Peering through half-closed eyes—and ignoring Prestwick Airport in the distance—a visitor can see
this famous links as it must have looked during play of the first British Open
in 1860. The distant clunk or click of a hand-hammered gutta-percha ball being
struck by a leather-faced “playclub” (predecessor of the driver) might echo if
you keep your eyes asquint and allow imagination to reel out the years.
Prestwick’s story begins in 1849, when the Glasgow and
Southwest Railway linked with Ayr on the west coast of Scotland. Hardly
a landmark in railway annals, but indeed a dramatic point in golf history, as
suddenly this linksland was easily accessible. And, by coincidence, golf balls
were affordable.
It was just then that the feathery ball was being eclipsed by
the gutta percha. Casualties included Old Tom Morris and Allan Robertson, who
lost their livelihood as ballmakers in St.
Andrews. Meanwhile, the Earl of Eglinton owned a patch of rough
linksland and invited Old Tom Morris to lay out a course.
Morris laid out 12 holes in a cramped and restricted area,
but he took full advantage of all the contours and ambiance of the site, which
included stunning views across the sea to the Isle of Arran. The railway built a
station just 50 yards from Prestwick’s 1st tee
and people arrived en masse to witness great challenge matches between Willie
Park and Morris, who played three rounds on the 12-hole course.
With the untimely death of Allan Robertson in 1859,
Prestwick members decided to conduct a
challenge the following year that would crown the land’s greatest golfer. The
earl presented a beautiful belt of soft red Moroccan leather with a detailed
golf scene engraved in its silver buckle.
This marked the birth of the Open Championship. Willie Park
emerged victorious and was declared “the Champion Golfer of the Year” with three
12-hole rounds of 55, 59 and 60. The length of the Prestwick course at that time was 3,799 yards; the
578-yard 1st hole being the longest and most formidable, for the average drive
of a professional then was between 180 and 200 yards.. The shortest hole, the
11th, was 97 yards. Many holes were blind shots from the tee or to the green, as
sand hills or dunes had to be “lofted” over. It was imperative to keep the ball
in play, as maintenance of the course was minimal.
In the first eight Opens, all played at Prestwick, Morris won
four to Park’s three, with only Andrew Strath interrupting their monopoly in
1865. Old Tom is still the oldest winner of the Open—46 at the time of his 1867
victory. The following year, along came his son Tommy, who became the Open’s
youngest winner, at 17.
The Open moved from Prestwick to St.
Andrews in 1873, and on to Musselburgh, returning every three years
through 1893. Its 24th and last Open was 1925.
Now, Prestwick has 18 holes,
and one of its most memorable is the par-5 3rd, with a daunting tee shot that
needs to be laid up short of the “Cardinal” bunker. This was the 4th hole of the
original 12-hole course. Playing out past the “Elysian Fields” and “Monkton
Miln,” you come to a classic hole named after the Earl of Eglinton. The 10th at
Prestwick is the most picturesque—its backdrop
is the Isle of Arran—and one of only two holes without a dreaded greenside
bunker.
The 288-yard 16th is has a very eccentric green and a hidden
bunker called “Willie Campbell’s Grave,” 250 yards down the fairway. Campbell came to grief in
it during the 1887 Open.
The clubhouse was built in 1868, then extended from time to
time, is well run. Among its memorabilia are sketches of the proposed Challenge
Belt and the first printed scorecards. Hung around the club’s wood paneled walls
are portraits of all the figures who left their mark not only at Prestwick but in the world of golf.
