http://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-with-mungo-park/Mungo Park and I have corresponded for years and this interview is long overdue - mea culpa! On the upside, he notes that some of the material contained in this Interview has been recently discovered and appears for the first time here. A superior writer, Mungo goes into great detail with his answers. He enticingly warns that he could
'bore for Britain on this stuff' 
– and we all win!
We start Mungo’s family story some 200 years ago when a long game was enjoyed by gentry and a short game by the rest. James, the Park patriarch was a man of the land, a ploughman, whom one imagines displayed 'quiet fortitude' through good seasons and bad. His clan certainly learned resolve from somewhere. How else can you explain that not just one but many family members had the gumption to intrepidly sail to distant lands with strange cultures? Golf ultimately became the family business. They excelled as players (three won seven Opens, including Mungo's great-great uncle in 1874 at - where-else -Musselburgh), club and ball makers (employing 80 people at one time), course designers and professional instructors. They were ambassadors of the game from Argentina to Quebec, Texas to Europe and throughout the UK. What a family odyssey. I doubt the expression 'been there, done that' existed in Musselburgh ~120 years ago or it would be part of the Park family crest!
In golf architecture circles, Willie Jr.'s star shines the brightest, so much so that his two Open wins are overshadowed by his designs. Courses associated with him - Sunningdale (Old), Notts GC (Hollinwell), Huntercombe, Maidstone, Olympia Fields, Silloth-on-Solway, Mt. Bruno - are beacons of intelligent design in their far flung regions. He fashioned courses of distinction from every medium - sand, loam and clay - from shoreline to heathland to parkland.
Nearly as much as I like playing old courses, I enjoy old writings. In
A History of Golf in Britain, Sir Guy Campbell states that Sunningdale (Old) and Huntercombe are
'two courses of quality and continuing charm that they may be said to mark the springboard of modern practice.' He goes on to call Willie Jr.
'the doyen of golf architects, as the term is understood today.' No argument - I have never read a harsh word about Park Jr, anywhere – he was a professional in every sense. Mungo describes him as 'charismatic' and he was famous for his tireless work ethic. It is no wonder he was in such high demand on both sides of the pond. While Park’s initial courses were built in the gutta percha era, the preponderance of his designs came when the rubber core ball held sway. My only tinge of regret is that his two books are 'architecture light.' I wish he’d been more like Simpson or MacKenzie and committed more of his thoughts on architecture to paper.
The fourth green at Musselburgh and Mrs. Forman's. Musselburgh held six Opens before giving way to Muirfield in 1892 as the host site in East Lothian. The Park name was synonymous with that golf mecca (a Park won the first and the last Open held there - Mungo 1874 and Willie Jr 1889) and remains involved to this day. In fact, Mungo was recently part of a gallant struggle to prevent Mrs. Forman's pub (the structure behind the 4th green that once served liquid refreshment to Open contestants) from being eliminated. A compromise of sorts has been reached, but it feels like a bit of Musselburgh history is being eroded. Undaunted, Mungo is on to his next task to assemble an exhibition in Musselburgh for the 2018 Open at Carnoustie. The purpose is to help enlighten as many as are interested as to the vital role that Musselburgh and its many club makers played in the origins of the game. I hope we can support his efforts. After all, if not us, who?
This Interview is a wonderful walk through history with an extremely amiable - and knowledgeable - companion. Hope you enjoy.
Best,