Swanston Golf Club
Rating Snapshot
About
Short but very demanding, small well kept plateau greens. Some very memorable holes.
Swanston G.C is a very testing course set on the North facing slopes of the pentland hills. There are some tough climbs when playing this course and your stance will rarely be level. The main hazards here are gorse bushes, not trees particularly on the 8th hole which is a 216yrd par 3 played from an elevated tee over a sea of gorse bushes, with more down the right hand side. There are six par threes and no par fives, but don't let that give you the impression that this is an easy course. Another memorable hole is the seventh which is 435yrds slightly uphill and with slight dog-leg to the left, and is nearly always playing in to a stiff breeze.
The clubhouse is small in comparison to most golf clubs but you are guaranteed a warm, friendly atmosphere and some good food once inside. All in all, this is a very good days golf for all levels of play.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 69 | 5696 yards | 68.3 | 115 |
| Yellow | 67 | 5401 yards | 66.8 | 113 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5209 yards | 71.0 | 115 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White M: 68.3/115 | 318 | 377 | 175 | 398 | 443 | 211 | 143 | 254 | 352 | 2671 | 414 | 463 | 192 | 501 | 209 | 370 | 298 | 165 | 413 | 3025 | 5696 |
| Red W: 71.0/115 | 307 | 341 | 135 | 369 | 416 | 163 | 140 | 212 | 288 | 2371 | 391 | 428 | 165 | 490 | 187 | 362 | 286 | 156 | 373 | 2838 | 5209 |
| Handicap | 9 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 4 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 69 |
| Handicap (W) | 5 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 12 |
Course Details
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Reviewer Photos
Great value golf
Played Swanston with a friend. We were both members many years ago so it was fun to play the course again and see all the significant changes that have been made.
The course was great value and all the staff we dealt with were excellent.
Great value game
My friend and I played Swanston for the first time in over 30 years.
The course layout had completely changed and the extremely windy conditions made playing, never mind scoring difficult but we had a great day & thoroughly enjoyed the course.
Great test of golf.wekl kept fairways. Greens excellent. Tees weren't great I'd I'm being honest. But great course course overall
Good, challenging course.
First two holes were tough, and costly. After that my round improved and I very much enjoyed playing here. Some cracking vistas to boot!
Pros and Cons
Pros: Lovely staff, beautifully kept greens and fairways, amazing views of Edinburgh on a clear day
Cons: You will be knackered if you walk round due to the extreme slopes (feels like an 8000 yard course), needs more signage between greens and tees, 13th hole needs 1 or 2 aiming posts as we had no idea where to aim our tee shot or 2nd shot, if it's windy like it was for us it makes it almost impossible to hit alot of the fairways due to the severe sideslopes, very difficult to score well if you're around my level (18 ish handicap)
Summary: If you like crazy slopes and you have the heart and lungs of an Ox, you'll love it. Unfortunately its not what I look for in a golf course. If marmite was a golf course it would be Swanston
SWANSTON
Really enjoyed this course even though it was rather hilly. Some excellent par 3s and very nice greens. Only downside was some holes didn't have any indication of where the next tee was. Will definitely play again.
Great condition
Great condition but easy to lose a few balls if you don't hit the fairways really enjoyed playing
Good course
This is a good course and is well kept. As a high handicapper, I found the course too hard for my abilities.
Stunning views of Edinburgh
Every hole is different. Once you master the slopes this is a great course to play. Don’t need to be a big hitter. You’ll enjoy the work out and if you play this day in then you’ll be one very fit golfer. The views of Edinburgh and Fife are breathtaking and just take a moment now and again to take it all in. Didn’t lose any balls.
First round
Fun course to play, well maintained and friendly staff. Great value for money. Will definitely be back.
Great value
Condition of fairways and greens were very good.. Quite hilly with severe slopes on a number of holes..Would benefit from having a few more signs to indicate nrxt tee... We thoroughly enjoyed the round though. Staff were very friendly.
A game of two halves, Brian
The first twelve holes, the original part of the course, are generally interesting and challenging, especially with the strong winds we had to play in. The final third is the new part and should be good in a few years' time when the course has matured, but even with the growth of the trees that have been planted, these holes will not be as interesting as the first twelve. Still, well worth a whirl.
