Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course in Musselburgh, East Lothian,

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, is generally accepted as being one of the oldest

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

in the world. The course is not to be confused with The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club or the Levenhall Links. Musselburgh Links is a publicly owned course, administered by

East Lothian Council East Lothian Council is one of the 32 local government councils in Scotland covering the East Lothian area. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 22 councillors have been elected from 6 wards. History East Lothian District Council had been ...

. Two golf clubs, Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club and Musselburgh Links Ladies Golf Club, are based at the course. 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; recently this 'record' was reassigned to St Andrews. There is documented evidence that golf was played at the links in 1672, while it is claimed that

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, played nearby (at Seton) in 1567. Musselburgh Links was originally seven holes, with an 8th added in 1838 and the 9th in 1870. Musselburgh was one of the three courses which staged

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

in rotation in the 1870s and 1880s, alongside

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and the

Old Course at St Andrews The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under ...

. It was selected because it was used by the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, and the course hosted six Opens in all, the first in 1874 and the last in 1889. When the Honorable Company built a private club at

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The ...

, Musselburgh dropped out of the rotation for the Open. On 14 July 2010, the course became a temporary

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, when fog in

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forced the helicopter used by

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and

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to land in front of the first tee.

Legacy

The course left a lasting legacy to the game's rules. The four-and-a-quarter-inch () 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.

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Open Championship Courses Sports venues in East Lothian Golf clubs and courses in East Lothian The Open Championship venues Musselburgh