Course Stories – Volume 5
Anecdotes from Golf Across the Pond
Our Course Stories series on YouTube chronicles the unique holes, history, traditions, and tales from the great golf courses of Scotland, Ireland, and England.
These short, entertaining stories cover topics not usually found in the course guide or on the club website.
If you missed any of the past editions, you can find them all at the links below.
In this edition of Course Stories, we're visiting Muirfield, North Berwick, and the courses of The Open rota.
Muirfield – Course Design
In 1891, due to overcrowding at the shared links at Musselburgh, The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers relocated to a course of their own known as Muirfield.
The club hired Old Tom Morris to design the new course and, by many accounts, the layout left much to be desired.
It wasn’t until architect Harry Colt arrived in 1923 that Muirfield as we know it was born.
Colt designed 14 new holes and his masterful routing of the links has become one of the defining characteristics of Muirfield.
The two nines run in opposing circles. The front nine runs clockwise around the perimeter of the property, while the back nine runs counterclockwise inside it.
As a result, the often brutal winds from the Firth of Forth are known to test the golfer’s game from every angle.
The Redan at North Berwick
The 15th hole at North Berwick Golf Club - better known as The Redan - is perhaps the most replicated hole in golf.
Architects C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor introduced the Redan at some of the earliest and best known courses in the United States.
The term Redan originates from the French word for a V-shaped military fortification. In the game of golf, C.B. Macdonald described it this way in Golf Illustrated…
“Take a narrow tableland, tilt it a little from right to left, dig a deep bunker on the front side, approach it diagonally, and you have The Redan.”
The best approach into the Redan usually lands on the front right of the green and uses the contours to funnel the ball closer to the hole.
It’s a demanding shot, but if played well, it can also be a rewarding one.
The Redan has been duplicated many times over, but most visitors to North Berwick will agree…
There’s nothing quite like an original.
The Open Championship Rotation
In 1871, the organizers of The Open Championship had a dilemma…
Young Tom Morris had won his 3rd consecutive Open the year before and, in keeping with the rules, was now the owner of the tournament’s original prize… The Challenge Belt.
By the time anyone realized this was a problem, it was apparently too late, and the 1871 Open was canceled due to the lack of a trophy.
In 1872, Prestwick, the R&A, and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers agreed to split the cost of a new trophy.
As part of the agreement, hosting duties for The Open would also rotate between Prestwick, the Old Course at St. Andrews, and Musselburgh Links.
As the decades passed and participation in the tournament continued to grow, so too did The Open host courses.
Today, The Open Rota consists of 10 different courses across Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland.
Fourteen courses in total have hosted the tournament at least once.
And that new trophy? We know it as The Claret Jug.
Additional Reading
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