Scottish Golf History
The Oldest Golf Clubs in Scotland: A Ranked Guide with Visiting Information
Scotland's oldest golf clubs date to the 1700s and are still playing. Here's a ranked guide to the clubs with the earliest documented founding dates — what makes each one historically significant, and how visitors can actually play them.
The question of which is Scotland's oldest golf club depends heavily on what kind of evidence you accept. Some clubs have continuous documentary records from the 18th century. Others claim earlier founding dates that rest on tradition rather than document. A few have records that were lost or destroyed.
What follows is a ranked guide based on the most commonly cited and historically supported founding dates, with the honest caveat that "oldest" in golf history is always partly a matter of what records survived.
1. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers — 1744
Course: Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian Founding evidence: Rules of golf written and signed, May 1744, for a competition at Leith Links
The Honourable Company is the oldest golf club with unambiguous documentary evidence. In 1744, they produced thirteen rules for a competition at Leith Links — the first written rules of golf — and competed for a silver club donated by the City of Edinburgh. The document exists and is dated.
The club moved from Leith Links to Musselburgh in 1836, then to its current home at Muirfield in 1891. The Muirfield course was designed by Old Tom Morris.
Visiting: Muirfield operates visitor days on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, morning tee times. Handicap certificate required (24 men/36 women). Green fee £150–£395 on our Muirfield page. Jacket and tie required in the clubhouse dining room. Book well in advance.
2. Royal Burgess Golfing Society — claimed 1735 (documented from 1773)
Course: Bruntsfield Links Golf Club, Edinburgh (shared facility) Founding evidence: Club traditions claim 1735; earliest confirmed document is 1773
Royal Burgess claims the title of oldest golf club in the world based on an 1814 membership book noting the club was founded in 1735. The document supporting 1735 is an internal record made 79 years after the claimed founding date, which historians treat with appropriate caution. The earliest independently verifiable documentation dates to 1773.
The claim is taken seriously in golf history circles; it is not universally accepted. The club itself uses 1735 as its founding year.
Royal Burgess plays at Bruntsfield Links Golf Club in Edinburgh (a private club but separate from the Golfing Society). The course is parkland, on the western edge of Edinburgh.
Visiting: Royal Burgess and Bruntsfield Links are private clubs. Visitor rounds by arrangement with the secretary.
3. Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews — 1754
Course: Old Course at St Andrews (public course, separate from the R&A club) Founding evidence: Society of St Andrews Golfers formed and rules written, 14 May 1754
The R&A (golf club, distinct from The R&A governing body) was founded in 1754 as the Society of St Andrews Golfers. King William IV made the Society "Royal and Ancient" in 1834. Since 2004, the club and the governing body have been separate organisations.
The R&A golf club is private and does not have its own course — it plays on the St Andrews Links Trust courses, as do other St Andrews clubs.
The Old Course: Publicly accessible via the daily ballot and the Swilcan Package lottery. See Old Course Ballot — Complete Guide.
4. Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society — 1761
Course: Davidson's Mains (The Royal Burgess course), Edinburgh Founding evidence: 1761 records
Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society (not to be confused with Bruntsfield Links Golf Club, a separate entity) was founded in 1761 and played on the Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh, a public park that still exists. The original six-hole Bruntsfield Links course was eventually abandoned as the area urbanised, and the Society moved to its current course at Davidson's Mains.
5. Royal Musselburgh Golf Club — 1774
Course: Prestongrange, Prestonpans, East Lothian Founding evidence: 1774 club records
Royal Musselburgh was founded in 1774 and played for 150 years on Musselburgh's old links, the nine-hole course inside the racecourse that hosted six Open Championships between 1874 and 1889. The club left for Prestongrange in the mid-1920s and plays there today, on parkland rather than links.
Three Musselburgh names get mixed up, so it is worth being precise. Musselburgh Old Links is the historic nine-holer inside the racecourse, the oldest of the three by a distance and a public course you can play for £20–£25. Royal Musselburgh is the 1774 club, now at Prestongrange. Musselburgh Golf Club is a different club again: it plays at Monktonhall on an 18-hole course James Braid opened in 1938.
Visiting: Royal Musselburgh takes visitors at £45–£65; book ahead. The Old Links is the one to play if the history is the point.
6. Royal Aberdeen Golf Club — 1780
Course: Balgownie Links and Silverburn, Aberdeen Founding evidence: Society of Golfers at Aberdeen formed, 1780
Royal Aberdeen was founded as the Society of Golfers at Aberdeen in 1780, receiving its Royal prefix in 1815. The Balgownie Links course is one of Scotland's finest, an Open Championship-standard links that has hosted Scottish Opens and regular tour events.
Visiting: Visitor days Tuesday and Thursday, morning tee times only. Handicap certificate required. Green fee £175–£265 for Balgownie. Silverburn is priced separately — ask the club.
7. Crail Golfing Society — 1786
Course: Balcomie Links and Craighead Links, Crail, Fife Founding evidence: Society records from 1786
Crail Golfing Society is one of the oldest clubs in Fife and plays on two courses, of which Balcomie Links (Fife Ness) is the more historic and characterful. The Balcomie course was laid out along the rocky Fife Ness coastline and retains a character that's genuinely ancient.
Visiting: Open to visitors. Balcomie green fee £70–£170 depending on the month. Walk-in or advance booking. Craighead Links, the newer longer course, is booked separately.
8. Royal Troon Golf Club — 1878
Course: Old Course (Open Championship rota) and Portland Course, Ayrshire Founding evidence: Founded 1878
Troon is the youngest of Scotland's Open Championship venues but the most recently active on the rota. The club received its Royal designation in 1978, its centenary year.
Visiting: Visitors welcome on weekdays. The Old Course green fee is £250–£395; the Portland course is £135. Handicap certificate required. Book well in advance for summer dates.
9. Muirfield and its predecessors: a clarification
It's worth noting that Muirfield as a course dates only to 1891, but the Honourable Company that plays it was founded in 1744. When people refer to Muirfield's history, they typically conflate the club (very old) with the current course (comparatively new). The distinction matters for historical accuracy but not much for visitor planning.
Visiting the historic clubs: practical summary
| Club | Course | Open to visitors | Approx fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honourable Company (Muirfield) | Muirfield | Tue/Thu only | £150–£395 |
| Royal Burgess | Bruntsfield area | By arrangement | — |
| R&A (plays on public courses) | Old Course | Via ballot/booking | £180–£355 |
| Royal Musselburgh | Prestongrange | Yes, book ahead | £45–£65 |
| Royal Aberdeen | Balgownie Links | Tue/Thu only | £175–£265 |
| Crail Golfing Society | Balcomie Links | Yes | £70–£170 |
| Royal Troon | Old Course | Weekdays | £250–£395 |
For Muirfield in detail: How to Get a Round at Muirfield. For the story of how St Andrews became central to the game: How St Andrews Became the Home of Golf.
About the author
The Birdie Brae editor
Editor and founder of Birdie Brae. Based in Glasgow, 12.7 handicap, playing since late 2021. Has played 20+ Scottish courses and started this site because most Scottish golf content is written by people trying to sell you a package holiday.
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