History of Golf in Scotland is quite simple in so far that Scotland is the ancient home of Golf. First mentioned in 1457 when playing golf was banned by James II because too many Scots preferred to play golf rather than practice archery!

The ban was lifted in 1502 and since then Scots have been free to indulge in their national pastime. The Stewart monarchs were themselves keen golfers and when James VI inherited the English throne in 1603, he introduced the game to England when he moved his court to London where any number of his retinue took their clubs along to Blackheath Common. Archery plays another part in the history of golf – the skills of the bow makers were utilised in the making of early club shafts! The King got his from a Perth bow maker.

Traditionally golf in Scotland was played on ‘links’ – the common land by the seaside where the turf was considered ideal. Of course today’s golf courses in Scotland can lie in pasture, parkland, heathland or moorland, but the sand filled bunkers found in all courses worldwide owe their origins to the natural sand pits of Scottish ‘links’. We have some of the best golf courses in the world.

Links Golf

The oldest golf club is the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers dating back to 1744, and St Andrews was formed in 1754. However, as long ago as 1672 golf was played on the Old Course Links in Musselburgh, with popular rumour indicating that Mary Queen of Scots (should that read “shots”?) enjoyed the odd round or two of golf there in 1567.

Archbishop John Hamilton issued a charter in 1552 where he approved the rights to the townspeople of St Andrews for “the playing of golff futball, schuteing at all gamis with all uther manner of pastyme as ever thai pleis” so long as he established his rights to all the rabbits from the links!

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews  enjoys a history far more comprehensive in it’s origins than the few lines here, but this will give you an insight into their beginnings. The Society of St Andrews Golfers were founded on May 14th 1754 by the local dignitaries, peers, landowners and university professors when they formed themselves into a society. They followed the lead of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and The Royal Burgess Society of Edinburgh. They numbed 22 and celebrated their foundation with a game consisting of 22 holes, 11 out and 11 back. For the occasion they used the 13 rules (with one exception) from The Honourable Company, not yet having their own. In 2004 the R & A took over as golf’s governing body

Just along the coast lies Musselburgh Old Course, who can lay claim to being the oldest golf course in the world as per the book of Guinness World Records. They do say that Mary Queen of Scots enjoyed a game here in 1567. A gentleman by the name of  Sir John Foulis of Ravelston has an entry in his book of accounts relating to “3 golfe balls ” which he “lost at golfe in Musselburgh”. The entry was dated March 2nd 1672!

Old Tom Morris

The ghost of Old Tom Morris must surely still be hovering about on the many greens and fairways he helped to create during his 38 years as green-keeper for the R&A. Tom was born in St Andrews (1821 - 1908)  and developed his green-keeping skills at Prestwick. His remuneration was believed to be for £50 a year, which was a lot of money for the son of a weaver. When you read who designed many of the golf courses around this part of Scotland, the name of Old Tom Morris frequently appears. If you are looking to play some golf in the Kingdom, take your vacation in Fife, and play were your heroes have , some may have even designed it!

James Braid

One of the most talented course designers of all time, James Braid (1870-1950) was born in Fife in Earlsferry, he became a professional in 1896. In his early career he encountered lots of problems with his putting (he’s not alone there!) but found he improved once he changed to using an aluminum putter.  He won The Open Championship in 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910. However, he is most probably best remembered for the course design at Gleneagles which surely must be his lasting  masterpiece.  Although not the inventor of it, his signature was very much the dog-leg. Thanks for that Mr Braid.

The Open Championship

The Open is the oldest championship played in professional golf and is administered by The Royal and Ancient. This event was first played in 1860 at the Ayreshire golf club in Prestwick . The match played over 36 holes attracted 8 Scottish professionals to the field. The favourite was Old Tom Morris, but he lost by two strokes to Willie Park Senior. Willie was awarded a Moroccan red leather belt – no cash prize awarded during the first three Open Championship’s then in 1863 when the “pot” was £10.

In 1870 Young Tom Morris was awarded the belt after he won on three successive occasions, it was at this time that the now famous Claret Jug was created to be awarded to the winner. And by 1892 the “pot” was a staggering £100 – that’s inflation for you! Many of the early contenders for the competition were using the prize money to supplement their meager wages, most were caddies, green-keepers and other lowly paid workers within the golfing industry.

In the modern era – post 1950 the golfer with the most Open Championship wins is the likeable American golfer Tom Watson. Tom has had his name etched on the Claret Jug five times.

The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is contested every other year, and is played with two teams The United States of America versus Europe, the administration is shared between the PGA for the two contenders. The teams who are fiercely competitive do not play for a purse or a pot, but for the sheer pleasure of beating their opponents.

In the beginning, it was Great Britain & Ireland who played against The United States of America, but although the early matches were fairly even, by the fifties it was a pretty one sided affair with the USA dominating. The European’s were included in the mix by the end of 70′s which very nicely tied in with the coming-of-age of a certain Mr Seve Ballesteros. After then, the competition was so much more competitive and enjoyable.

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