Castle Park Golf Club

The first 8 holes are pretty average holes, but after that the course is both scenic and challenging for novice golfers. The people who run Castle Park are warm and welcoming. Overall this was a really enjoyable afternoon.

Returned to play Castle park after many years and impressed with condition of this course. Many trees have grown and make the course a great spectacle. The course is set away from noisy roads and houses making it especially quiet and peaceful. There are many delightful holes particularly on the back nine. Don't hit the rough, keep it on the fairway as balls will be lost in the long grass. Definitely will be back soon.

Be warned that if you’re on a hot deal the staff will treat you like dirt.
Their attitude spoiled a good day out at a very interesting course such a shame.

Very poor experience on the 1st tee with a lady from reception screaming at an other couple to return to the 1st tee and play myself and my partner as we had booked a hot deal time and could not play separately as 2 two balls. This was incredibly bad as we counted only two other matches out on the course and obviously held up the rest of afternoon tee times on completion of our round I approached the reception to make my complaints as to the way the she spoke to us on the 1st tee but the guy on the reception who was also a castle park employee would not let me explain my complaint and interrupted me going onto rant at me about the way hot deal tee times work of which iam perfectly aware of and says if iam not happy take it up with golf now. Golf is a hospitality industry and if castle park thinks that this is the way to deal with customers complaint then they will not get many customers and certainly won't get any returning. If you have any influence then I would suggest they are removed from your database. I have never experienced just rude and unhelpful golf staff in all my life. Yours in Golf Tom Duff

We had booked a hot deal and went to check in and was met with a very rude man on the desk who greeted me not a hello or good morning but with a pointed finger and said you must stick to your time. I hadn’t even asked to go early as it was only about 15 mins before our scheduled tee time. I asked for a score card and he said you can only have 1 and thrust it at me. Asked for the ladies and gesticulated to the side door. Asked where the handicap calculation sheets were and he pointed to the board There were 2 tiny sheets which you couldn’t read. Was told to take a photo on my phone to enlarge it so I could read it. The whole thing is a joke. Another guy then said we had been paired up with another 2 ball as we were on a hot deal. We met one of them on the tee but he said his partner had just arrived and as there was no one in front of us to go ahead in front which we did. We were half way down the fairway when this screaming banshee of a woman with a black dog told us to come back and play with the other 2 ball. I would point out the course was deserted. Consequently because we were a 4 ball now we had to let a guy playing ion his own and a 2 ball through which would have totally been unnecessary had we been allowed to continue . Plus this put a dampener on our round of golf. It seems to me if you have booked a hot deal the owners think they have the right to treat you like dirt. This is exactly how I felt on arrival when trying to book in . My advice to anyone wanting to play this course is don’t book a hot deal
. Also had a couple of friends coming next week and we certainly wont be bringing them here. It’s no wonder the course was deserted if this is the way they treat visitors

Upon arrival we checked in and were told that as we had booked a hot desk we’d be playing with two others - no biggy as this is fairly standard. One of my party was running late due to road works in the area so the two other players suggested they tee off ahead of us (no-one had teed off for 25 mins and the course was really quiet) and we tee off at our scheduled time. You’d think this wouldn’t be an issue with such a quiet tee sheet? Wrong.

We were greeted by a staff member (with a large black dog) shouting down the fairway after the pair that had teed off “you need to play together, it’s against the rules!! Wait on the late comer and all play together!!”. So we teed off, all stressed with an angry onlooker after the two others had jogged back to the tee (equally as angry and bewildered at the situation) so we could catch up and play as a 4 ball.

We didn’t see another player ahead of us in our 4 hour round - to top it off we had to let 3 single players through causing us and them a delay in pace of play.

When we returned to the clubhouse after 18 holes to raise the issue with the starter, they were equally as unhelpful and shrugged the issue as “you were on a hot deal, play within that time as I don’t get any money for that one”. I get the issue if the course was busy for pace of play - but it wasn’t and the pace of play was slower as a result.

In general it was a quirky little course. Some nice risk and reward holes throughout, long par 4’s and testing par 3’s. Most bunkers were unplayable and not kept though. Fairways and greens passable given the rain we have had.

3/5 - would play again if I was in the area. Good value for money but make sure you obey their unwritten rules…

Fantastic day out from the moment I arrived with a meet and greet off the management team.
Condition of this hidden gem was superb with the best views you could imagine.

Used to be a great course, however going down hill rapidly. Green surfaces poor and very slow. Bunkers containing many weeds, little sand and if any totally compacted. Tee markers are simply bits of metal painted Yellow, scorecards appear to be homemade laser printed. The look of the course is far better than its condition. Fairways badly marked by cutting machinery. No real semi rough, so fairway with next to no run or deepish whispy grass which would mean many a lost ball even if just entering it. Pace of play was good because there was more or less no one else playing but not really a surprise in the end. Wont be back

I was looking forward to playing castle park as it was the last course I had to play in East Lothian and to be honest it was in terrible condition grass cuttings everywhere on the fairway semi rough was super long probably the worst condition I’ve seen a golf course in would not recommend

Great course. Staff were outstanding and no winter greens which made it better.

Enjoyed our game as none golfers having a day out. The 2nd 9 was a killer, just not used to all that walking back and forth across the fairway chasing my ball lol and the hills didn't help. Great day out.

I've had many enjoyable rounds at castle park, but now that golf buggies are only available to members I won't be back.

Thoroughly enjoyed the round. Front nine good but surpassed by a more mature and hilly and very interesting back nine. For time of year course was in good condition. Slightly spoilt by a slow group of 4 in front who showed no interest in letting a 2 ball through. Back nine took forever waiting on most holes. Value for money was incredible value. Had. A nice bacon roll in clubhouse too. All in all a very enjoyable
Round in 5 degrees.

First time playing the course.

Chatted away to staff on arrival who were superb; very friendly and ensured we knew where we were going. Club house bar was well stocked and also an option after hole 9 which was very welcomed due to the heat. Again, everyone was very welcoming.

Buggies are available for hire however we chanced our arm on the day trying to get one so missed out. There are a number of trolleys which were free to use however most were broken or had no straps.

Played on a crazy hot day and the fairways were playing very firm. I usually drive 240y but was hitting 280y drives regularly. Greens were very firm and suited running the ball up as opposed to flying to the green and trying to hold the ball. Despite playing a Saturday, the greens did not play like they had been recently cut as there was a fair degree of growth and they were playing quite slow. The last few greens were very slow and noticeable different in speed to the front nine.

The course layout is a tail of two courses which is not surprising given the history. The front 9 are generally quite flat and play quite straight forward. There is not a huge amount of character to the front 9 holes but enjoyable enough. The back 9 are, however, full of character and quite hilly. Hole 11 is a stand out par 3 and against the wind is a challenge. There are a fair few blind tee shots but the usual marker poles are in place so not an issue. If I remember correctly, the only blind shot to a green was hole 17.

The bunkers were generally is poor quality and I did not come across one which had been raked properly.

What let the course down was the lack of signage at each tee. Only cheap painted post were in place. This did not lead to a very good presentation. It would be greatly improved to have hole numbers and yardage signs there. A small touch but makes a big difference. Also, it looked like the first cut of rough had been cut that week but the cuttings had been left in place. This meant finding and aying the ball more challenging that I think it needed to be. (I'm no greenkeeper so dont know whether other places do that but, again, something I've not noticed elsewhere).

We had a really enjoyable day and I would recommend this course. Details of some of the course presentation let it down slightly but nothing a bit of attention to detail can't fix.

Ultimately. I'm not sure I'd look to play this course again as there are far better options in the price range. With the hot deal, we paid £32 each, however, I'd very much put this course in the £12 to £15 bracket having played similar courses.