Musselburgh Links

Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, is generally accepted as being one of the oldest golf courses in the world.[1][2] The course is not to be confused with The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club or the Levenhall Links.

Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course
Old Starters Building (A new starters building was built in 2011).
Club information
Coordinates55°56′48″N 3°2′11″W
TypePublic
Operated byEast Lothian Council
Total holes9
Tournaments hostedThe Open Championship (six times between 1874 and 1889)
Websitemusselburgholdlinks.co.uk
Par34

Musselburgh is currently a publicly owned course, administered by East Lothian Council. The course has nine holes, and is a par 34.

History

Musselburgh was once certified as being the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records (but more recently they reassigned this 'record' to St Andrews). There is documented evidence that golf was played at the links in 1672, and it is claimed that Mary, Queen of Scots, played nearby (at Seton) in 1567.[3]

Musselburgh Links was originally seven holes, with an 8th added in 1838 and the 9th in 1870.[4]

Musselburgh was one of the three courses which staged The Open Championship in rotation in the 1870s and 1880s, alongside Prestwick and the Old Course at St Andrews. It was selected because it was used by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, [5]and it hosted six Opens in all, the first in 1874 and the last in 1889.

YearWinner[note 1]Score
R1R2Total
1874 Mungo Park 1st7584159
1877 Jamie Anderson 1st8278160
1880 Bob Ferguson 1st8181162
1883 Willie Fernie 1st7583158 PO
1886 David Brown 1st7978157
1889 Willie Park, Jr. 2nd7877155 PO

When the Honorable Company built a private club at Muirfield, Musselburgh dropped out of the rotation for the Open.

On 14 July 2010, the course became a temporary heliport, when fog in Edinburgh forced the helicopter used by Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to land in front of the first tee.[6]

Legacy

The course left a lasting legacy to the game's rules. The four-and-a-quarter-inch (108 mm) diameter of a golf hole was the width of the implement used to cut the holes at Musselburgh; in 1893, the Royal and Ancient adopted the measurement as a mandatory requirement for all courses.[4]

Notes

  1. Superscript number beside the player's name is the number of the Open Championship in their respective careers.

References

  1. "It's official:Musselburgh golf course is worlds oldest". East Lothian News. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  2. "Recognition for the world's oldest links, at last". PGA Tour. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  3. Links plays into the record books BBC. Retrieved September 24, 2011
  4. "Course History". Musselburgh Links. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  5. "Musselburgh and Seton House". Scottish Golf History. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  6. "Unexpected Royal Visitor". Musselburgh Links. 2010. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
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