Prestwick Golf Club: The First Home of The Open

In sports, it’s well-known that Athens, Greece is the site of the first modern Olympic Games (1896), Uruguay is where the men’s soccer World Cup (1934) was first contested, and the Los Angeles Coliseum was where the NFL’s Super Bowl I was played (1966). Well, in golf, while many golfers are well aware of the fact that the Old Course at St. Andrews is considered the home of golf, most golfers are unaware of the fact that the site of the first (British) Open Championship is the Prestwick Golf Club, which is on the west coast of Scotland, along the Ayrshire coast. Yes, on October 17, 1860, the inaugural Open Championship – a one-day 36-hole competition which featured eight competitors – was played at Prestwick. When you visit Prestwick — (Address: 2 Links Road, Prestwick, Ayrshire KA9 1QH) Website: www.prestwickgc.co.uk; Email: [email protected]; Phone: +44 (01292 477404) — look for the stone marker to the left of the parking lot, er, car park, which is the location of where the first shot was struck in the first Open Championship back on October 17, 1860.

The Prestwick Golf Club, which opened in 1851, was the brainchild of a group of 57 locals – who gathered on a regular basis at the Red Lion Inn in Prestwick – who decided to form the Prestwick Golf Club. Across the street from the Red Lion Inn, which remains open for business today, there were two cottages which were purchased for use by the newly formed Prestwick Golf Club. One structure became the clubhouse for members while the second building was set aside to become the on-site residence for the club’s first-ever greenkeeper, ball maker, and club maker. Believe it or not, but that individual was Old Tom Morris, who moved to Prestwick from St. Andrews with his wife (Agnes) and their young son — future four-time Open champion Young Tom Morris.

Old Tom Morris was the designer/architect of the Prestwick Golf Club, which originally had 12 holes. In 1882, Prestwick was expanded to 18 holes. As the architect, Old Tom Morris kept six of the original greens and three of the original holes. At Prestwick, each hole has a name and 14 of the holes are usually one-word terms such as Railway, Cardinal, Himalayas, Eglinton, Carrick, Wall, Goosedubs, Alps, and Clock.

As for first Open Championship back in October of 1860, it was conducted with the approval, support, and backing of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. On that day, each golfer played three rounds of 12 holes – 36 in all – to decide the winner of the Red Morocco Belt with silver clasps and an ornamental silver buckle and the title of Champion Golfer of the Year. Willie Park, Sr. was the winner of that first Open Championship. Prestwick remained the only venue for the Open Championship until 1873. After that, Prestwick hosted The Open on 12 more occasions. The last time The Open Championship was played at Prestwick was 1925, when England’s Jim Barnes won. His first-place cash prize was 75 pounds. As an aside, when Xander Schaffele won The Open Championship in 2024, he won more than $3 million.

A simple stone cairn to the west of Prestwick’s clubhouse marks the spot where the first Open Championship tee shot was struck in 1860. It identifies the opening hole – a 578-yard par six — of the original 12-hole course and the place where modern golfing history began.

In all, 24 Open Championships have been held at Prestwick, second in number to the Old Course at St. Andrews which has hosted The Open on 30 occasions, to date. Four of the players who won The Open at Prestwick were legendary figures – Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Willie Park, Sr., and Harry Vardon.

Prestwick is a golf course that requires experience in order to succeed. The layout’s flow has been labeled as somewhat unusual as golfers face many blind shots at Prestwick.

If you don’t hire a caddy, then make sure that you consult the green-colored Strokesaver guide book which is available inside the pro shop. This guide book will provide you with a short description of each hole plus a map of every fairway and green revealing locations of sand bunkers, mounds, hollows, gorse bushes, and small burns, i.e. streams – all of which you will want to avoid. In addition, it will give a picture of what the hole looks like from the tee. And, each hole map will have an Ideal Line reference in red ink for you to follow with your tee shot.

One of the most intriguing blind shots is the tee shot on the Himalayas, which is the par-three fifth hole. While standing on the tee, your tee shot must clear a steep dune marked by a colored railway sleeper/tie which matches the color of your tee box. Here, make sure you take enough club to match the distance of your shot. The green slopes back to front, so leaving it short will leave you an uphill putt. Please ring the bell, located greenside, when you hole-out all your putts to let those golfers playing behind you know it’s safe to hit their tee shots.

The 17th hole, named Alps, at Prestwick has another bell experience. It was originally the second hole on the course. It’s a par-four. If your blind approach shot is not hit strong enough, your ball will probably finish in the Sahara bunker. The Alps is the oldest existing hole in championship golf. Just like at Himalayas, please ring the bell after leaving the green so the players behind you know they can safely hit their approach shots to the green.

When you stand on the 18th tee at Prestwick, your aim will be the clubhouse clock in the distance, which is why the hole is named Clock. As you walk down Prestwick’s 18th fairway, take time to appreciate the opportunity you just had of playing the same golf course as many of golf’s early legends such as Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, Willie Park, Harry Vardon, John Ball, Jr., James Braid, J. H. Taylor, Gene Sarazen, Walker Hagen, Jim Barnes, and others.

When you decide to play Prestwick, I highly suggest you purchase the Prestwick Experience which is a round of golf followed by a three-course lunch (excluding drinks) in the Dining Room at Prestwick, where gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and a tie while ladies are required to wear smart casual, which will probably necessitate a change from their golf attire.

P.S. The Royal Troon Golf Club, which hosted The 152nd Open Championship in 2024, sits 500 yards away from the ninth green at Prestwick. And, having fish and chips afterwards at Wee Hurrie in nearby Troon is a great idea, too. The Prestwick Golf Club –where the on-course toilet code is C1850 – awaits your arrival.

Mike May is a freelance golf writer based in Wellington, Florida. Mike, an avid golfer, is also a member of the Golf Writers Association of America. He traces his roots as a golf writer to the 1983 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale — which he attended for all four days — and then voluntarily wrote his own account of that major championship event.