The
vast majority of golfers, even those natives of the game’s homeland who ought to
know better, mention of East
Lothian generally brings the knee-jerk response of “Muirfield,
magnificent Muirfield.” Yet in historical terms, the present home of the ancient
Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers is a Johnny-come-lately upstart on the
peerless stretch of near-unbroken natural linksland which stretches eastwards
from Edinburgh
along the southern shores of the Firth of Forth.
After
all, that august body did not move to their own course at Muirfield from
Musselburgh until 1891. Admittedly that was some 147 years after the club had
been founded. But it was still nearly 300 years after golf had first been played
at Musselburgh—and at North Berwick, five miles
east of Muirfield.
It
is well-documented that fear of invasion from marauding Englishmen had the
Scottish Parliament, based in Edinburgh, thundering against the gentle pastime
of golf in the 15th century, and the Kirk (Church) Session records of North
Berwick in 1605 make mention of the “toune links.” In other words the good
burghers of North Berwick were playing golf on the little fishing town’s common
land at least 20 years before the Pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower for the
New World.
By
common consent, golf historians acknowledge that only at Musselburgh is there a
longer period of unbroken golf than at North
Berwick. Yet for far too long, as far as overseas visitors are
concerned, it has been little more than a golfing backwater, totally
overshadowed by world-famous neighbor Muirfield and Scotland’s other great championship venues such
as St. Andrews, Turnberry, Troon and
Carnoustie.
In
fact, although Royal Dornoch and Gleneagles’ courses have a higher profile,
North Berwick’s West Links has an antiquated charm all its own with walls,
burns, yawning bunkers and in No. 15, “Redan,” probably the most frequently and
copied short hole in the world.
“Best
of all,” resident professional-cum-course manager David Huish (pronounced Hush)
will tell you, “we have something none of the more famous courses have,
including Musselburgh, and that is a view of the sea from every hole. This is a
true links. Some people may say it is a little quirky, even quaint, but I have
played all over the world, and even after 29 years here I would still rather
play golf at North Berwick than anywhere
else.
“You
never play the same course twice. Depending on the weather—and we get lots of
it—and the sensible use of a variety of tee and pin placements, each hole can
vary as much as four clubs. In other words, what may be a 7-iron shot one day
can be a 3-iron the next. It’s a great place to play
golf.”
Of
course Huish, a genial giant who in his younger days was good enough to
represent Scotland in the World Cup, lead the
1975 Open championship at Carnoustie after 36 holes and play several times in
PGA Cup matches as British champion, is just a wee bit biased. Now a member of
the European Ryder Cup committee, he has a well-thumbed passport and a great
breadth of golfing knowledge and vital know-how.
He
is acutely aware of his course’s rich history and toils ceaselessly to put North
Berwick, a half-hour drive from Edinburgh, back into the prominent position on
the golfing map it enjoyed more than a century ago.
