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Prestwick
Year Established
1851
Designed by
Tom Morris
Location
West Coast
Address
2-4 Links Rd, Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland KA9 1QH
About Prestwick
Prestwick makes for a truly inspiring round of golf. The magnificent course was founded in 1851, and today's golfers can still play six of the original holes. Tom Morris was the first Keeper of the Green, Ball and Club Maker, and laid out the original 12 hole course on which the first ever Open was played. A classic links course, Prestwick features a railway track along the eastern side of the course and dramatic sand dunes right in the centre at Pow Hill, The Queens Jack, and Cearcevlock Hill. The River Pow, also called the Pow Burn, flows through the club and makes for a marvellous natural obstacle. Ernie Els lavished praise on the course when he declared it “one of the best golf experiences in the world.”
A Brief History
- In 1851, a group of 57 members bought two cottages opposite the tavern, determined to build a golf club
- The first cottage became the members’ clubhouse, the other was gifted to Old Tom Morris
- Old Tom was the club's first Keeper of the Green, ball and club maker, and laid out the original 12-hole links course
- Old Tom went back to St Andrews in 1864, and the sale of his Prestwick cottage part-funded the present clubhouse
- The 24th and final Open Championship at Prestwick took place in 1925
Featured hole – Hole 17
Every time you play the 17th hole, you're coming up against history itself. This is the original 2nd hole, dating right back to 1851. You'll need a nice, accurate tee shot to handle the narrow fairway and land you on the green in two. And because your second shot is blind, you have to play every bit of the yardage. Fall too short and you'll end up playing from the infamously tricky Sahara bunker.
Known For: The Cardinal
Prestwick is famous for awesome blind shots at the short fifth and on approach to the 17th hole. But the most famous hole is the third, a devilish par 5 dogleg right measuring a full 500 yards. The fairway screeches to a halt 300 yards from the tee, where the land falls away in front of you into an enormous 50 yard diameter bunker buttressed with railway sleepers, also known as “The Cardinal”. If that doesn’t sound difficult enough, you have to contend with sand dunes, the Pow Burn flowing down the right hand side of the course and the sea marking the westernmost boundary.
