A Short History of Muirfield Golf Club

The first mention of golf at Murfield and the Honourable Company can be traced back to 1744. On March 7, the Edinburgh Town Council presented an impressive silver club for an annual competition for 'The Gentleman Golfers'. The council required that there should be proper regulations for governing play and the brand new Company of Edinburgh Golfers produced thirteen Rules of Play for the first competition. A surgeon called John Rattray won this very first competition.

In 1795, the Club applied for an official charter, which was granted in 1800. From the beginning, the Company was an official authority on the Rules of Play, but passed on the honour to the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in the late nineteenth century.

By 1830, golf had become unexpectedly popular and overcrowding forced the club to begin playing on a local horse race course. Without a clubhouse, members had to store their equipment under the race-course grandstand. This was not an ideal situation and in 1868, the Club built a clubhouse and began to charge members an annual subscription. However, the course was now shared by four clubs, and the Company was forced to move. In 1891 they purchased The Howes, another old horse-racing track. The new course, christened Muirfield, was designed by Tom Morris. Within a year, it hosted the Open Championship.

The course originally had sixteen holes, but was extended to eighteen holes for the Open in 1892. It was entirely surrounded by stone walls, with areas of sandy wasteland and some waterlogged turf. Over a period of thirty years, the land was drained and improved and the sandy areas cultivated. This dedicated interest in improvement led Muirfield to hold another Open Championship in 1896 and to purchase additional land in 1907 to extend the course.

In 1919, Muirfield and the Company chaired a meeting at which the R&A were asked to take over the administration of the Open and Amateur Championships from the individual Scottish host clubs which had previously run them. This allowed Muirfield to focus more on improving play on the course.

In 1923, a further fifty acres were purchased to the north of the course. Renowned course designer Harry Colt was consulted and implemented a redesign that produced the layout of the course as it is today. He introduced fourteen new holes and his design included two loops of nine holes, where one played within the other in the opposite direction. With this, Tom Simpson's re-modelling of the thirteenth hole in 1935 and the current work of golf architect Martin Hawtree, there have been few changes to the physical layout of the course.

Since 1892, Muirfield has had the privilege of hosting forty-two national and international competitions, which is roughly one every three years. Seven of thirteen Open Champions have won their first major over the course but only two have ever won twice – James Braid and Sir Nick Faldo. Of those golfers who have won four or more Open Championships, only Harry Vardon and Tom Watson have triumphed at Muirfield. Watson also won his third Senior Open at the course in 2007.
Golfing competitions for women have graced Muirfield for team matches on several occasions; for the 1914 Scottish Close Championship, the 1952 and 1984 Curtis Cup, and the 1963 and 1975 Vagliano Trophy.

The club has also had the honour of twice hosting the annual Oxford versus Cambridge match – the only occasions where this fixture has been held outside England.

Muirfield, with its dedication to quality and the finest art of play, is the favourite course for many renowned international golfers and has inspired countless others. The final of the 1920 Amateur Championship so impressed the attending USGA President, George Herbert Walker, that he was inspired to found the Walker Cup contest between the top amateurs in America, Great Britain, and Ireland. The 1959 Walker Cup match introduced Jack Nicklaus to Muirfield. He felt such admiration for this historical club and Company that he named his own course in Ohio, Muirfield Village. High praise indeed!

A Guide to Golfing in Scotland

Royal Dornoch Golf Club.

 

By EMILY BRENNAN

 

While many American golf fans will tune in to watch the British Open at Muirfield in Gullane, Scotland, where the first round begins July 18, some may still hesitate at trying their hand at Scottish links golf. Wind, rain and blind holes are, literally, par for the course in the game’s homeland.       

 

Bernard Murphy, general manager of Gleneagles.

                           

But Bernard Murphy, general manager of the hotel and golf course Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland, offers a convincing defense of playing under the country’s sometimes inhospitable skies. “What people lose sight of is that the conditions is part of the game, the history, tradition,” he said. “It’s not a target competition.”

      

Below are edited excerpts from a conversation with Mr. Murphy on how to plan a golf vacation in Scotland and play some of its most inaccessible courses.

       

Q. On a tour of Scotland’s best golf courses, what’s your first stop?

A. St. Andrews on the east coast, because the Old Course is where it all began — links golf — though people wouldn’t hold it as the very best-condition golf course. Kingsbarns would be another great links golf experience within the city of St. Andrews, right by the North Sea. That’s very much part of the links playing experience, the sea. If the wind is blowing from the east, you’re getting the wind from Scandinavia and Russia. It can be bitterly cold, and the driving rain can really make the golf more challenging. Some days you get no wind, and it’s a totally different game.

      

Q. Where to next?

A. Head inland and stop at the Ladybank Golf Club and then continue on to Gleneagles. One can play any of our courses: the P.G.A. course designed by Jack Nicklaus or the King’s and the Queen’s courses, which date before the hotel opened in 1924. There’s lots to do besides golf: the spa, the Michelin-starred Andrew Fairlie restaurant, tennis, whisky tours.

Then go southwest to Turnberry on the Atlantic. It has an excellent hotel, and the Ailsa course is fantastic. The ruins of the Scottish king Robert the Bruce’s castle you can see from the ninth hole. Around there are a whole host of hidden gems like the Prestwick and the Royal Troon, and that’s what you really want to get to in Scotland.

 

Q. And if you were to go north?

A. The Royal Aberdeen is a good golf course by the sea. If you’re in Aberdeen, you’ll want to be staying at a hotel called the Marcliffe. They’re well tuned up to everything there. Nairn, that’s farther north. Farther still is Royal Dornoch. Tom Watson said that it’s one of his favorite golf courses.

 

Q. How difficult is it to get on these courses?

A. A lot of these smaller members courses like Muirfield, where the British Open is being held, Prestwick and Royal Troon, they have been around for hundreds of years. They’re run by the members for the members; consequently it’s not as straightforward as getting your credit card. But you can get on these courses on certain days and times. Ring them up or check their Web sites to find out which days are open to visitors. Or hook up with larger resorts like ourselves because our pro will know the places that one can and can’t get on. Or find a good travel adviser.

 

Q. Any recommendations for one?

A. There’s an agency called Haversham & Baker, and a tour operator called PerryGolf, and another called Links Golf St. Andrews. They know people locally and will do a good job.

 

Q. Any suggestions for deals?

A. GolfBreaks.com and YourGolfTravel.com, both very reputable. You do see deals in some of the British newspapers. In The Telegraph, for instance, you’ll sometimes see two golfers for the price of one. Worth looking on these sites and seeing if there’s anything under golf before you come.

New Scottish golf advert could reach 120 million

By ALISTAIR MUNRO, THE SCOTSMAN
Published on 11/07/2013 14:47
A POTENTIAL global audience of 120 million will watch a new advert promoting Scotland as the Home of Golf.

The adverts showcasing some of Scotland’s most iconic scenery and famous golf courses will be screened in the US during their coverage of the Scottish Open, which tee-ed off on the coast of the Moray Firth this morning.

It is part of a new £400,000 campaign launched by First Minister Alex Salmond at the event being held at Castle Stuart Golf Link on the outskirts of Inverness.
VisitScotland’s brand new television adverts are the first to be purely dedicated to golf.
Whilst attending The Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club last year, the First Minister helped broker a deal with American TV channel, NBC, which resulted in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open becoming the first regular European Tour event to be broadcast live on a US network television.

The adverts will be shown during the coverage on NBC in the US and Sky Sports in the UK, reaching international audiences of tens of million.

The advert will feature some of Scotland’s most beautiful scenery, with Laura Murray, one of the most successful Scottish amateurs who has turned professional this year, hitting golf balls under the spectre of Glenfinnan Viaduct as the Jacobite steam train passes across.
Private Jamie Notman also plays a shot from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle, as Bombardier Ally Jones fires the famous One O’Clock gun.

The First Minister met Murray as they revealed the new adverts in the tented village at Castle Stuart.
Mr Salmond said: “Scotland is the undisputed Home of Golf. We have the best courses in the world, and these fantastic adverts will cement that reputation to tens of millions of golf fans across the globe.

“During the Scottish Open, we have a captive global audience of golf fans so this is the ideal opportunity to give Scottish golf the biggest ever push. The fact that the tournament is being broadcast on American network television, to tens of millions of US viewers, is a fantastic endorsement for Castle Stuart, and the Scottish Open.

“This is a great boost for Scotland, and for Scottish golf, as well as being an incredible opportunity to showcase our outstanding scenery and the golf on offer across the country.

“Millions of visitors each year come to Scotland to play golf, and the sport brings millions of pounds to the Scottish economy. I hope that even more viewers from around the world tuning into the Scottish Open will see what the country has to offer.

“Golf is a significant part of Scotland’s identity and culture, and I’d like to invite everyone to come and test their skills on the finest golf courses in the world.”

As well as the TV adverts, the campaign also includes online and on-air consumer promotions, aimed at golf audiences in the UK and United States, specifically promoting the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and its coverage on Sky Sports and the Golf Channel on NBC.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “The profile of golf in Scotland over the next couple of years is going to be extremely high, so it’s important that we capitalise on every opportunity afforded to us to ensure Scotland remains at the forefront of golfers’ minds all over the world.

“The large TV audience and the thousands of visitors who will witness the very best of Scotland during the next two weeks of competition will be treated to some spectacular golf on two fantastic courses.

“Golf tourism is worth £220m to the Scottish economy, and therefore a major contributor to the country. We have a wealth of fantastic events this year and, with the Ryder Cup next year, we are creating the optimum platform for a lasting golf legacy in Scotland.”

The adverts can be viewed on YouTube, at www.youtube.com/ScotlandHomeofGolf

Driving down To Cambletown

Amazing sights, stunning views what a drive!!
now some great golf