Dunstanburgh Castle

What a place to play the best round of my golfing life so far.

Dunstanburgh Castle found its way onto our agenda after being named in England’s top 100 golf courses for 2026.

And, boy, am I glad that we called in on our way to the Scottish Open, an hour’s drive away at Renaissance.

It is easy to say, but I would have loved this Northumberland club regardless of my score. Its homely feel and gorgeous seaside holes are entirely my bag.

On a glorious July Friday, the clubhouse garden was teeming with people enjoying a great-value lunch.

Mrs W ordered our grub while I chatted to the owner, Stuart Imeson, a local lad who has graduated all the way through the ranks from apprentice greenkeeper upwards.

His enthusiasm is infectious and has clearly spread to the greens team, who take such care of the links on National Trust land.

Incredibly, our twilight round cost just £30, and that included a post-game pizza and a bottle of Peroni. The management should be confident enough to charge significantly more.

I had heard that the opening five holes lacked the oomph of those that are played up to and back from the castle ruins.

Respectfully, I don’t agree. For me, there was excitement from the start, and the course's conditioning was consistently excellent throughout.

My start was inauspicious. The opener is a long par-four that bends to the right, with bunkers on either side of a fairway that features cabbage and out-of-bounds on the left.

My drive and follow-up shot were duffed, but I saved myself with a decent chip to the raised green.

There is a heck of a climb to the second hole—a mind-bending par-four with a marker post that seems to be miles left on a fairway that slopes down to the right.

Our playing partner was a pal from home who had holidayed there all his life, and he advised that going too far left would result in a lost ball.

Wise words, mate. We all avoided the calamity, and this was the beginning of my run of pars.

“This is the hardest par-three I have ever played,” he proclaimed on the fourth, having been a golfer for more than 40 years. I could see why… the green is sited above a steep bank with merciless run-offs on either side.

The only thing for it was to hit a low five-iron up the hill to eight feet and sink the birdie putt. Yes, it was one of those days.

Dunstanburgh Castle’s designer, James Braid, was known for his risk-and-reward short par-fours, and the fifth is a prime example.

Players must be aware of thick rough on the right, two menacing fairway bunkers, and a gradient sloping down to the left.

Those who find the fairway will have earned nothing more than a pitching wedge into the green.

The sixth is a stunning hole with a view from the highly elevated tee across the beach to the left, while the drive needs to go so far right that it may end up on the first fairway.

With the ball rolling on the baked turf and the breeze in our favour, I found the ideal spot for a pitch into the green. When the wind is up, however, this must be a much trickier proposition.

My run of success continued on the sublime, short par-four seventh, where the drive is hit inside a huge dune to the left and down into a hidden dell.

The green is obscured on the second shot, but fortunately, my Garmin watch gave me an accurate yardage, and I completed my four.

National preparedness for a Second World War invasion is still evident around the course, including a pillbox perched above the tenth tee.

This is another gorgeous hole, played out to sea, but quite how the chap playing behind us ended up shooting from the top of that pillbox (with a ball, not a gun) is a mystery.

One of my best shots on a very good day was on the 12th—a par-four with the ruins of a 14th-century castle as its backdrop.

My drive was good on this long, curving hole, and my second shot with a three-wood faded around an unusual thicket of grass in the middle of the fairway, over the green’s false front to the back of the target. My 12ft birdie putt curved agonisingly around the cup.

The 13th is a fascinating par-three. It lies in the shadow of the castle ruin and in front of a remarkable, jagged cliff edge.

Hundreds of seagulls squawked as we clipped wedge shots over a chasm to a flat green. It was benign on the day we played, but we were told it can be fiendish when the conditions are blustery.

Knowing I was on for a good score, I had to maintain a keen focus over the subsequent holes until I reached the 18th.

I did not know that a five would secure my lifetime best, but trying to achieve that seemed the only way to play this beast of a par-four.

After a handsome drive, I played short of the Embleton Burn and clipped a wedge to the heart of the green, between the hedge to the left and pot bunkers to the right.

Two putts later, I had completed my round in 76.

Sure, there are many players who have done better, but I was thrilled to have set my personal best at the age of 63. And I was especially pleased that it was at Dunstanburgh Castle.

“Don’t tell everyone how good it is. They will all want to play it,” said our pal. Sorry, mate, the cat’s out of the bag.