"The little-known courses that made modern golf"

[David_Tepper]

BBC.com article on Bruntsfield and Leith Links:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230717-the-little-known-courses-that-made-modern-golf
 

[Matt Schoolfield]

Here is the original layout of the Bruntsfield Links:


more info: https://www.bruntsfieldshortholegolfclub.co.uk/history/

I went to grad school in Edinburgh and played it often. I do really enjoy the layout and it's inspired a lot of my thoughts on getting new golfers to take up the sport.

[Marty Bonnar]

They’re hardly ‘little-known’. Anyone with even a minuscule interest in golf history should be aware of them.
F.

[David_Tepper]

Marty -

The sad fact of the matter is very, very few golfers have even a "minuscule interest in golf history," especially history going back to the 19th century. I would be surprised if even more than 1 in 10 British golfers knew of those 2 courses. In the U.S., I doubt more than 1 in 20 golfers have ever heard of them.

DT   

[Peter Sayegh]

Marty -

The sad fact of the matter is very, very few golfers have even a "minuscule interest in golf history," especially history going back to the 19th century. I would be surprised if even more than 1 in 10 British golfers knew of those 2 courses. In the U.S., I doubt more than 1 in 20 golfers have ever heard of them.

DT

David, you give U.S. golfers too much credit. I'd bet 1 in 1000 have knowledge of Leith and Bruntsfield.
Those who do probably don't believe that Bruntsfield-or any other golf course-"has always been an open park where people can golf, walk or just enjoy the view."

[Tom_Doak]

Marty -

The sad fact of the matter is very, very few golfers have even a "minuscule interest in golf history," especially history going back to the 19th century. I would be surprised if even more than 1 in 10 British golfers knew of those 2 courses. In the U.S., I doubt more than 1 in 20 golfers have ever heard of them.

DT

David, you give U.S. golfers too much credit. I'd bet 1 in 1000 have knowledge of Leith and Bruntsfield.
Those who do probably don't believe that Bruntsfield-or any other golf course-"has always been an open park where people can golf, walk or just enjoy the view."

I would agree with this.  Even when I was there on my year overseas, with all of my knowledge of history, I didn't seek them out.


I have made it a point in recent years to take my interns to the old links at Musselburgh, which is much more impressive than the sign at Leith.  I guess even that neighborhood at Leith was totally changed by cut and fill when it became part of the city, so there's not much there to hang your hat on.

[JLahrman]

Marty -

The sad fact of the matter is very, very few golfers have even a "minuscule interest in golf history," especially history going back to the 19th century. I would be surprised if even more than 1 in 10 British golfers knew of those 2 courses. In the U.S., I doubt more than 1 in 20 golfers have ever heard of them.

DT

Guilty as charged! Although I have significantly less interest and knowledge relative to most people on this website, I certainly have far more interest and knowledge than the average US golfer. I've never heard of Bruntsfield and only know Leith by name from occasionally seeing its name on this site.

[Colin Sheehan]

My recent curiosity for ancient golf on Blackheath Common led to this post and slideshow.

https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,73340.msg1759368.html#msg1759368

It led to a similar endeavor for Leith the other day.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KgJsiZmhuj9qoogc7

The search for info on Leith included this thread that led to assembling this for Bruntsfield.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1ggzj5o22N485s4G8

Looks like a charming city park with a little pitch-and-putt course and there's still a golf pub allegedly dating back to 1456!


I appreciate how these five-, six- and seven-hole extinct links were incubators for the game for centuries before ultimately falling victim to urban sprawl. The ratio of long holes for those times is interesting. They had to be such challenging conditions that golfers must have won holes and matches by surviving them better than their opponents.     

[Michael Morandi]

It would be interesting  to match course and architectural history with club and ball technology at the time a course was built and has evolved.

[Tim Gavrich]

I can only speak for myself but the Short Hole Club on Bruntsfield Links is one of my favorite overall places in golf. It shows just how little is needed to have a fun golf experience. And the Golf Tavern is splendid, too. It was my first stop off the plane my most recent trip to Scotland and I plan to go straight there the next time I land at EDI.

[Thomas Dai]

Once mankind totally screws up the World to the point of semi-oblivion in the unlikely event that there’s any golf remaining it’s likely to be on courses akin to or even more basic than this.
Atb

[MKrohn]

I certainly should have known more given Bruntsfield is one of our international reciprocal courses and I've played there. Poor form.