As the world’s oldest inland golf course, Lanark has hosted icons of the game, escaped becoming ‘Gleneagles’ by a single vote, and continues to offer golfers a rare glimpse into how golf was once played. This is the story of Lanark’s ridges, hollows, heroes and the enduring bond between club, community and Glenmuir.
The club’s centenary handbook from 1951 states that “in our time, Lanark Moor, with the sun shining and a mild breeze blowing from the west, is the most beautiful sight in the world : this is the opinion of all our club-members whose minds are in a sound state of health, it is not sterile : it grows a praiseworthy kind of grass, and the ball sits up in a most inviting way, for every dip, ridge hollow and curve brings its own enchantment and thrill.”
Lanark Golf Club’s first annual general meeting took place on 4th October 1851. Twenty-one members were enrolled, each anticipating happy days on their six-hole course. Approximately seventy years later, however, J. Arthur Vassie and James Annan, separately, quoted family traditions to the effect that in the earliest stages there were only four members and four holes, and when a new member joined, they added an extra hole.
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The speakers referred to golf on the moor prior to 1851. The four heroes who played “before the club” and then founded it were Robert and William Lithgow, John Vassie and Thomas Purdie, whose portraits still hang in the shadows of the clubhouse today.
In 1853 the course was shortened to five holes. Then four years later it was extended to ten, and it remained at that until 1869, when three additional holes were added. But it wasn’t until 1897 that the full round of eighteen holes was played for the first time. Green sites had originally been selected by George Sayers, but the plan was finally arranged by non-other than Old Tom Morris, who received £3 10s (three pounds and ten shillings) for his services. James Braid was later brought in to supervise the construction of several new holes in 1927 which formed the basic layout now played today.
The course still has ‘crossings', holes where golfers play over another fairway. Golf courses in bygone days often had these. Nowadays though, health and safety would not allow courses to be created with such hazards. At Lanark there are three crossings - the 1st & 18th; the 2nd and 15th; and occasionally the 9th and 10th holes. This makes it one of few places in the world where you can experience golf as it used to be played.
The course developed a strong reputation in golfing circles, to the extent that it almost became ‘Gleneagles’. It was only by one casting vote that the LSM Railway Company decided to build their grand hotel at Gleneagles rather than at Lanark. Comparisons are often made between Lanark and the King’s and Queen’s courses. They both enjoy a moorland setting with rolling fairways, heather and gorse and design details crafted by James Braid.
In the modern era the club has played host to many great amateur competitions, including the Scottish boys Stroke play, the Scottish Youths, the British girls and the girls home internationals. The club has also provided the course to the R&A on eleven occasions as a regional qualifying venue for The Open Championship, keeping up the clubs great tradition in hosting matches and illustrious events throughout the years.
Lanark is the world’s oldest inland course and sits proudly within the community of the Royal Burgh of Lanark. Forging friendships and a place of sanctuary for its members for nearly 175 years. The club is very proud of its connection with Glenmuir. Many members have worked at the factory for decades crafting their skills with passion. Glenmuir proudly sponsors the ‘Wee Course’ at Lanark forging a pathway for junior golfers to enjoy the game.
We will end our story for now with some words by John S Bryce, the Club Captain of 1951 – “There are members of the club with so little sense of propriety that they can stand on the third tee listening to the skylarks singing; some even gaze foolishly at the pale blue hills beyond Black Mount. But your true golfer sees only the delightful ridges and the long hollows full of lovely lies and goes about his business with seemly concentration - collecting material for excited stories, told before a restless audience in the clubhouse, of scores that should have been.”