Prestwick Golf Club

The history of Prestwick Golf Club is etched into the stone cairn that marks the first tee of the original 12-hole course. From here the first open championship was contested in 1860 by the giants of the game of the 57 members who founded the club in 1851, few would have expected to find six of the original greens still in play today, still testing the best. They would also be able to hang their tweed jackets in oak lockers built in 1882 and later retire to the grand surroundings of the marvellously atmospheric Smoke room. Prestwick is a place of living history where Old Tom Morris and his son became legends. It is a place of folklore and tradition where the game of golf was shaped and the open championship was born.

The world was first introduced to the open championship at Prestwick on 17th October 1860. It was played according to Prestwick rules with the club hosting the first 12 opens and its members sourcing the prize of the famed red Moroccan leather belt. Prestwick was a place of firsts. It was here the first open prize money was presented, the first hole-in-one realised and the first amateur victory recorded. This was where Old Tom Morris, Willie Park Snr and Harry Vardon battled for supremacy and the iconic claret Jug. The 24 opens that were contested here mean Prestwick is second only to St Andrews in staging the event. It also means the open championship is embedded within the club’s very core - one simply couldn’t exist without the other.

Although the sea air may be fresh, the aura that surrounds Prestwick is doused in pure legend. From the cauldron atmosphere of the first tee to the heroic closing hole, Prestwick delivers golf on a grand and epic scale. lovers of the game in its purest form laud its quirky bump sand hollows indulging in the possibilities offered by its rippling fairways and undulating greens. It has been this way for generations. This is where the die was cast for others to follow. Lively links turf, daunting bunkers and an array of tee shots seamlessly blend fun with danger and with names like cardinal, himalayas, elysian fields and Sea Headrig, Prestwick is one of the few collections of golf holes that can truly be called original.