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Musselburgh Links in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, is generally recognised as the oldest golf course in the world, and the oldest on which play has been continuous.[1][2] There is documentary evidence that golf was played at the links in 1672, and it is reputed that Mary Queen of Scots played there in 1567. There were originally seven holes. An eighth was added in 1838 and a ninth in 1870.
Musselburgh was one of the three courses which staged The Open Championship in rotation in the 1870s and 1880s, alongside Prestwick and the Old Course at St Andrews. It was selected because it was used by the prestigious Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, and it hosted six Opens in all, the first in 1874 and the last in 1889. When the Honorable Company built itself a private club at Muirfield, Musselburgh dropped out of the rotation for the Open. It left a lasting legacy to the game however. The four and a quarter inch measurement of a golf hole was the width of the implement used to cut the holes at Musselburgh and, in 1893, the R&A adopted the measurement as a mandatory requirement for holes.
Musselburgh is a now a publicly owned course, administered by East Lothian Council. The course still has just nine holes, and is a par 34. The fact that there are only nine holes severely restricts its appeal, and memberships are readily available and inexpensive. Season tickets for course play only are also available.
The Open Championship
This is the list of The Open Championship winners at Musselburgh Links:
| Year | Winner | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | Total | ||
| 1874 |  Mungo Park 1st |
75 | 84 | 159 |
| 1877 | Jamie Anderson 1st |
82 | 78 | 160 |
| 1880 | Bob Ferguson 1st |
81 | 81 | 162 |
| 1883 | Willie Fernie 1st |
75 | 83 | 158 PO |
| 1886 | David Brown 1st |
79 | 78 | 157 |
| 1889 | Willie Park, Jr. 2nd |
78 | 77 | 155 PO |
- Note: Superscript number besides the players name is the number of the open championship in their respective careers.
External links
References
- ^ "It's official:Musselburgh golf course is worlds oldest". East Lothian News. 20 March 2009. http://www.eastlothiannews.co.uk/sport/It39s-official-Musselburgh-golf-course.5082999.jp. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ "Recognition for the world's oldest links, at last". PGA Tour. 24 March 2009. http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tourlife/travel/03/23/course_of_week/index.html. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
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Coordinates: 55°56′48″N 3°02′11″W / 55.9467367°N 3.0364323°W
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