The road and railway line are on the right hand side of the first 3 holes will always be a concern to those of us cursed with a slice.  The opener is a gentle start, a straight and fairly short par 4.  There are some bunkers on the right hand side of the fairway and the green is in a dip so landing short of the green will result in the ball rolling onto it.  The 2nd is a sterner test at 450 yards – there is a road crossing the fairway as well as bunkers on the right and a large trap on the left of the green.   The green is large and fairly flat.  The 3rd is the last hole that has the road/railway combination but also includes the burn as another potential hazard.  It is a decent length par 3 with the burn running horizontal to the tee. A large bunker is placed centrally in front of the green. The right hand side is also protected by a large dune. Bunkers protect the left hand side of the green. All in all a difficult green to hit in regulation and anything short is in real trouble.

The 4th plays back towards the 2nd tee.  The burn from the 3rd flows across the front of the fairway here – it shouldn’t be an issue given its short distance from the tee. The fairway is reasonably generous out left. Your 2nd shot needs to consider the road which crosses in front of the green. The 5th is another of the Burnside’s fine par 3s. At 158 yards, the trees on the left cause an issue for those that cut the ball left to right and the burn snakes around the green nearly fully encircling it.   The 6th is a short dog leg right – finding the narrow fairway and avoiding the fairway bunkers is challenging.  The green is protected by some more deep greenside bunkering but runs true as with all of the greens on the course.  The seventh is another sub 400 yard par 4. A slice will be fine but you may be playing your 2nd shot from the Championship course. 2 bunkers protect the green – you certainly want to avoid the right hand bunker as it is a beast. Standing on the tee at the 8th it is difficult to see the pin – the green is slightly tucked in on the left hand side. It is a long hole so a good drive and long iron may still end up short. At this point the gorse becomes very evident and is a major feature for the next 9 holes.   The 9th is another excellent par 3, the green is elevated and the tee shot needs to hit the generous green and stick. 2 bunkers are sunk in on the right and left hand side and anything short in the middle will roll back down the hill.

The back 9 starts with a blind drive – the best approach is to the left of the marker as a small gully on the right helps to funnel these shots into the rough leaving a difficult approach. Bump and run shots are the order of the day on the Burnside as lots of the greens, as with the 10th, allow the ball to roll onto the green.  The 11th is another fairly straight hole with fairway bunkering on the left and right. Best position is to be left of the fairway as the right hand side has a large dune blocking your view of the green. Another large undulating green awaits.  The 12th fairway is tight and protected by a large bunker which looks to be in the middle from the tee but is actually further left.  There is plenty of space on the right due to the 13th fairway and it shouldn’t be too concerning to be out that far.  Don’t be long on this hole as the green has gorse at the back from which it will be difficult to get out.  The 13th runs back towards the 12th tee. It is a slightly uphill hole with lots of humps and bumps on the fairway giving you a difficult stance for your approach shot.  The penultimate par 3 and the most difficult on the course, the fourteenth is a 228 yard monster.  The green is elevated and it is pretty much all carry! Being short isn’t an option.  The only par 5 on the course is next. The heather may cause some problems if you drive out with the fairway but there isn’t as much gorse on his hole as on others.  If you can keep it on the fairway the hard ground will give you good round and the fairway is particularly generous in funnelling shots towards the green.  The green is long and fairly narrow – the best approach is to pitch in front of it and let the ball roll towards the pin.

The last par 3 is a nice little hole.  A large bunker protects the right hand side of the green and a shallower one the left. If you can avoid the bunkers a par is certainly a achievable.  The 17th is down as the 3rd hardest on the course but certainly plays harder! You have to negotiate the burn, not once but twice as well as the road. You have a decision on the tee to either try to fly the first burn or to layup – the wind may be a contributing factor to your decision.  The course ends as it began fairly benignly unless you slice the ball! Hard on the right hand side is the Championship course and anything sliced beyond the white stakes is out of bounds. The right hand side of the fairway is probably the best approach as two rather menacing bunkers protect the left of the 18th green. The green has a number of different breaks and also has changes in elevation to make the job of making par much more difficult.