City has golf down to a tee

Published on Saturday 7 June 2008 10:38

Dating back more than 400 years, the Capital's links with the links are long and illustrious.

PLAYING Frisbee, flying kites, impromptu football matches, barbecues, picnics and sunbathing is hardly something you'd expect to see on a golf course. But instead of traditional obstacles such as bunkers and water traps, players taking to the historic Bruntsfield Links have for a long time had to fight for space on the short-hole course.

While the popular Capital space is considered a "common land", it is set to get a dedicated park ranger to keep the 200-year-old fairways clear. It was more than 400 years ago that a ball was first struck with a stick on Bruntsfield Links, and since then the short-hole course has lived on in various forms. Our picture, which dates back to 1954, shows tee-off of a Veterans' Match on the Links.

It's long been said that St Andrews is the home of golf, but Edinburgh is similarly steeped in golfing history. The Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society is the fourth oldest in the world, dating back to 1761.

The Braid Hills Golf Course is similarly historic. Set high on the hills overlooking the city, it was bought back in 1888 by the Edinburgh City Council for 11,600 and was formally opened in 1889 by the Lord Provost. Famed for its rough terrain and vertically-challenging courses, it was quickly a popular destination for serious golfers – the Thistle Team won the first ever Evening Dispatch award just one year later.

Around a mile away in the Craighlockhart Hills lies the Merchants of Edinburgh course, a short and quirky course dictated by the hilly terrain. Opening in 1907, the small course, designed by Ben Sayers, was founded by a group of merchants, clergymen, doctors, lawyers and journalists. Just two years later women were admitted to membership.

Craigentinny, Carrick Knowe, Portobello, Silverknowes, Princes, Turnhouse, Mortonhall, Liberton, Swanston, Prestonfield and Ratho are just some of the Edinburgh courses, with a further 19 golf courses in East Lothian. But it is arguably Dalmahoy that has attracted some of the most high-profile golfers.

Dating back to the 1920s, the East course was designed by James Braid and set among thousands of acres of rolling parkland. The challenging championship course soon became a draw, and played host to the Solheim Cup and the Scottish Senior Open, among its prestigious tournaments. Our picture shows a young Tony Jacklin, in 1971 at the Evening News Challenge golf match, who'd won the Open Championship and US Open just two years previous. And in 1975, Bruce Forsyth and US golfer Lee Trevino shook hands and enjoyed a joke at the Jimmy Tarbuck Classic golf tournament.

But for those who hadn't perfected their swing, there was always Princes Street Gardens for some pitch and putt – or even Bruntsfield Links. And there still is, if you can avoid the walking talking obstacles, that is.