It was October 17,
when the Open first came to Prestwick on Scotland’s links-fringed west coast. In fact, this was the inaugural Open Championship, the first to be held anywhere in the world. The 12-hole course at Prestwick, laid out by Old Tom Morris in the 1850s saw the instigation of this great event and hosted it for the following twelve years. The line up of players gracing the links at Prestwick through these years and on into the 1920s reads like the "Who’s Who" of golf’s early days: Willie Park, the two Tom Morris’s, Willie Auchterlonie, Harry Vardon and James Braid, to name but a few. What had begun as a simple competition between eight of Scotland’s leading players turned into the greatest of golf’s championship events in the world and Ayrshire has remained an integral part of that history. Scotland’s West Coast Golf Links is built on that history, celebrating the past but with more than a nod to the future. Ayrshire offers the visiting golfer perhaps the finest collection of links golf courses in the world and with it comes easy access, quality accommodation, fine dining and a history and heritage to match. From the first tee at Irvine Bogside to the walk from the eighteenth on The Ailsa Course is only a journey of some 30 miles or 50 kilometres but to travel it playing any or all of Scotland’s West Coast Golf Links will ensure that it’s a journey that will last a lot longer in the memory.
This is truly what Scottish golf is about; to play is to understand why Scotland is The Home of Golf
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