The birth place of Golf?
It is thought that common land such as Musselburgh Links have been used for the playing of golf, as well as other pursuits, for many centuries. Leith Links, Bruntsfield Links, and St.Andrews can also make this claim. Together with the golf course at Musselburgh Links, can claim that they are amongst the oldest. The earliest reference to golf in Scottish history is 1457 when an Act of Parliament was passed that prohibited golf (“ye fut bawe and ye golf be utterly cryt done and not usyt”(sic)) in favour of the practice of archery. Golf was obviously popular at that time and there is little doubt that it would be played on the common land of Musselburgh Links.
An entry in an account book kept by Sir John Foulis of Ravelston records that on 2nd March 1672, “Lost at golfe(sic) at Musselburgh with Gosford, Lyon etc. £3.5/-, For three Golfe balls 15/-”. This is the first recorded golf match at Musselburgh. One can, therefore, positively date the golf course as existing before 1672. It should be added that golf was not played formally at that time with established greens, but holes and cut areas for putting would be organised at irregular intervals. Both greens and tees for commencing play were one entity and not separated as today.
By 1774 there is evidence of golf becoming more formalised on Musselburgh Links. In this year a silver cup was played for by members of the Musselburgh Society of Golfers (now the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club). This cup is still played for today and is considered to be one of the oldest golf trophies still played for and predates the Claret Cup associated with the British Open Championship. It should be noted that the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club claim that they were established in that year and played on Musselburgh Links, but an entry in the Statistical Account of Scotland of 1845 indicates that this club was in existence in 1760.
First recorded competition for lady golfers
In 1791 it is recorded that Musselburgh Fishwives played golf on Musselburgh Links, early evidence of women participating in this sport. On New Years Day 1811 a golf competition was held on Musselburgh Links for Musselburgh fishwives when a silver creel and shawl was presented to the winner. This is the earliest recorded women’s golf competition ever held.
The 19th century brought social, economic and demographic changes that reflected on Musselburgh Links Golf Course. There were more people with more work, better pay, more leisure time and, importantly the arrival of the railway in the town meant that the golf course was more popular than ever. This in turn resulted in the golf course and the golf played on it becoming much more formalised.
It is of interest to note that alterations to the golf course, in 1984, resulted in the first relocation of greens since 1870. Prior to 1832 there had been 7 greens on the golf course and in this year the course was extended to eight. By 1870 a round of golf had been standardised and the rounds of 18 holes were the norm and Musselburgh Links in that year was extended to nine holes, two rounds being played for each match. The first green, that which it is proposed destroying to develop the all weather-racing track, is one of the original greens and dates back to 1832 or even earlier.
Putting hole size decided
Even the holes in the greens are significant at Musselburgh. In 1829 the members decided to buy a mechanical device from a local blacksmith to cut the holes on the green. By chance he made it with a diameter of exactly four and a quarter inches. Golf holes at the time could be any size that the members wanted – there was no rule about it. In 1893 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews – who by this time wrote the rules of golf for
 the game world-wide – decided that all golf holes should be the same size as the ones at Musselburgh and the decision has remained unchanged to this day.
In 1816, the racecourse was built around the golf course and there is no opposition to this event recorded. Racing, apparently, had moved from Leith Sands because of rowdy spectators. It is important to emphasise that golf course and racecourse lived in harmony until 1984 when plans to construct a national hunt course were proposed which encroached on to historic aspects of the golf course. These proposals eventually succeeded despite local opposition, which resulted in the relocation of two greens and the alteration of two fairways.
Between 1836 and 1878 three prestigious Edinburgh golfing societies moved to Musselburgh Links. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers in 1836 (now based at Muirfield), the Edinburgh Burgess Golf Club in 1874(now the Royal Burgess Golf Club based at Barnton) and the Bruntsfield Golfing Society in 1878 (now at Cramond). These clubs move to Musselburgh resulted from the overcrowding of their own courses at Leith and
 Bruntsfield Links and of course the advent of the railway which made travelling between Edinburgh and Musselburgh easier. There appears to have been a close relationship between golfers travelling to Musselburgh Links and the railway. One records that the tee off times were arranged to coincide with the arrival of the trains in Musselburgh and another records a request to the railway company to discount first class fares between Edinburgh and Musselburgh for golfers. This provides us with a fair indication of the number of people who were travelling to Musselburgh to play golf at that time.
By 1878, together with the Royal Musselburgh Golf club there were four prestigious golf clubs playing on Musselburgh Links. Each of these golf clubs built clubhouses near to the links providing work for local builders and craftsmen. The clubhouses stand today although only one of them is still a golf club. Furthermore, the golf clubs seemed to regulate the links until the 1890s and not the town council. Unfortunately, by 1890 the course was becoming very busy.
 It is recorded that frequently players had to wait 45 minutes between each nine holes before they could play. So, between 1890 and 1926 the four resident golf clubs moved to new 18 hole golf courses and Musselburgh Links, by the middle of the 20th century, had fallen into decline.
Royal Connections
It was during the later part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century that Musselburgh Links Golf Course gained royal connection. In 1876 H.R.H The Duke of Connaught, the son of Queen Victoria, became the Honorary President of the Musselburgh Golf Club and the club became known as the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. In 1897 the Grand Duke Michael of Russia was a guest of the club at Musselburgh Links and was made an honorary member and finally in 1907 H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught, son of the Duke of Connaught, became an honorary member of the club. Some years later he was elected Honorary Vice President.
The Open Championships
It is from the mid-Victorian period onwards that the Links Golf Course reached its zenith. The Open Championship took place here in 1874, 1877, 1880, 1883, 1886 and 1889. This championship was played at Musselburgh on a three yearly rotation with St. Andrews and Prestwick. Again the importance of the railways as a means of conveying spectators to these golf competitions is recorded in contemporary newspapers. Furthermore, it is recorded that large crowds gathered round the greens, especially the last green, to cheer the golfers on. Paradoxically, this is the golfing green (now the first) which it is proposed driving an all weather race track through made of sand and silicate.
Famous names
During this period it is not only the golf course, which achieved fame, but also the golfers associated with it. Influenced by the Musselburgh Links Golf Course golfing families grew up. These people were not only renowned for their golfing skills in the 19th century but are held in esteem to this day because of the influence that they have exerted on modern golf. Between 1860 and 1889, five local men who learned their skills on the Links Golf Course won the Open Championship. They were, Willie Park Sen. 1860, 1863, 1866 and 1875; Mungo Park 1874; Bob Ferguson 1880, 1881 and 1882; David Brown 1886 and last but not least Willie Park Jun. 1887 and 1889. These men are considered to have made an impact on modern golf.
When we consider this impact there was no greater contribution made to international golf than that of the Park family. During the last decade of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th Willie Park Jun. became one of the first true golf professionals. A golf publication of 1898 states, “William Park and Son, Golf Club Maker, Musselburgh, 115 Cannon Street, London, 6 South St. Andrew Street, Edinburgh and 118 West 23rd Street, New York”. As well as being a double Open Champion and international golf club maker he was involved in the planning and building of over 160 golf courses in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. Many of the greens on Musselburgh Links Golf Course have been replicated in these golf courses at home and abroad.
Park was a true international ambassador not only for Scottish Golf but the town of Musselburgh. He was perhaps the most important product of the Musselburgh Links Golf Course. At the same time a thriving industry was associated with the course. In 1891 there were 45 people employed in occupations associated with the golf course; 30 of these were golf club makers. By the turn of the century Willie Park Jnr. claimed that he employed 80 golf club makers. Through Park and other Musselburgh golf club makers golf clubs were exported throughout the world. This would not have been possible at the end of the 19th century but for a nine-hole golf course that had existed, at that time, for over two hundred years. Despite the decline in the Golf Course in the middle of the 20th century by the end of the millennium it had improved.
The Greens
The course has seen changes over the years but seven of the remaining greens on the course today date back to 1855 or earlier. Musselburgh Old Course had 7 holes for many
 years, added an 8th in 1832 and a 9th in 1870. The seven oldest greens have all the characteristics of good Links greens. One of the most famous holes in golf is Mrs Formans where the hostelry of that name is in close proximity to the green. A serving hatch faced onto the green and golfers could have a quick refreshment! Holes at the Links have been copied throughout the world and the unique Table Green at the sixth hole can be seen at Huntercombe in England. Bobby Jones visited the Links around 1930 and was most impressed with the fifth, called Sea Hole, and expressed the opinion that it was one of the best short holes he had ever seen.
So, Musselburgh Links Golf Course is very old and certainly one of the oldest golf courses still played on. It was the course where one of the oldest golf trophies still being competed for took place and it was where the size of the present standard golf hole originated. Importantly, it was where the first recorded ladies competition was held. While, these facts are important in considering the history about this piece of land, it is from the mid 19th century onwards that the golf course attained its true importance. It was a vibrant economic and sporting centre and a stimulus for international golf, as we know it today. It was the venue for Open Championships, it was the centre of a thriving industry, it received the patronage of royalty and it was the home course of five open champions.
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