Last Chance to Join Us In Scotland in 2025!!!

Last Chance to Join Us for Epic Golf Trip to Scotland

Our deadline for joining the Society of Golf Historians trip to Scotland is TOMORROW.

Please sign up to join us we have a few spots left!

To celebrate this unique golf trip I thought I would share some interesting stories about 6 of the courses we will visit. Each story shares a little history tidbit you might not have known about the course.

Old Musselburgh Links (optional play day)

Who Can You Blame When You Lip Out a Putt?

Prior to really 1891, if you can believe it, golf courses didn’t have a standard size cup.

Meaning as you traveled across Scotland prior to 1891 you might encounter holes of only 4 inches in diameter or those that were 5 1/2”. On top of this you were just as likely to find that the golf holes got bigger as the day went on.

Why? Because in the days before wooden tees, our golfing forefather teed the ball up on wet sand. And before the invention of the teeing area (we used to tee off on greens), the best place to get wet sand was at the bottom of the golf cup. So as the day grew old that hole might grow bigger and bigger.

The first golf links to solve for this issue was Old Musselburgh Links. Royal Musselburgh hired a man by the name of Robert Gray to find a solution. In 1824 Gray, who clearly was a crafty, realized that he could utilize the common Musselburgh drainpipe as a liner for the golf hole. How big was the Musselburgh Drainpipe…I bet you can guess. That’s right… 4 1/4” in diameter. Gray crafted not only the drainpipe but an amazing contraption to cut new golf holes (see photo above).

What is crazy is that the rest of golfdom took another 67 years to catch up to the 4.25” diameter. The R&A standardized the hole size in 1891 (31 years after the first Open)!

So every time you lip out a putt you can either get mad at Robert Gray or those drainpipes in Musselburgh for not being 5.25” in diameter.

Leith Links: Did a Golf Match Determine Whether Golf was Scotland’s Game?

In the 1600’s two English Gentlemen got into a debate with the Duke of York (future King of England) about whether the game of golf was an English game or a Scottish game. It was decided that the solution could only be resolved via a duel in the form of a golf match. The winner would decide once and for all if golf was indeed England or Scotland’s game.

In 1681, two English Gentlemen teed the ball up at Leith Links against the Duke of York and his playing partner John Patersone. Fortunately for the Scotland, Patersone was a clubmaker and may have been the greatest golfer in the world at this time. The Duke & Patersone won the day and the Duke rewarded Patersone with half the purse. It was enough to purchase a house at Leith Links at 77 Cannongate, which he called “Golfer’s Land.”

Whether or not the outcome of a match could ever determine the history of a sport is easily defeated in a debate, however this match in 1681 was also widely considered to be golf’s first International Match. John Patersone a professional golfer also may have been one of the first “commoners” to play golf with a future King. Reminiscent of Walter Hagen playing golf with the Prince of Wales some 248 years later, the Prince who for a short period of time ruled as King Edward VIII.

The Witches of St Andrews

If you listened to the TalkinGolf History Podcast aptly named “A Golf Historian’s Guide to St Andrews” you may know this story. Believe it or not the people of St Andrews once burned people who were thought to be witches just up the hill from the Old Course.   

If you decide to join us on our trip to Scotland, I will show you where accused witches were tested and where they were burnt at the stake when they were found guilty of witchcraft.

How Carnoustie Got Its Name

(Compliments of Carnoustie Golf Links)

“The name Carnoustie probably derives from two Scandinavian nouns, ‘car’ meaning rock and ‘noust’ meaning ‘bay’. However, there is more fanciful explanation that some local inhabitants prefer.

Those individuals will tell you that the town got its name from the Battle of Barry in 1010 in which the Scottish King, Malcolm II, repulsed a band of Danish invaders led by their general, Camus.

History suggests that the Battle of Barry was a bloody affair that raged for hours until Camus was put to the sword. To this day, a cross in the ground of the Panmure Estate marks the spot where he was buried.

Legend has it that the Norse Gods were so incensed by the loss of their favourite warrior that they put a curse on the neighbourhood, letting thousands of crows loose on Barry Sands. Soon, the crows colonised the woodland on what is now Buddon Ness, their numbers growing to such an extent that the area became known as Craw’s Nestie, later corrupted to become Carnoustie.”

Did the Greatest Golf Ever Played Happened at Prestwick?

My dear friend, and golf historian, Stephen Proctor might argue that the greatest golf ever played occurred at Prestwick Golf Club during the 1870 Open. Young Tom Morris with a scratched up gutta percha ball and a set of clubs made up of all woods and one rut iron played the 36 hole championship in 149 strokes. Playing with inferior equipment Young Tom Morris averaged just a hair over 4 strokes per hole. That average wouldn’t be eclipsed until the modern Haskell Ball and grooved clubs were introduced a whopping 34 years later!!!

Even more remarkable Young Tom Morris’ first round of the 1870 Open Championship where he carded a 47, could be said to be the first under par round (par didn’t exist back then) in golf history.

The greatest championship round ever played.

When a Notorious Shanker Beat the G.O.A.T at Royal Troon

In 1923 the Open was first held at Royal Troon Golf Club. Walter Hagen entered the Open was the defending champion and the presumptive favorite.

He met his match when a golfer, known for lunging at the ball (which often caused him to shank), Arthur Havers caught fire.

Despite his hot streak at Troon, the championship seemed to still be in the grasp of Walter Hagen, until on the 72nd hole, Havers using a niblick with no bounce and perhaps a little bit of luck, holed out from a greenside bunker claiming the 1923 Open.

Hagen took it all in stride, complimenting Havers game, then came back the next year and won it back.

Last Chance to Join Me For a Historical Tour of Scotland

Only one day left to reserve your Historic Golf Trip to Scotland August 7-15, 2025. We have four spots open BUT to join me you have to reserve your spot before July 31, 2024.

The trip will include rounds at St Andrews Old Course, St Andrews New Course, Carnoustie, Prestwick and Royal Troon with optional rounds at Old Musselburgh Links & on Bruntsfield’s Short Course. We also have room for a few non-golfers and the pricing is adjusted accordingly.

For a detailed itinerary and pricing please visit:

 http://www.perrygolf.com/custom/?quote=14492028)

Or call our Golf Travel Expert at PerryGolf, Gary Sheppard at 800-344-5257 ext. 228. You can also send him an email at [email protected] .

Thank you for taking the time to read our free weekly newsletter dedicated to the history of the game of golf. If you enjoy it, please let your friends know that they should subscribe too. Again it’s completely free of charge!

Yours in Golf History,

Connor T.