Playing Musselburgh Links
BY MURRAY BOTHWELL
PHOTOGRAPHY - HARVEY JAMISON
5 MIN READ
Winding its way slowly through the dappled, tree-lined grounds of historic Loretto School, the River Esk eventually reaches the flat, open linksland of Musselburgh Beach, just to the east of Edinburgh. Nearby are the Musselburgh Lagoons, a respected and protected haven for many species of birds. These 300 acres of reclaimed land have now quietly repositioned a six-times host course of the Open Championship, and one of the oldest links courses in the world, to a considerable distance from the sea.
The course is unique in that it is bounded by a horse racing track, with a couple of holes sitting outside, or spanning, the track itself. There’s no sign of the links as you approach the racecourse’s red bricked buildings and grandstand, the latter occupying the site of the original Clubhouse belonging to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, who subsequently moved location to Muirfield. Along the southside of the course runs the main A199 road to East Lothian’s other famous courses, and onto which the Musselburgh golfers would frequently slice their shots. They would then play back onto the links using brass-soled clubs, hence the name ‘brassie’ for their wooden clubs of choice. The course can also lay claim to being the first location to standardise the 4¼ inch diameter hole, simply because that was the size of the implement they used (a clay pipe) and the R&A made it mandatory for all in 1893.
Turning left up Balcarres Road you soon reach the car park at the entrance to Musselburgh Links, The Old Course. Opposite the gates sits a classically old and unassuming grey stone villa, the home of Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club and between its bay front windows can be found the five profiles of their successful Open Champions, chiselled accurately from a sandstone plinth.
Following the white, wooden railed fence to reach the ticket office in the racecourse pavilion you feel the memories of thundering horses going past, turf flying through the air. Across the lush grass lies the links. It’s the original 9-hole course, quite flat in nature with subdued dunes and lines of gorse down its central spine with gentle rises in the fairways into which a number of the bunkers are set. Fairways are separated and defined by darker islands of wispy marram, like that which separates the 2nd and the 17th of the Old Course, or the way in which the fairways are defined at Muirfield. Those Honourable golfers would have seen many similarities between their courses.
The course opens with a demanding par-3 of 240 yards off the whites, which are set just outside the track at the door of the pavilion. The hole finishes on a gently raised green with spectacle bunkers, directly in line for your approach. Into the prevailing wind this is no easy hole. An old pot bunker, now a verdant grassy hollow, sits to the right and is a common sight around many of the fairways and greens. The second and third holes are good par-4s, with a helping wind behind and running tight to the track along the south of the course. The longer 4th hole requires a semi-blind tee shot over a small rise, crosses the race track and ends in front of the famous Mrs Forman’s House (a local inn) where, in the past, drinks could be served to golfers through a greenside window. A sequence of shallow ridges across the fairway help to protect the late dogleg approach to the pin, located upon a great example of a traditional non-flat putting green.
Turning for home, the “coastal” stretch gives outstanding views of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh city. A series of par-3s, -4s and a par-5 will penalise drifting drives and offer birdie opportunities in good measure, with plateau greens, tight fairways bounded by thick rough and, originally, nine bunkers on the closing dogleg hole.
Musselburgh Links, The Old Course is unique, and as one of the original Open Championship courses is virtually untouched by visitors. It is highly accessible and can be played for less than the cost of a bottle of house wine in any restaurant of choice after the game. Managed by East Lothian Council, these historic links are kept in great condition and can even be played with hickories, hired from the pavilion should you wish… the perfect type of ball flight for tackling a windy day over these historic Championship links.