For the fourth consecutive time, it will host the Scottish Open. Wegolf was there a few years ago and this was our experience.

This is the first time the championship is part of the PGA Tour calendar, counting toward both the Race to Dubai and the FedExCup.

Renaissance is a private club with a fabulous course designed by Tom Doak and a Lodge with a few rooms where it is possible to stay without being a member. The terrain is very similar to a nearby course called Archerfield, with many pines, sandy soil, and proximity to the sea; although only a few holes overlook the coast. 

It was not a group of 18th-century Scots who founded The Renaissance Club, but a group of Americans in the 20th century. The Sarvadi family was in Pinehurst, North Carolina, two decades ago when an associate asked if they would be interested in building a course in Scotland. That associate was Don Lewis, whose father-in-law, Pandel Savic, was one of the co-founders of Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village (a course Nicklaus named after Muirfield in Scotland, the setting of his first Open triumph). The club opened in 2008.

It is an open course from the tee where the great difficulty lies in the mounds Doak created around and on the greens, requiring magic and creativity with the short game and a keen ability to read the slopes.

The best part of the round is the coastal area, featuring a 10th hole where the tee shot is over water and a “Halfway House” with incredible views. The final hole has a wall crossing the fairway (similar to the 3rd at North Berwick), and landing close to it can mean having no shot.

A high-level Clubhouse, some of Scotland's finest gastronomy, and proximity to courses like North Berwick, Gullane No.1, Dunbar, Glen, Kilspindie, Archerfield, and the historic Musselburgh Old make it a destination to stay for a week playing the classics—including Muirfield—without needing to change hotels.

Renaissance is private, but with advance notice, Wegolf can access tee times and accommodation in some of the very good Bed and Breakfasts in the area.