Address: 
10 Balcarres Road, Musselburgh, EH21 7SD, East Lothian, Scotland

mocgc

350th Anniversary at Musselburgh Old Course

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Yesterday, 2nd March 2022, marked the 350th Anniversary of golf first being documented as having been played on Musselburgh Old Course.

On that day, Sir John Foulis, of Ravelston, wrote :

1672   Mar 2 Lost at Golfe at Musselboorgh with Gosford, Lyon etc .. .. £3 5s 0d

This is believed to be the oldest game of golf ever recorded, on a course that is still in existence and actively played upon.

Many thanks to Sky Sports, Lewine Mair, Martin Dempster, Peter Bourhill and others who were here to cover our event.

 

Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club – Latest Charity Fundraiser

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Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club recently raised £950 for Cycle Without Age – Musselburgh.
Committee member Mark Macwhinnie and his sister Lindsey Blackley present Ewan Dawson with the proceeds                                          from their late father’s (Ronnie Macwhinnie) golf memorial cup competition against The Ship Inn, Musselburgh.

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this and to those who helped out on the day.
       

GG4C – Global Golf 4 Cancer

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Nick Edmund, a friend of the Club, will hopefully be returning to Musselburgh Old Course later in 2022.

Nick is the founder of Global Golf 4 Cancer, a remarkable global campaign whose mission is to inspire the golfing community to ‘fly the flag’ and to support cancer fighters and cancer charities worldwide.

The GG4C flag has now flown on all six continents, and we will be delighted when it once again files on the 4th green at Musselburgh Old Course later in the year.

During his Scottish golf-walk in November 2018, Nick visited Musselburgh Old Course and played the iconic Mrs Formans 4th hole, as pictured above.

For further information on Nick and Global Golf 4 Charity please read on ……..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Willie Park Senior v Tom Morris Senior at Musselburgh Featured in The Film ‘Tommy’s Honour’

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Musselburgh, March 8, 1870.

“We, the undersigned, agree to commence to play our match at golf for 100 sterling a-side on Tuesday, the 12th day of April, and that on St Andrews links at 12 o’clock; on Prestwick, 15th April; North Berwick, 19th April; and on Musselburgh links, 22nd April, to play at same hour (twelve o’clock), as at St Andrews.”

Signed, Tom Morris, Willie Park.

Of these the most notorious match was in 1870. Tom and Willie had agreed to play four rounds of four courses for £100 of which the last four were at Musselburgh, where they were accompanied by a partisan crowd of several thousand who had come to see their local man win. This resulted in serious interference with Old Tom’s play, which the referee, Mr Robert Chambers, an eminent golfer himself, was unable to control. When the players retired for refreshments at Mrs Forman’s, with 6 holes left to play and Willie Park two holes ahead in the match, Mr Chambers decided that play should be abandoned and resumed the following day in the hope of better comportment by the spectators.

Willie Park believed this exceeded the referee’s powers and, with due notice, returned to play the remaining holes in 22 strokes. The following day, Park refused to play and Tom Morris, under direction the referee, walked the course (in 28 strokes) and was declared the winner. Nowadays few remember the result of the match, only the controversy of the circumstances. 

With permission from JK – Producer of TM

tommy's honour

Musselburgh Old Course Featured in The Film ‘Tommy’s Honour’

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Tommy’s Honour is a 2016 historical drama film depicting the lives and careers of, and the complex relationship between, the pioneering Scottish golfing champions Old Tom Morris and his son Young Tom Morris.

 

Musselburgh, March 8, 1870.

“We, the undersigned, agree to commence to play our match at golf for 100 sterling a-side on Tuesday, the 12th day of April, and that on St Andrews links at 12 o’clock; on Prestwick, 15th April; North Berwick, 19th April; and on Musselburgh links, 22nd April, to play at same hour (twelve o’clock), as at St Andrews.”

Signed, Tom Morris, Willie Park.

Of these the most notorious match was in 1870. Tom and Willie had agreed to play four rounds of four courses for £100 of which the last four were at Musselburgh, where they were accompanied by a partisan crowd of several thousand who had come to see their local man win. This resulted in serious interference with Old Tom’s play, which the referee, Mr Robert Chambers, an eminent golfer himself, was unable to control. When the players retired for refreshments at Mrs Forman’s, with 6 holes left to play and Willie Park two holes ahead in the match, Mr Chambers decided that play should be abandoned and resumed the following day in the hope of better comportment by the spectators.

Willie Park believed this exceeded the referee’s powers and, with due notice, returned to play the remaining holes in 22 strokes. The following day, Park refused to play and Tom Morris, under direction the referee, walked the course (in 28 strokes) and was declared the winner. Nowadays few remember the result of the match, only the controversy of the circumstances. 

With permission from JK – Producer of TM

golf course skull

THE skull of a teenage girl who died about 2500 years ago has been dug up at the world’s oldest golf course.

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THE skull of a teenage girl who died about 2500 years ago has been dug up at the world’s oldest golf course.

The grisly find was uncovered on Tuesday at ­Musselburgh Links by greenkeepers ­excavating the grass lip of a bunker near the green of the fourth hole.

It was initially thought the skull was about 100 years old but archaeologists discovered it dated from the Iron Age – about 500BC.

It has been sent to Dundee University’s forensic anthropology department for further examination. Experts now hope to dig up the rest of the girl’s skeleton. The nine-hole Old Golf Course, is owned by East Lothian Council.

A council spokeswoman said yesterday: “On discovery, the police were contacted so that they could determine if this was ancient or related to something more recent.”

The course is recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest in the world, dating back officially to 1672 but Mary, Queen of Scots is believed to have played the links in 1567.

It is not the first time Musselburgh Links has been associated with old bones.

The course’s second hole is named The Graves because it is believed to be a burial ground for soldiers who died at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh between the armies of Scotland and England in 1547.

Police said the matter was being ­investigated and the remains were to be sent for analysis