Dunbar Golf Club advances clubhouse and nine-hole course redevelopment while championship links stays open

A historic Scottish links develops beyond its championship course

Dunbar Golf Club in East Lothian is continuing an extensive redevelopment that pairs a new clubhouse with a golf academy, driving range, short-game practice facilities, a nine-hole short course and updated greenkeeping facilities. Founded in 1856, the club is known for its championship links on a narrow strip of Scottish coast. The project is intended to strengthen what visitors can experience off the main 18-hole layout as well as on it.

On 26 October 2026, Golf Business News reported that the club had appointed communications agency The Loop to help explain and promote the transformation. That appointment is the new development being reported today; the infrastructure programme itself was planned and approved earlier, and building work is already under way. The distinction matters: an agency partnership is not the groundbreaking of a new golf course, and the proposed facilities should not be described as already open.

New spaces for golfers and the local community

The project encompasses a purpose-built clubhouse, additional practice areas, a golf academy and a separate nine-hole par-three-style short course. Earlier project documents identified G1 Architects as the clubhouse designers and RAW Golf Design, formed by David J Russell and 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam, as the short-course design team. A Cala Homes residential development on part of the club's property was intended to enable the investment. These details describe the longer-running development scheme rather than a new planning approval issued on 26 October.

The practice academy and shorter layout have an important access role. Players seeking an introduction to golf should have a more approachable route than a full round on Dunbar's challenging championship links, while established golfers will gain dedicated places for warm-ups and skill development. The club has not given a verified, final opening date for each new element in the latest announcement, so those dates remain to be confirmed.

Is the championship course open during construction?

Yes. Dunbar's official 2026 visitor guidance says the championship links remains fully accessible while construction proceeds. Visitors are received in a heated temporary clubhouse, which offers seating and a bar, food and drink, full pro-shop services, toilets and changing space. Showers are not available in the temporary building, and practice and warm-up facilities are currently limited. Anyone planning a round should check current course status and reserve a tee time in advance.

Location: Fluke Dub View, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1BW, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Sources: Dunbar Golf Club's official 2026 visitor information; Golf Business News, 26 October 2026.

Image note: genuine archival photograph of Dunbar Golf Club's former clubhouse, taken by Walter Baxter on 10 March 2007, CC BY-SA 2.0. It does not depict the replacement clubhouse or the 2026 building works. Full attribution and licence terms are recorded in image_rights.