I'd be interested in any reaction to this thesis, which has emerged from researching a book on the bicentennial of Royal Montrose.
Not only was the golf at Montrose exciting (according to visitors), it was super abundant As an example, it had 14 distinct fairways when St. Andrews had only 10 (not counting holes simply played again in the opposite direction, Musselburgh at most 8, and Aberdeen, Berwick, Leith and Glasgow even less than that. The green at Montrose seems not to have been quite so overgrown as at St. Andrews (this is before Tom Morris widened fairways and the introduction of double greens on the Old Course), and not as plagued with washing, nets, horsemen and other inconveniences as at other places. The Montrose Rules of 1830 give no respite for moving impediments on the fairway (unlike at St. Andrews) which might be reflection of this.
In fact, this comparison likely understates the abundance of golf available at Montrose, as there were really innumerable holes to choose from. Albeit at a later date (1866) it hosted a professional tournament over 25 holes ('one round of the course') when the Open Champtionship was being played over 12. The 25-hole course was over 8000 yards, and is still likely the longest course ever played by professionals in a serious tournament (Willie Park and Tom Morris competed, both coming in with a 119!).
Even in 1847 the average length of holes at Montrose was 391 yards -- longer than on the championship course today. Plus, golf in Montrose was in rude health in the first half of the 19th century (where in other centres it seems to have been in the doldrums), with half a dozen clubs formed, including arguably the firsty working-man's and junior clubs (during the feathery period). Though the aristrocrats at St. Andrews/Edinburgh garner more publicity at the time, there are several celebrated challenge matches at Montrose at the time, including a famous night match for the equivalent of about $50,000 a hole.
Montrose's position vis a vis St. Andrews and other golfing centres certainly changes with the railway age, and with the introduction of more sophisiticated maintenance (new courses could now be laid out through more rambunctious terrain), though Horace Hutchinson still rated Montrose as one of the top 3 in Scotland as late as 1891 when many of its best holes on the South Links had been abandoned. The course would change again with the arrival of Harry Colt in 1913 but that is another story.