Muirfield — Local services in Scotland

Muirfield is a very beautiful course, the problem is the rest. A cold welcome, non-players are forbidden from entering the front of the clubhouse. He carries your bag no more than 4 meters. We tour the facilities at a run, then quickly head to the pro shop. The little lady's only thought is: selling you lunch and a beer. The requirement to wear a suit to enter isn't a problem, but having the feeling that the only thing they're interested in is your money is very unpleasant; they don't even make the effort to hide it. The starter, an extremely aggressive little man who explains the rules to us, is so unpleasant that we wonder if we're allowed to hit the ball off the tee. He threatens more than he explains. A four-way game without warning, of course, and the level of the players in the game is very unbalanced. No players allowed on the course, at least for us, but there are plenty of people walking their dogs, one even came to give us advice, and I'm not even talking about the cars driving on the course, a load of bullshit. There were only two tee balls, men's and women's, for the price it's a scandal. Gentlemen, your course does indeed have a history, but we are customers, you have a duty of respect and courtesy, which is clearly not the case. We played Carnoustie, KingsBarns, and Archerfeild, magical courses, the welcome was fantastic, courteous, and the people were happy to welcome us. Gentlemen of Muirfield, you ruined what was supposed to be a beautiful day for us with your incompetence, your inaccuracy, and your greed. Muirfield is a route you can avoid; it's spoiled by the staff. There are plenty of others where you'll be greeted by people who are genuinely happy to see you and extremely...

Ever feel like you weren't wanted somewhere? That was our experience at Muirfield. The course, absolutely 5 stars. The staff, not so much. I don't necessarily blame them for their bad mood, (we had a tee time on one of the worst weather days in Scotland in 20 years, storm babet, rain w/50mph wind gusts) but they shouldn't take it out on the golfers who traveled 3000+ miles to play the course. And since we were told on arrival "Muirfield was not in a position to refund golf fees" there was really no option but to play. There was one exception, Claire, who had the unfortunate duty of informing golfers that refunds weren't an option. Claire was cordial and helped get us out on the course about an hour after our scheduled time in hopes for a little better conditions. Lastly, we did elect for the optional lunch. But again, the staff came across as being annoyed by our being there and wanting to clear out the "guest" golfers so they could leave. They had already cleared some of the cafeteria style entree offerings when we arrived for lunch at 3:30 (we were told lunch would end at 5). The remaining items appeared to be sitting under heat lamps for some time. Not the experience we expected. Again, even in the horrible weather, playing the course was a fantastic experience. I just wish the staff was a little more cordial and considerate to guests who traveled many miles and had to endure the same weather...

Originally booked to play in November 2020 and twice postponed due to Covid, finally the day arrived yesterday. We turned up to be greeted by the starter who made us feel very welcome at the clubhouse, inviting us to use the practice range, putting green and asking if we would like to stay for famed lunch.

As for the golf the course it was simply outstanding. I've never seen a UK course in such good condition at the end of November - it felt like I was playing a course in peak summer condition.

The biggest compliment I can pay is that there isn't a single weak hole on the golf course - top quality from start to finish. It is such a fair course where good shots are rewarded and bad shots punished, the sand is the best i've ever played out of (sadly a few too many times for my liking!!!!) and I hope to have the opportunity to return in the future both to play myself and to watch another Open Championship on this...