There is nowhere in golf quite like Musselburgh Old Course. The oldest golf course in the world, with documented play dating to 1672, its nine holes wrap around Musselburgh's historic racecourse in a setting that has remained unchanged in its essentials for more than three and a half centuries. Playing here is a genuinely profound experience for any golfer with a sense of history — the game's entire modern lineage traces back to this ground.
Golf at Musselburgh is recorded as far back as 1672, and the Old Course hosted six Open Championships between 1874 and 1889. It was played by monarchs, champion professionals, and ordinary club golfers without interruption for over 350 years. Mary Queen of Scots is said to have played golf at Musselburgh just days after the murder of her husband Lord Darnley in 1567 — a detail that places this modest nine-hole course at the intersection of golf history and Scottish history in a way nothing else can match. Look out, you may see some golfers playing Musselburgh with a few hickories.
For guests with a genuine love of golf history, Musselburgh Old Course is arguably the most important stop on the entire East Lothian tour. You are not simply playing golf — you are standing on the ground where the game's modern story was written. No other course offers that. It is a short round, but a long journey into the soul of the game.