Scotland, Musselburgh - The Cradle of Golf

Golfresan visits the roots of golf during a visit to the world’s oldest course – Musselburgh Old Course Links outside of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Playing golf in Scotland, the home of golf, in general tends to be a watershed among us golfers. Some of us just want to play "sunshine golf”, some of us like to play both hard links and ”easier golf”, and finally we have the extreme group who just want to go on a golfing trip to Scotland.

No matter what group you belong to, at Musselburgh Golf Links there is an experience that you always carry with you. Many of us live in the belief that the Old Course at St. Andrews is the oldest in the world, but this is not the case.

The history of the world's oldest golf course probably begins already in 12th -13th century when golf is believed to have been played here. Scotland's Queen Mary is said to have played here in 1567.

Evidence of Musselburgh Golf Links being the world's oldest course, as verified by the Guinness Book of Records, is dated 1672. That year you can find an entry in the accounts, of Sir John Foulis of Ravelston from Edinburgh, which indicates an expenditure of just over three pounds with the explanation "lost a golfe at Musselburgh."

The course is one of three original courses for the British Open, along with Prestwick and St. Andrews. Between 1874 and 1889 the British Open was held six times at Musselburgh Golf Links.
Musselburgh Golf Links also held the world's first competition for women. A number of wives to local fishermen arranged this competition in 1811. The original course layout is unknown, but it went from having only seven holes at the beginning of the 1800s to having nine holes in the late 1800s in order to host the British Open.

What we today take for granted as finely cut greens, etc. were in Musselburgh’s early history a completely different game. Its layout was simply changed by creating a new hole; this was done by putting down the flags at various places all the time. There were no tee markers but the rule was simple: two to four club lengths from the last hole, and you were ready for the next hole.

In addition, I would like to add that the greens as we know them barely existed, but there was an area around the flag that was no more finely cut than the rest.

My visit to Musselburgh takes place in the middle of April and the East Lothian region is showing off her beautiful spring weather, which is nice. Musselburgh is situated within easy reach of Edinburgh, approximately a 30 minute drive from downtown.

Upon arrival we meet Robin McGregor, who is a very proud club secretary. Robin gives us the history of Musselburgh, which means that the heart rate rises before our round.

Now the information finally lands with clarity - I'm in the cradle of golf, and shall play the world's oldest course ...with hickory clubs. It doesn’t get better than this.

Now I’ll add that I’ve never played golf with hickory clubs, excluding a corporate event where I tried a shot on a par three hole. This test I found far back in my memory and the summary said - uncomfortable and difficult.
To now be faced with playing 18 full holes with hickory, I felt challenged for real. My first thought was, nah – this won’t work.
My second thought was a bit more reasonable - yes of course you should play with hickory clubs on the world's oldest course…

Together with James from Scotland and Tina with partner from China, I will try to master the game as it once was. We are all given a ball of”guttaperka model”. A newly produced one, but being as close to the original as possible. It is striking that the dimples are superseded by”craters”, helping us to understand Robin McGregor’s information that the ball flies "slightly shorter" than a modern ball.

We get a rundown of what we should think about when we play with hickory clubs. I listen very carefully I might add – as my experience was not so good. We get our bags with our "full" set of clubs - 5 of them. A wooden mallet, three irons and a putter.

Robin McGregor summarises all of his advice with the following statement: “Take it easy! Remember that you should hit the ball with 75% of your normal swing speed.” To me that means a very average player with a 17 handicap, easy to hear but hard to do.

The first hole is a par 3 at 127metres, and I’m feeling a bit cramped walking up to the tee. I hear Robin's words ringing in my head, I manage to hold my swing back and, knock on wood, I manage to hit the green. The feeling is almost euphoric!

The holes that follow are not advanced in any way, compared to a modern bunker monster. The fact that one in the good old days did not have regular greens makes me quickly realize that it was a different game then, which means that the "nice" layout ends up in perspective.

Along with holes 1-4, we have the main road to the right of us. Those who play with a slice are pretty exposed here, which was known already in the early days. Back then the road was a brick road, where those who sliced had big problems. Playing from the road made their hickory clubs break. The road to the right of Musselburgh is the originator of fastening an iron plate at the club sole, which is called a brass plate. This gave the club the name “The Brassie”. The technique was copied by club makers throughout Scotland and became the standard.

The game is going along pretty well by now and I find myself just enjoying being in the cradle of golf.
Soon we arrive at hole number 4, named Mrs. Forman’s. The hole is a pretty tough par 4 of 370 m where I’m not even close to landing on the green in two, despite two really good shots. A chip and run later, I'm on the putting green and can proudly count a bogey on the scorecard.

The hole got its name from the establishment that is the backdrop to the green, Mrs. Forman’s Inn. In the past, this hole was a popular resting spot where after putting players went to Mrs. Forman’s. Then they used the ingenious solution that, although the entrance was facing the street, there was a hatch facing the green where all golfers could order and have their beer or other refreshments. Today's rules of trade mean that the hatch is now gone.

I enjoy an imaginary beer, and smile at the story of Mrs. Forman’s.

The round is moving forward at a gentle pace and my golf game is surprisingly better than ever. Could it be that a slower swing should be used more often? My initial view of the course being rather easy in terms of obstacles is beginning, slowly but surely, to crumble. The longer the round proceeds, the more the number of bunkers increases and they are all located strategically. Hole 5, “The Sea Hole”, a 150m, par 3 with bunkers to the right where you don’t want them. Of all the holes at Musselburgh, this is the most copied.

My fascination with playing the game with hickory clubs is genuine. I didn’t think it was even possible to play with these clubs, and now it comes to me that I actually like them. It must be added that I’m playing beyond my capability, which of course contributes to my positive feeling. I have managed not to lose the”guttaperka” ball that flies short distances but is really nice to play with.

Once at hole number 8, “Hole Across”, I note that it might have been good to have a Titleist Pro V1. Hole 8 is a more than 200 yard, par 3, making the hole a really tough challenge.

When approaching hole no.9 for the second time, “The Gas”, a great day is coming to its end. We walk leisurely towards the green to putt for the last time.

Regarding putting, there is another fun and interesting piece of information at Musselburgh regarding the creation of the golf hole size. Prior to 1897 the diameter of holes could vary in size from course to course. At Musselburgh they have since 1829 made the holes with a converted piece of a drainage pipe designed by a local man named Robert Gray. The size was four and a quarter inches.
In 1897 the Royal & Ancient Golf Club decided to take up the size that Musselburgh used and make it the default. So next time you get a disdainful cup spin you can curse Musselburgh and Robert Gray, and the fact that they had such small drainage pipes.

We finish our round and thank each other for a very nice game. My two newfound Chinese friends seem happy and hope a lot for Chinese golf tourism to Scotland. I myself am pleased and extremely happy to have had the opportunity to play this historic course.

We go with longing steps back to the clubhouse of Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club. The club house is small and intimate with a large bar area where we are served a cold and long awaited beer. We also get the opportunity to taste the club's own Single Malt Whiskey, which was a tasty feast.

Score cards are summarised; we all have been given a memory for life.
We can all now boast of having played the world's oldest course and this with hickory clubs. We are all in agreement that there is a strong storytelling element in this, or bragging rights if you like.
The course is very close to Edinburgh, and next time you plan a trip to Scotland, I can highly recommend a round at this historic place. Playing with hickory clubs is also highly recommended, reinforcing the feeling of being in the cradle of golf.