The History of Golf at Gullane

Golf has been played in Gullane since ‘time immemorial’. The original two or three holes were on links land running west of the village. It was here that the weavers of Dirleton and Aberlady met to play a customary match on Auld Hansel Monday (the first Monday after 12 January).

It was not until the early nineteenth century that a group of local farmers formed the first organised Club to play golf at Gullane. This fell into abeyance but was revived in 1859 as the East Lothian Golf Club. The Golf Tavern on the western edge of the village (now a private house) was used as a hostelry before and after play.

The number of golf holes had risen to seven by the 1840s and stood at 13 when, in 1854, shopkeepers and artisans of the parish founded Dirleton Castle Golf Club. Meetings were held in the Golf Tavern and the annual subscription was a modest 2s. 6d. It remains the oldest Club in continuous existence still playing over Gullane links. In 1857 ‘The Castle’ sent a team to the Grand National Tournament at St Andrews, the first national inter-club competition.

Gullane Golf Club was instituted in June 1882. By September of that year the membership numbered 62 and had to be limited to 125 in 1883. Annual subscriptions were set at 10s. 6d. and the new Club assumed responsibility for managing the golf course.

Following the foundation of Gullane Golf Club the course was extended to 18 holes in 1884.

The fifth British Ladies’ Open Amateur Championship (now the British Women’s Amateur Championship) was played over Gullane links in 1897. The final saw Edith Orr defeat her sister Theodora by 4 & 3.

Gullane Golf Club invited Willie Park junior of​ Musselburgh to lay out a second 18 holes on ​the hill. Park was Open Champion in 1885 and ​1887 and had since become a leading golf-course ​architect. He was paid 10 guineas for his services and Gullane No.2 course opened in 1898. ​

In 1900 the first clubhouse of Gullane Golf Club was constructed on East Links Road at a total cost, including furnishings, of around £500. It was officially opened on 14 June 1900. The layout of the course was altered so that the 1st tee and 18th green stood outside the new building. These premises, now a public house, ​served the Club well for thirty years until ​an expanding membership created the ​need for larger accommodation.

On 1 December 1904 a meeting was held in Edinburgh to institute Gullane Ladies’ Golf Club. Forty-seven ladies expressed interest in joining the new venture. By 1930 its membership had reached 250.

Meanwhile, a third course was under construction and ready for play by 1910.​ Thus, before the Great War, Gullane Golf Club had developed into a 54-hole golfing complex. With the course of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers created at Muirfield on the eastern edge of the community in 1891 and the opening of New Luffness to its west in 1894, Gullane village became home to five top-class golf courses. It was set to emerge as one of the great centres of the world game. ​

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A fine new clubhouse, designed by N. B. Taylor, was opened on 20 December 1929. Furniture was ordered from Heals of London and the rooms began to fill up with works of art, trophies, and memorabilia donated by generous patrons such as the Earl and Countess of Derby, and Sir Albert and Lady Bingham.

In March 1933 Gullane Golf Club agreed to buy the three golf courses and adjacent land from the then owner, Lieutenant-Colonel J. P. Nisbet Hamilton Grant of Belhaven and Dirleton. The purchase price was £7,380.

In 1947 Mildred Ella Didrikson Zaharias won the British Ladies’ Open Amateur Championship played over Gullane No.1 course. The ‘Babe’, who was the first American to win the title, beat Jacqueline Gordon in the final by 5 & 4. The defeated semi-finalists were Jean Donald and Jessie Valentine. 

In 1967 the inaugural Scottish Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship was played over Gullane No.1 and Muirfield. The winner, by five strokes, was the 18-year-old Bernard Gallacher. During an illustrious professional career, Bernard returned to Gullane in 1993 to open the Links Clubhouse.

Charlie Green won the third of his Scottish Amateur Match Play Championships at Gullane in 1983. He was then almost 51 years old and remains the oldest winner of this title. That same year the five-time Walker Cup Player was awarded the OBE for his services to golf.

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By the later twentieth century, a growth in visitor numbers began to require more accommodation. The Visitors’ Clubhouse, built next to the 1st tees of No.2 and No.3 courses, was opened by the then Ryder Cup Captain, Bernard Gallacher, in 1993.

Catriona Matthew won the third of her Scottish Women’s Amateur Championships at Gullane in 1994. She was a Junior Member of Gullane Ladies’ and is now an Honorary Member of the Club. Catriona has gone on to win 11 professional titles, including the Women’s British Open in 2009. She captained the European team to Solheim Cup victory in 2019 and again in 2021.

In 2013 the 18-year-old Matt Fitzpatrick finished runner-up in the Open Championship Final Qualifying tournament played over Gullane No.1. He went on to win the silver medal for the low amateur in the Open at Muirfield the following week.  

Gullane played host to the Scottish Open Championship in 2015 which was won in spectacular style by Rickie Fowler. The American Ryder Cup player held off a star-studded field, including strong challenges from fellow Americans Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson, and Englishmen Luke Donald, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose.

In a feast of golf over the month of July 2018, Gullane hosted both the men’s and women’s Scottish Open Championships. The rising South African golfer, Brandon Stone, triumphed in the former event and the major-winner from Thailand, Ariya Jutanugarn, was victorious in the latter.

Following major redevelopment, the Gullane Links Clubhouse reopened in 2021. Its picture windows and outdoor terrace afford stunning views across the golf courses and surrounds. ​With its second Professional’s Shop, high-quality restaurant, and modern bar, the Links Clubhouse provides a stylish welcome for members, guests and visitors alike.