The Machrie Golf Course, or "The Machrie Links", is located on Islay, in Scotland. The word "machrie" is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic machair , which means more or less the same as "links" did on the east coast of Scotland. [1]
The Machrie is an iconic Scottish Championship links style golf course. stretching to 7024 yards from the back tees. An original Willie Campbell design dating back to 1891 it was intentionally made long, at least by 19th Century standards, to attract golfers to Islay. The course was unusual in that its layout crosses the dunes instead of running alongside them like most links courses do, which resulted in multiple blind shots.
The Machrie Links hosted a famous match in 1901 between James Braid, John Henry Taylor and Harry Vardon for a prize of £100, reputed to be the largest prize of its kind at that time in the British Isles. Harry Vardon called Mount Zion, originally the first hole, "the hardest hole I have seen". The links later hosted the Western Isles Open Championship in June 1935. [2]
The Links was acquired by Gavyn Davies and his wife Susan Nye, Baroness Nye in 2011; it had been placed in administration in late 2010. [3] The course was redesigned recently, by architect David J. Russell, [4] and reopened in May 2017. The overall rating by Golf World Top 100 in 2019 was 80.6%. The publication's review that discussed the significant design changes included this comment: "Russell’s routing has a much greater number of expansive views of the sea on the front nine. The internal out of bounds has also gone. Lots of the blind shots have [gone] too." [5] [6] After the redesign, the web site Top 100 Golf Courses rated this one as #21 in Scotland in 2019. [7]
In addition to the 18-hole Links, the facility offers a Wee course (six par-3 holes) a covered driving range, a short game area and the Hebrides putting course. The new version of the Machrie Hotel, now has 47 bedrooms, including 4 2-bedroom lodges; it opened in 2018, replacing a predecessor, that was described as "dilapidated". [8] [9] [10] The previous Machrie hotel had 16 bedrooms and 15 separate lodges. [11]
The Islay Golf Club is a privately owned club founded in 1891, which has its home at the Machrie Golf Links for its members. [12]
John Henry "J.H." Taylor was an English professional golfer and one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf. Taylor is considered to be one of the best golfers of all time. He was a significant golf course architect. Taylor helped to found the British PGA, the world's first, and became respected for his administrative work. He also wrote two notable golf books.
Henry William Vardon was a professional golfer from Jersey. He was a member of the Great Triumvirate with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. Vardon won The Open Championship a record six times, and also won the 1900 U.S. Open.
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf.
Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The Open Championship.
Trump Turnberry is a golf resort on the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It comprises three links golf courses, a golf academy, a five-star James Miller-designed hotel from 1906, along with lodge and cottage accommodations.
Royal Portrush Golf Club is a private golf club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The 36-hole club has two links courses, the Dunluce Links and the Valley Links. The former is one of the courses on the rota of the Open Championship and last hosted the tournament in 2019.
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich is a links golf course located in Sandwich in Kent in South East England. Prince's is immediately adjacent to the more famous Royal St George's golf club, and both clubs lie on the same stretch of coastline as nearby Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. It is notable for hosting the 1932 Open Championship.
William Park Jr. was a Scottish professional golfer. He won The Open Championship twice. Park was also a successful golf equipment maker and golf writer. In his later years, Park built a significant career as one of the world's best golf course architects, with a worldwide business. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.
Kirn is a village in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands on the west shore of the Firth of Clyde on the Cowal peninsula. It now forms part of the continuous habitation between Dunoon and Hunters Quay, where the Holy Loch joins the Firth of Clyde. It originally had its own pier, with buildings designed by Harry Edward Clifford in 1895, and was a regular stop for the Clyde steamer services, bringing holidaymakers to the town, mostly from the Glasgow area.
William Fernie was a Scottish professional golfer and golf course architect from St Andrews. He won the 1883 Open Championship at Musselburgh Links. The tournament was scheduled to last four rounds of the nine-hole course on a Friday in November. Fernie tied with defending champion Bob Ferguson, with both men shooting 158. The following day Fernie won a playoff by a single stroke.
The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. It holds an important place in golf history, as it is one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the 1913 U.S. Open won by then-unknown Francis Ouimet. Although the club has 1300 members, it is known for its exclusivity.
Islay is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura and around 40 kilometres north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital is Bowmore where the distinctive round Kilarrow Parish Church and a distillery are located. Port Ellen is the main port.
Woodhall Spa Golf Club is a private golf club in England that is located to the north of Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. The club was founded in 1891. In 1995 the club was purchased by the English Golf Union, who have since relocated their headquarters onto the site, which is now known as The National Golf Centre.
Worthing Golf Club is a golf club on the South Downs at Worthing, England. Located close to the Iron Age hill fort of Cissbury Ring in the new South Downs National Park, the club comprises two links golf courses, a 6 hole academy course, a driving range, practice area, two putting greens and a clubhouse. The club enjoys panoramic views both of the South Downs and the English Channel.
Glasgow Golf Club, founded in May 1787, is the ninth oldest golf club in the world. It has changed location several times during its history, but has been based at Killermont in Bearsden since 21 May 1904. The club is unusual in also having a links course, at Gailes, near Irvine, on the Ayrshire coast, some 35 miles away.
The Apawamis Club is a private country club located in Rye, New York, Westchester County, long known for its 18-hole golf course and prominence in the sport of squash. The 1911 U.S. Amateur Championship was contested here, resulting in a playoff between the reigning British Amateur champion, Harold Hilton, and his lesser-known American opponent, Fred Herreshoff. Apawamis is also the home base of a nationally recognized junior squash program and hosts the world renowned Briggs Cup tournament.
Henry Gullane was a Scottish professional golfer. Gullane finished in eighth place in the 1899 U.S. Open, held 14–15 September 1899, at Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Maryland.
William Frederick Davis (1861–1902) was a Scottish professional golfer who designed two of the five charter clubs of the United States Golf Association (USGA) including Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and Newport Country Club. At the time of his death in 1902, Davis was credited as being the first individual to have come to America to make a professional living as a golfer. He was also remembered as leading the movement to establish a championship tournament for professionals.
William J. Devine Memorial Golf Course, colloquially referred to as and contained within Franklin Park, is a municipal golf course in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by the neighborhoods of Dorchester and Roxbury. Established on October 26, 1896, it is the second oldest public golf course in the United States. The course is named after William J. Devine, former Commissioner of Boston's Parks and Recreation Department.
The Western Isles Open Championship was a professional golf tournament played at Machrie golf course on Islay, Hebrides, Scotland from 11 to 13 June 1935. Total prize money was over £500, which included plate prizes for the leading amateurs. The event was sponsored by David MacBrayne Ltd, the local shipping company and was intended to advertise the Western Isles as a golfing holiday destination. The event was held the week before the inaugural Scottish Open Championship at Gleneagles and two weeks before the Open Championship at Muirfield.