Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas Couldn’t Get Enough of this Underrated Scottish Links Course

If you’ve ever visited East Lothian region of Scotland, it’s not hard to understand why the area is a bucket-list destination for golf fanatics. More than twenty courses line the scenic coast, including the beloved yet highly underrated North Berwick Golf Club.

Although it isn’t exactly a championship test, the historic links has become a popular destination for PGA Tour players who are in town for the Genesis Scottish Open. At last year’s tournament, Max Homa snuck in 18 holes at North Berwick after finishing his Friday round at the tournament. He voluntarily played 36 holes that day, but had “no regrets” despite dealing with sore legs on Saturday—the old-style links was just that special.

This year, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Sahith Theegala were some of the latest pros to seek out the full North Berwick experience.

Standing at just 6,500 yards, North Berwick has been around since 1832, making it one of the world’s oldest courses. Aside from its breathtaking location, the track features stone walls that bisect fairways and undulating greens that demand maximum creativity.

Spieth and Thomas teed it up at 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening with a healthy gallery of local onlookers, along with Smylie Kaufman, Mike Thomas and Cameron McCormick, Spieth’s swing coach.

The videos of Thomas and Spieth’s round show the two major champions having an absolute blast on the quirky links, hitting chip shots from every angle imaginable and blasting drives into the coastal winds. Spieth was even spotted using a push cart to transport his heavy staff bag and save his back for the tournament, a move that every golfer can relate to.

Speaking from the Renaissance Club, the site of this week’s Scottish Open, Spieth described the casual practice round in full detail.

“I know the history of North Berwick and I didn’t play it last year and so this year, when Cameron and my coach and his son were going to go out and play, I thought I would just go out there maybe with a few clubs and chip-and-putt and walk with them,” Spieth said. “I ended up taking my bag and played all 18 holes. Played the first few and was like, I can’t really quit after nine on links like you can in the States and I know that the last five, six holes are just incredible.

“I went out there and we were with Justin and his dad as well. It was just a fun evening to play golf. We don’t really get a lot of run, random rounds on the road, and that was one to take advantage of.”