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In these days of belly putters and square headed drivers, design and technology seems to play as big a role as skill in the 21st century game. Have you ever wondered what golf was like before precision engineering? Morton Golf can arrange a session with golf historian Graeme Lennie which will leave you marvelling at the skill with which our golfing forefathers must have played.
 With his extensive knowledge and fine collection of hickory shafted clubs, Graeme gives a fascinating insight into the past. It makes for a very enjoyable interlude on your golfing vacation.
Graeme is also the head professional at Crail Golfing Society, the 7th oldest golf club in the world. The club was formed in 1786 by a group of eleven gentlemen and the society still possesses a complete set of the minutes taken on that historic day. For over 100 years, the society played on a narrow strip of land close to town, and to the all important Golf Inn! However, in 1895, Old Tom Morris declared the links at Balcomie to be very suitable for a golf course and the first nine holes were laid out. So popular did the course prove to be that it was extended just four years later. Incidentally, Crail is the place where the idea to line the holes with iron cases originated. Situated in the East Neuk of Fife where the Firth of Forth meets the North Sea, the Crail Balcomie Links is a traditional links course with the added feature of hills. A favourite with many golfers, it combines an enjoyably varied test of your ability with glorious views. It is less well known than its illustrious neighbours in St Andrews but this can work to your advantage. Good tee times are easier to book here and don’t have the same impact on your wallet! Across the Firth of Forth is East Lothian where the oldest playing course in the world is situated. History records that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672, although rumour has it that Mary, Queen of Scots played here in 1567. Set within Musselburgh Racecourse, this is where the rather arbitrary four and a quarter inch hole became standard during the 19th century. Quite simply, that was the size of the cutting implement used here that the R & A chose to adopt in 1893. Another innovation which originated here was the metal plate on the ‘brassie’ club, devised to help golfers whose balls landed on the nearby road. If you want to try the game as it was played in the 19th century, hickory clubs and guttie balls are available to hire from the starter. If you’ve been bitten by the history bug, you can continue your golfing education at the British Golf Museum in St Andrews. Before the new building opened in 1990, the collection was on display in the R & A clubhouse. Modern and interactive, the Museum is a wonderfully comprehensive look at the game as it has developed over the years. A ‘must see’ for all golf enthusiasts when they visit the Home of Golf. |
