Village and the East Lothian Golf Coast
The first three and last three holes of No. 3 lie south of the main road into Gullane, providing a handy six-hole route that some members enjoy when time is short. The complete eighteen climbs onto the hill for the Aberlady Bay views and the course's more demanding holes.
No. 2 and No. 3 share The Links visitor clubhouse and nearby practice facilities. The village has the old Scottish golf-town atmosphere of pubs, local restaurants and well-used linksland rather than a self-contained resort. The East Lothian region also offers North Berwick West Links, Kilspindie and Dunbar, with very different examples of golf by the Firth of Forth.