Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, is 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". ...

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

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, 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 th ...

in rotation in the 1870s and 1880s, alongside Prestwick 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 in the world. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links ...

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

heliport A heliport is a small airport which has a helipad, suitable for use by helicopters, powered lift, and various types of vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also hav ...

, when fog in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

forced the helicopter used by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

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