Willie Park Jr. frequently returned to his home course in Musselburgh seeking inspiration when designing new golf courses. He took annual winter voyages back to Scotland while he was doing his golf course designs in North America.
Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course has a wonderful history. It has been documented as being the oldest golf course in the world still in play. Documentation exists showing that the course was in play as early as March of 1672 although Mary Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567.
Originally a seven hole course, the full nine hole layout was playable by 1870. The first three holes paralleled the main road onto which players often sliced their shots. By the rules of the day, the ball would remain in play wherever it lay on or off course - including on the road. The uncertain road surface, which contained rocks, was often disastrous for the all wood clubs in fashion at that time. A beechwood club head attached to a hickory shaft was often doomed and frequently shattered on impact. The metal plate on the “brassie” wooden club was invented in Musselburgh specifically to protect club heads from destruction during these type of recovery shots played back onto the links.
The current standardized diameter of four and quarter inches for the hole cut into today’s greens was established at Musselburgh during the nineteenth century. This somewhat peculiar size evolved simply because that was the width of the tool used to cut the holes at Musselburgh. The Royal & Ancient made the size mandatory in 1893.
This marvelous nine hole golf course is uniquely situated almost entirely within the confines of a two kilometer long horse racing track. Musselburgh Links hosted six Open Championships between 1874 and 1889 when it was on a rotation with Prestwick and St. Andrews. The Championship was played as a thirty six hole competition during this time period. Thus competitors played two rounds of 18 holes at St. Andrews or three rounds of 12 holes at Prestwick or four rounds of 9 holes at Musselburgh depending on the year. Over the years, five different Open Champions claiming eleven titles have come from the Musselburgh Links membership.
Of particular note, the 1811 the Musselburgh Fishwives played the first ever recorded ladies competition on this course. The last Musselburgh Amateur Championship was played here in 1937.
The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers originally played their golf at Leith Links, located just two miles from the city of Edinburgh. The course became overcrowded and the Honorable Company moved its membership and began playing at Musselburgh in 1836. From it’s outset, this organization was asked for its opinions and rendered decisions on the Rules of Golf. Sharing many members with St. Andrews, the Honorable Company of Edinburgh ultimately ceded all authority for future changes to and decisions about the rules to the R & A in the early nineteenth century.
By 1891, the golf course at Musselburgh was being shared by four separate golf Clubs and ultimately became overcrowded. With a desire for a private club of their own, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh again moved their membership, bought The Howes (another racetrack) and established Muirfield.
This split from Musselburgh and the other Clubs whose members played there divided the Musselburgh membership. The result was the establishment of yet another golf course, the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club, which sits atop a hill overlooking the town of Musselburgh and the old Musselburgh Links.
The Town Council took control of operations at the original Musselburgh course in 1892. The combination of these three events plus the resultant decline in membership and mismanagement by the town eventually led to the original course being shut down.
Following years of neglect, interest in the original historic golf course was revived and Musselburgh Links was resurrected. In 1982 Musselburgh Old Course was founded. Still situated mostly with in the racetrack, today it remains a public links facility with many of the original greens and much of the original routing intact. Sadly one of the course’s signature hazards, the Pandemonium bunker was lost during the reconstruction. Old photos reveal this to have been a massive waste bunker which presented a severe challenge for golfers during the early years of “featherie” golf balls and before sand wedges were invented.
Visiting the Old Course at Musselburgh today, one can easily see how it inspired Willie Park Jr’s ideas in designing many of the green contours seen at the Country Club of New Bedford. Being a relatively flat golf course, the greens and bunkering are still what defend par in Musselburgh much as they do at CCNB.