Innerleithen Golf Club

I beleieve it was the Farrelly brothers who claimed in the film of the same name that there was "Something About Mary". Well i feel much the same about Innerleithan! Not the hardest course by any means, nor the most beautiful - but it has a certain something and exudes bucketfuls of charm. In short a course you could easily fall in love with. At first sight the course looks a bit of a push over nestling on the flat valley floor and with barely a tree on the course to contend with. The valley is flat as a pancake but surrounded by a wooded hillside to one side and by what can only be described as a small mountain to the other. All however is not how it seems. There are 3 cracking drives when you walk uphill off the valley floor to be faced with cracking downhill tee shots. But still there is little significant rough even if the course is a bit longer than other local 9 holes with two genuine 3 shot par 5 holes. Bu it is really water which will give you trouble on this course. Not the placid manmade lakes of many modern courses but many many burns which run off the hillside into Leithan Water which has carved out the valley. The first offers a sample of this - a downhill tee shot with a medium iron but with a burn running the lenght of the hole in your eye line and then sweeping round the front of the green to the right, with hugging the left out of bounds and a road. For your first swing of the day it is certainly a tester. But the second hole sums up Innerleithan's charm - a shortish par 4 but as you stand on the tee literally only 3 feet to your right Leithan Water tumbles and casades over rapids making a terrific noise. Indeed wherever you are on the course you can always hear the noise of tumbling roaring water and ultimately this is the courses charm and its danger. Aviod water and you will score well - don't and it could be a cricket score. The final thing i would say is that it had been very very wet when i played there. Some parts of the course were very wet but others bone dry - a friendly local told me this was becuase where the river had run in the past there is a thin layer of soil over gravel which drys very quickly. What i would say is that even in the wet conditions the greens were absolutely marvellous and as good as anything i have putted on this year - a great effort from a greenkeeper on a small village golf course. Go to Innerleithan - i guarentee you will be charmed.

After incredible heavy rain, course played a treat. Some very interesting holes - chipped in for a birdie on short par 3 uphill! - especially the 8th which is long and doglegs right between river and road! Greens difficult, and driving from on high was intimidating! Enjoyed it a lot!

Played here on Monday 13 September 2010. My second time playing this course and again what a pleasure, the rain was a bit of a downer but the 9 holes they have here are great either a s a warm up to a 27 hole trip or even a stop off on the way to cardrona or peebles perhaps. Greens in good nick and fairways great to play off, a quaint little course that I have found never busy and if I lived in the area would probably become a member. The clubhouse is very rarely manned but groups can book in advance for food, saying that there is a coffee, and vending machine.

our 3 ball played innerleithen on the 16th September, 08 and considering the amound of rain the area had taken the course was in top condition! when we arrived the greenkeeper was pushing water off the 9th green but the rest of the course looked like it was in spectacular nick. the course is a 9 hole course with an opening par 3 which is played from an elevated tee box down to a small green with water thru the back and a road running the right hand side of it. its quite a difficult starting hole which 1 of my playing partners almost holed! a good starting hole. the fore-mentioned road does come into play on several of the holes on the course but it just adds to the quirkiness of the whole lay out. the short par 3 hole which you play up hill is a cracking little hole and if your feeling thirsty why not try having a drink from the spring that runs down the side of it! its a great little course to play and if you play using a 2 fore 1 its cheap as chips! very remote but if your in the area give it a play. its worth turning up just for the scenery!

Played on a cold but sunny Sunday morning this month; delightful outing. pretty scenery and a decent test for a non-handicap player like myself. Nothing silly about the 100 yard par 3 - it is also atop a 40 foot mound and requires pretty precise pitch!

You can't fault the views, and apart from the fact that a road runs through the course there's nothing that won't have you coming back. The road only seems to get one car every 4 or 5 minutes, so that's not really a problem. You DO have to hit it straight though. The greens or fairways are pretty awkward to hit, and the 1st gives you an idea of what to expect from the other 8 holes. It's a par 3 with the green surrounded by the road or a stream on three sides. That's probably the tougest green, while the main problem on a few of the other holes was getting it on the fairway. I seemed to be attracted to that road! However, when I found the greens and fairways they were all in very good condition.

This golf course is set in the hills either side of the road that runs North out of the town of Innerleithen. It is set alongside a river, and a stream runs through a couple of fairways meaning that careful play is important. The fairways are mostly flat, despite the mountain location, and in good condition. Several holes require you to play across the road. The greens are small and tight, but in good condition. Despite the out of the way location, I would say it is worth making the effort to find the place. Recommended.

Played this course as part of Borders tour. We rated this course joint 6th out of 12 courses. Very attractive course with some tricky holes. There is one rather silly par 3 of around 100 yards straight across a road. Otherwise an excellent little course.