IF you are as interested in the history of golf as the playing of the game, then Prestwick,
the birthplace of the Open Championship on the west coast of Scotland, demands a visit. Here
you will be walking in the footsteps of legends. Although when the Open was first played in
1860 it was over a 12-hole course of 3,799 yards, with a par in the mid-50s, the distinctive
flavour of the Prestwick Old Course remains and seven of the original greens are in the same
place. Whether playing or just lunching at the vast table which stretches the length of the
room with history all around you, take time to visit the stone cairn, close to the putting
green, which is on the site of the original first tee. Imagine all those years ago Young Tom
Morris, perhaps the first superstar of golf, facing the monster of the then first which
stretched to 578 yards and ponder how, using hickory shaft and a gutty ball, he managed to
hole out in three on what is now the 16th green. Be prepared for a devilish test of golf, and
if the wind and rain get up, the best of luck.
18 holes, 6,544 yards. Par 71 (SSS 73).
Signature hole:
THIRD (482 yards, par 5) - With the Pow Burn running all down the right and the famous and
huge Cardinal Bunker stretching the entire width of the fairway at the point of the dogleg,
this is an outstanding hole. Once two good hits were needed to clear the bunker, but this is
the age of the big hitters.
Restricted. Not weekends or Thursday afternoons. Book well in advance.
£85 per round, £125 per day. Sundays (12-1pm and 3.30-4pm) £125.
Restaurant and bar.
Trolley hire (£3), club hire (£25), changing rooms, caddies (£25 + gratuity), putting green,
pro shop, practice ground.
In town centre off A79.
