Scottish Golf History
Musselburgh Links: The Oldest Golf Course in the World You Can Still Play
Golf has been played at Musselburgh Links since at least 1672. Six Open Championships were held here. Today you can walk up on a Tuesday afternoon and play nine holes for £15.
The most remarkable thing about Musselburgh Links is not that it's old. It's that you can play it on a Tuesday afternoon for £15, walk up without a booking, and stand on the same turf where the Open Championship was held six times in the 19th century.
Most places with that kind of history have found a way to charge you for the privilege. Musselburgh, managed by East Lothian Council and sitting inside an active horse racing venue six miles from Edinburgh city centre, has not got round to it yet.
Go before they do.
The history
Golf has been documented at Musselburgh Links since at least 1672. The records from that year refer to golf being played on the links at Musselburgh — which makes this the earliest written evidence of golf at a specific location that is still recognisably in use as a golf course today. It is not a replica. It is not a recreation. It is the same ground.
The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers — the club that wrote the first rules of golf at Leith in 1744, and which later moved to Muirfield — played their early competitions at Musselburgh before the move. Royal Musselburgh Golf Club was founded here and played the course for many years before that club's relocation as well. For a stretch of Scottish golf history, Musselburgh was the game's administrative and competitive centre.
The Open Championship came to Musselburgh six times: 1874, 1877, 1880, 1883, 1886, and 1889. Tom Morris Sr and Tom Morris Jr — Old Tom and Young Tom — both competed here. Willie Park Sr won three of the six Opens held at Musselburgh. The course was a genuine championship venue at a time when the Open was the only major golf championship that existed.
After 1889, the Open did not return. By the 1890s, the game was evolving — courses were getting longer, the gutty ball demanded more yardage, and the limitations of the nine-hole layout inside a horse racing oval became a competitive constraint. St Andrews and Muirfield took over as the permanent championship venues. Musselburgh remained, but as a local course rather than a national stage.
The 19th-century clubhouse still stands on the site.
The racecourse
Musselburgh Old Links sits entirely inside the oval of Musselburgh Racecourse. This is not a geographical coincidence that happened to one corner of a hole — the entire course is laid out within the loop of the racing track. On non-race days you wouldn't necessarily notice. On race days, you would.
Musselburgh Racecourse is an active horse racing venue. Meetings are held throughout the year. On race days, the horses cross the golf course — or more accurately, the golf course and the racing track share the same ground, and the two activities coexist in the way that Musselburgh has always managed: pragmatically, without fuss, in a way that seems eccentric until you realise it's been working since the 17th century.
The configuration gives the course its particular character. The nine holes loop around the interior of the oval. The sightlines are occasionally interrupted by the grandstand. The turf is shared between hooves and irons, and you can feel this in the way the ground plays — firm in dry weather, soft after a race meeting. It is not manicured in the way of a private club. It is used.
This is part of the appeal. Musselburgh Old Links is a living piece of ground, not a preserved artefact.
What to expect when you play
Nine holes. Par 34. Green fees of £15–20.
No handicap certificate required. No dress code beyond the reasonable. Walk-up play is the norm — you can book ahead by phone (0131 665 5438) or simply arrive at the starter's box and pay. The website is musselburgholdlinks.co.uk if you want to check opening hours before making the drive.
The course is maintained by East Lothian Council, which means the resources allocated are municipal rather than private club. The condition is honest. The greens are not Augusta; the fairways are not Muirfield. But the turf is genuine links turf on a genuine links strip, and when the ground is firm and fast you can feel why this place mattered.
The nine holes are short by modern standards — par 34 tells you that. Some holes feel more like approaches to greens than full holes by contemporary expectations. This is correct; the course was designed in an era of different equipment, different ball technology, and different ideas about what a golf hole should demand. Play it on its own terms.
Who plays it? Local retired men in the morning. Dog walkers who've been coming for decades. Occasional visitors from Edinburgh who've heard the claim about it being the oldest and want to see for themselves. University students with a set of clubs and an afternoon free. It is a course without affectation and the people who use it tend to match that quality.
Pace of play is rarely an issue. Nine holes on a short course takes under two hours.
Getting there from Edinburgh
Musselburgh is six miles east of Edinburgh city centre. By car: take the A1 east from Edinburgh — the racecourse is signposted and the Old Links entrance is on the north side. Parking is available at the venue.
By public transport: the No. 26 and No. 44 buses run from Edinburgh city centre to Musselburgh and take around 30–40 minutes depending on traffic. The train is faster — Musselburgh station is on the Edinburgh to North Berwick line (a few minutes from Waverley), and Musselburgh Links is a short walk from the station.
Coming from London or further afield: Edinburgh Waverley is 1h15 from Newcastle and 4.5h from London King's Cross by train. Musselburgh is then 15 minutes by local train.
Pairing it with other East Lothian courses
East Lothian — the stretch of coast east of Edinburgh along the A1 — has more golf per square mile than almost anywhere in Scotland. Musselburgh is the oldest. Muirfield is 12 miles further east, near Gullane, and is one of the most demanding links courses in the world (it hosts the Open Championship on rotation). Gullane No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 are all within a few miles and offer visitor access at various price points. North Berwick West Links is 20 miles east of Musselburgh and one of the most enjoyable links rounds in Scotland at around £145–175.
A sensible pairing for a day trip: Musselburgh Old Links in the morning (nine holes, done by noon, under £20) and a second course in the afternoon. North Berwick or Gullane No. 2 are both manageable. Muirfield requires advance application and a handicap certificate — not a Tuesday walk-up situation.
For the full picture: East Lothian Golf Guide — Scotland's Golf Coast on a Budget.
Why every serious golfer should play it at least once
Not for the quality of the golf. The nine holes at Musselburgh Old Links will not be the best nine holes you play in Scotland. Cruden Bay, North Berwick, the Struie at Dornoch — all of them offer more as pure golf experiences.
Play Musselburgh for the context.
Stand on the first tee and consider that golf was being played on this ground before the United States existed as a country. Consider that Old Tom Morris stood here competing for what was then the only major championship in the world. Consider that the Honourable Company — the people who wrote the rules that govern the game you play today — organised their competitions on this patch of links inside a horse racing track in a small town east of Edinburgh.
And then consider that it costs £15–20, that no handicap is required, that you can walk up on a Tuesday afternoon and the starter will hand you a card and send you out.
The full course profile is here. For Scottish golf history more broadly: The Complete History of Golf in Scotland. And if you're building a budget East Lothian trip: Cheapest Golf Courses in Scotland — Under £30 a Round.
Golf began somewhere. This is the oldest ground where you can still confirm it.
Practical notes: phone bookings on 0131 665 5438; online at musselburgholdlinks.co.uk; managed by East Lothian Council; no handicap certificate required; walk-ups welcome; race days affect access — check the Musselburgh Racecourse fixture list before travelling.
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