Golf has been part of the sporting landscape in Scotland since at least the 15th century when King James II banned the game by Act of Parliament in 1457 and there is mention of the game being played on a number of courses along the east coast of the country during the 16th century, including Carnoustie (1527), Aberdeen (1538), St Andrews (1552) and Montrose (1562). Courses that developed at these locations, and many others that emerged along the coastline, from Dornoch in the north to Dunbar in the south, still present a formidable challenge to golfers in the modern era.  By 1880, there were 42 courses in play around the country and that number doubled over the following decade at the start of a golf boom that would last for around 30 years.  Incredibly, a further 200 courses emerged in the 20 years between 1890 and 1910 as the popularity of golf soared during a period of industrial growth.  The next 70 years saw a slow and steady growth before the next golf boom of the 1980s and 90s, bringing the total number of golf courses in Scotland to around 500.  That number has since risen to over 580 at the end of 2010.

The famous Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of St. Andrews Old Course

A History of Golf since 1497

There is a legend that shepherds, while getting bored tending their flocks, used to hit stones into rabbit holes with their wooden crooks near St Andrews.  They became adept at this and it led to the birth of golf on the greens of Scotland.

So widespread was the game of “Gowf”, as it was known in Scotland, that an Act of Parliament was passed to prevent the playing of the game on Sundays and thus preserve the skills of Archery.  The citizens of Aberdeen, St. Andrews and Leith on Scotland’s East Coast were the principal “gowfing” miscreants and it was no coincidence that rolling sandy links land was commonplace here.  On this very terrain, a game that started with a cleek and a ball took on a form that started an evolutionary process that continues to this day.

St Andrews is known worldwide as the “home of golf”.  This is in part because the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, founded in 1754, exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide (except in the United States and Mexico), and also because the famous links (acquired by the town in 1894) is the most frequent venue for The Open Championship, the oldest of golf’s four major championships.  Visitors travel to St. Andrews in great numbers for several courses ranked amongst the finest in the world, as well as for the sandy beaches.

The modern game of golf is generally considered to be a Scottish invention.  A spokesman for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, one of the oldest Scottish golf organisations, said “Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland. 

The account book of lawyer Sir John Foulis of Ravelston records that he played golf at Musselburgh Links on 2 March 1672, and this has been accepted as proving that The Old Links, Musselburgh, is the oldest playing golf course in the world.  There is also a story that Mary, Queen of Scots, played there in 1567.

In one form or another, the variant games of present day golf were clearly enjoyed throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The game persisted over the centuries and the form that it took and rules that were applied varied as widely as the terrain the game was played over.  In short, the game consisted of knocking a ball from one pre-designated place to another where the ball was to be struck off a predetermined object in the least number of blows.  Games often extended from village to village.

The question of how it all began may be of pressing concern to some but to the Scot, it is sufficient to know that the game was born on the links land of eastern Scotland.  Here, the game has been nurtured for over five hundred years and from here, it has been raised to the great game played and loved by millions throughout the world.

For any serious player, experiencing golf in Scotland is absolutely essential.

Scotland’s east and west coasts are littered with the spectacular links courses that are so inherently Scottish; famous names from Open Championship history such as St Andrews, Carnoustie and Turnberry offer golf breaks with a slice of history in golf’s home, while Gleneagles’ Perthshire landscape offers unrivalled inland beauty.

Travel Feature:
Golf Guides USA recently visited Scotland in order to experience the homeland of golf and report back our findings.  Our story is a single narrative of that trip, told as it happened to a traveling group consisting of both golfers and non-golfers.  The focus, of course, is on all the great golf we played...click here to see the full feature story.

RESORTS

The Balmoral, Edinburgh.......www.thebalmoralhotel.com
Barceló Troon Marine Hotel, Troon.....www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk/hotels
Culloden House Hotel, Inverness.....www.cullodenhouse.co.uk

Gleneagles Hotel & Golf Resort, Auchterarder.....www.gleneagles.com/home
The Macdonald Marine Hotel & Spa, North Berwick.......www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/marine
The Macdonald Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews......www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/rusacks

The Marcliffe Hotel & Spa, Aberdeen.....www.marcliffe.com
Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa, St Andrews.....www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk
Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch.....www.royalgolfhoteldornoch.co.uk

The Scores Hotel, St. Andrews.....www.bw-scoreshotel.co.uk
Trump International GL & Hotel at Aberdeen...www.trumphotelcollection.com
Trump Turnberry Resort, Turnberry.....www.turnberryresort.co.uk


GOLF COURSES
Carnoustie, (Championship Course), Carnoustie..... www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk
Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness.....www.castlestuartgolf.com
Cruden Bay Golf Club, Aberdeenshire..... www.crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk
Gleneagles, (PGA Centenary, King’s & Queen’s Courses), Perthshire..... www.gleneagles.com
Inverness Golf Club, Inverness..... www.invernessgolfclub.co.uk
Kingsbarns Golf Links, St. Andrews..... www.kingsbarns.com
Muirfield, East Lothian..... www.muirfield.org.uk
Musselburgh, (Old Links), East Lothian..... www.musselburgholdlinks.co.uk
Nairn Golf Club, Nairn..... www.nairngolfclub.co.uk
North Berwick Golf Club, East Lothian.....www.northberwickgolfclub.com
Prestwick Golf Club, Ayrshire.....www.prestwickgc.co.uk
Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, Aberdeen.....www.royalaberdeengolf.com
Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Sutherland..... www.royaldornoch.com
Royal Troon Golf Club, Ayrshire..... www.royaltroon.co.uk
St.Andrews Links, (Old Course, New Course & Jubilee Course), St. Andrews..... www.standrews.org.uk
Trump International, Aberdeenshire.....www.trumpgolfscotland.com
Trump Turnberry, (Ailsa & Kintyre Courses), Aryshire..... www.turnberryresort.co.uk