The Renaissance Club

Modern links through pine woodland, reaching cliffs above the Firth of Forth.

EDINBURGH Location
LINKS Course type
18 Holes
71 Par

Beyond the Scorecard

Course established: 2008
Course designer/s: Tom Doak
National ranking: #27
Known for: Hosting the Scottish Open since 2019
Defining feature: Clifftop holes beside the Firth of Forth

From Pine Forest to Clifftops

The golf course at The Renaissance Club opened in April 2008 as Tom Doak's first design in Scotland. Built across roughly 300 acres of former pine forest, the layout retained selected trees beside fairways and greens, giving parts of the course a more enclosed character than many older East Lothian links.

A land exchange five years later brought the course to the edge of the Firth of Forth. Three new holes, now the 9th to 11th, replaced the original opening stretch. The par-four 10th follows a narrow strip of ground above the cliffs, with its green tilted towards the coastline.

The course was created with tournament golf in mind and first hosted the Scottish Open in 2019. Later refinements included input from three-time major champion Padraig Harrington as a player consultant alongside Doak. The routing still balances wooded inland ground with exposed coastal holes, so wind and changing sightlines shape the round in different ways.

Why Add This Course to Your Golf Experience

The Renaissance Club brings a modern championship course into an East Lothian experience built around far older links. Its private status makes access more restricted than at standard visitor venues, so any possible round requires careful planning rather than a routine tee-time request.

Kinfern can explore suitable access and position the course alongside Muirfield, Gullane, or North Berwick. That combination gives golfers a clear comparison between contemporary design and the region's historic layouts while keeping each round within the same stretch of coastline.