Golf Courses Scotland - Golf Courses in Scotland Open Championship - British Open Courses in Scotland

Golf Courses in Scotland to Host The Open

There are seven golf courses in Scotland that have hosted The Open Championship over the years. Only five of these golf courses now remain on the Open circuit: St Andrews, Turnberry, Muirfield, Royal Troon and Carnoustie. The two courses that have been susequently dropped are Prestwick and Musselburgh. The Open was held in Scotland for the first 33 years of its' history from 1860 - 1893 and in 1894 Sandwich in England was the first non Scottish host.

St Andrews (Old Course)

The Old Course at St Andrews is the worlds most famous golf course with St Andrews itself being known as "The Home of Golf". The Open is now played at St Andrews every five years and has staged the championship no fewer than 25 times since 1873. The most recent Open at St Andrews was in 2005 when Tiger Woods became champion for the second time.

The Old Course is a 7,275 yards Par 72 course.

Royal Troon Golf Club

Royal Troon became an Open Championship course in 1923 before it actually had the "Royal" title. Royal Troon is regarded as one of the most difficult open venues and with its' new championship tees, it proved a real stiff test for those who competed here in July 2004. Palmer, Weiskopf and Justin Leonard are among the winners at Royal Troon.

Royal Troon is a 7097 yards par 71 course.

Prestwick Golf Club

The first twelve Open Championships were held at Prestwick Golf Club from 1860 - 1872. Tom Morris Snr and Tom Morris Jnr won eight of these between them (four a piece). However, the last time Prestwick saw The Claret Jug being played for over this "tricky" links course was in 1925.

Prestwick is a 6544 yards par 71 course.

Muirfield

Muirfield or "The Honorary Company of Edinburgh Golfers" to give it its' proper title is one of the favourite Open Championship venues. It is certainly a favourite with Nick Faldo who won two of his three Open titles there in 1987 and 1992. Ernie Els was the last to conquer Muirfield in 2002 when there was a four man play off for the title.

Muirfield is a 6801 yards par 70 course.

Carnoustie

Often regarded as the most difficult golf course in Scotland, Carnoustie has held The Open six times. Paul Lawrie, Henry Cotton, Tommy Armour, Tom Watson, Gary Player and of course, Ben Hogan have all won here. Carnoustie has produced the two highest winning four round aggregate scores in post world war II years (289 & 290).

Carnoustie is a 6941 yards par 72 course.

Turnberry (Ailsa Course)

The Ailsa Course at Turnberry is one of the most scenic golf courses in the world. With under three Open Championships under its' belt, Turnberry is surely to play host to The Open again in the near future. One of the finest final rounds in the recent history of The Open was at Turnberry in 1977 when Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus had their "duel in the sun".

The Ailsa Course is a 6,440 yards par 69.

Musselburgh Old Links

The Old Course at Musselburgh Links was host to six Opens in the 1870s and 1880s. The Old Course is still a nine hole course so in those days, four rounds were played to make up the 36 holes which The Open was played over then. Members of Musselburgh moved to Muirfield in the early 1890s and the Open was then staged at Muirfield as a result.

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