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 GULLANE
is a small village with a population of 1,800, surrounded by five
outstanding links courses including Muirfield one of the most
famous in the world. The buildings in this district give the impression
of recent times, yet Gullane as a village is very old.
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The
ruined church at the roadside, adjacent to the professional's shop,
was dedicated to St Andrew in the 12th century. The last vicar of
'Golyn' Andro Makghe was deposed by James VI for smoking tobacco.
Above:
18th green on Gullane No.1 with the clubhouse in the background
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By Douglas
Seaton, Local Correspondent
Some suggest the name
of the village derives from 'Guallan', Scottish Gaelic for 'shoulder'
perhaps with Gullane Hill in mind. Other documents record the name as
Golyn which means 'a small lake' taken from an adjoining piece of water
which has since been drained.
Gullane was once
the Newmarket of Scotland and many good race-horses were trained here.
It was often described as a pretty sight to see the horses swinging
out from the stabling beside the old smiddy in the Main Street, over
the common and across the hill in a long string to their training ground
near Jovey's Neuk. Among other trainers and jockeys born in the village
was George Dawson, father of Matthew Dawson the greatest trainer of
his day in the real Newmarket.
In 1650, it was
recorded that the hand loom weavers from the nearby villages of Dirleton
and Aberlady met over the links at Gullane for their annual golf match
on Auld Handsel Monday. The neighbouring farmers formed a club in 1859
under the name of the East Lothian Club and from their ranks the Gullane
Golf Club was instituted in 1882, taking over the upkeep of the green
and extending it from 15 to 18 holes.
The oldest club
to play over Gullane Links is Dirleton Castle Golf Club, founded in
1854.
In 1890 Gullane
Golf Club built a clubhouse near the first tee (Old Clubhouse Inn) in
East Links Road. By 1898 a second course was proposed and Willie Park
Jnr. was employed to design and supervise the laying out.
The following year
William Logan was appointed greenkeeper when a second course was opened
on 14th July 1900, taking up seven holes of the Old Luffness course.
In 1908, both were lengthened, and that year Logan with a team of 30
men constructed a third course, opened for play in 1910. The early maintenance
was carried out by horse drawn mowers until the first agricultural tractors
appeared in East Lothian in the 1920s. The practice of grazing sheep
on the links at Gullane continued until 1956.
Although each courses has a number, the holes have fascinating names
such as Thucket Knowe, Murray's Hill, Roundel, Maggie's Loup, Kirklands
and Queen's Head. Gullane No.1 opens with a modest par 4, then the course
meanders up the hill to the 379 yard 2nd (Windygate) and as the name
suggests is often out of reach in two.
Course Record Pro
62: Fredrik Andersson Am 65: Adam Davidson 2002
The 3rd (site of
the racecourse in 1798) is a straight gallop covering 496 yards. The
5th and 6th continue the climb to the summit at the 'Whim' until the
7th which Bernard Darwin, the distinguished writer described as "
One of the best views in golf - atop of Gullane Hill."
The downhill drive to the 7th, like the 17th affords the golfer panoramic
views over the Lammermuir Hills and Firth of Forth. It was here on 19th
July 1795 on a spot called the 'Yellow Mires' that four unfortunate
soldiers of the regiment of Grant's Fencibles were condemned to be shot
for mutinous conduct. Two of them were pardoned and two were shot in
the presence of a large crowd. It was deemed a cruel business at the
time.
From the cliff top,
Gullane Point can be seen known as Jovey's Neuk after Jehovah Gray who
lived in a stone cottage west of the Hummel Rocks. It was on the small
sandy bay that Cadell's barges were beached and loaded with ironstone
hewn from the headland then taken up river to be smelted at the Carron
Iron Works at Falkirk. Gray was Cadell's caretaker and shared his lonely
cottage with a parrot brought back from his days as a sailor serving
in the army overseas. Legend also has it that he supplemented his earnings
from smuggling.
A highlight on the
back-nine is the Par 5, 15th 'Pumphouse' a testing 537 yard dogleg with
a fearsome sloping green. It was to the back of this green that Babe
Zaharias hit an amazing driver and 4 iron on her way to winning the
Ladies' British Amateur Championship in 1947. Gullane No.1 has hosted
both the British Boy's and Youth Championship, Scottish Stroke Play
and British Ladies Open and many other international competitions.
A feature of Gullane
No.2 is the quality of it's short holes, particularly the 11th and has
also hosted the qualifying rounds for the Open Championship. Gullane
No.3 is a hidden gem, it maybe shorter but it matches 18 tough but fair
links holes with some of the best views over Gullane Hill. The holes
vary from the stunning seventh, with an elevated tee giving views across
the bay, to the quirky Par 3, 15th - sharp downhill giving the player
a choice between a high holding 8 iron at the stick or a bump and run
all the way down the slope. A underplayed, undervalued course which
delivers sheer pleasure for beginner and low-handicapper alike.
The present clubhouse
was completed in 1928 to provide facilities for both Gullane Golf Club
(1882) and Gullane Ladies Golf Club. The Ladies Club was formed in 1904
and remains to this day an independent club, one of only four such in
Scotland. The oldest club in continuous existence at Gullane is Dirleton
Castle Golf Club, founded in 1854. A traditional artisan golf club which
does not own a clubhouse but has succeeded in offering golf and fellowship
at a realistic cost to its membership.
Dirleton Castle
took part in the first National Foursomes Tournament which was instigated
by Prestwick Golf Club in 1857. The clubs invited to take part were
Musselburgh, North Berwick, Perth, Carnoustie, Blackheath, St Andrews
and Leven. The tournament took place on 29th July at St Andrews when
Montrose, Bruntsfield, Dirleton Castle and Innerleven were also invited
as were Panmure and the Hon. Company but they scratched.
The Dirleton Castle
team comprised of William Carse from Prestonpans and Robert Bertram
a baker from North Berwick.The following year the inter-club competition
took the form of an individual matchplay tournament. This subsequently
led to the formation of the Amateur Championship in 1885 when 26 clubs,
5 of them from East Lothian, subscribed to the trophy. The Amateur Championship
was originally played for among the blue-blooded fraternity and a closed
shop to artisans. The competition played over a week precluded the local
tradesmen from taking part. This was to change and in 1924, Thomas Dobson
a member of Dirleton Castle won the Amateur Championship.
Jack White
JACK WHITE (1873-1949 ) a Gullane clubmaker, remains the only East Lothian
golfer to have won the Open Championship. Originally a professional
at North Berwick, White spent most of his career in England before joining
the newly opened Sunningdale course in 1902, where he remained for 25
years. White won the Open in 1904 at Sandwich with an aggregate of 296,
the first time the 300 barrier was broken in the event.
Jack White eventually returned to Gullane where he started a club making
business in a two storey building (now demolished) in Goose Green Mews.
One of his apprentices, Hugh Watt became professional at Barnton, before
being appointed to Gullane Golf Club. White opened a successful golf
equipment shop at 2 Rosebery Place and for many years gave evening class
lessons on the art of club making. There are three fine examples of
Jack White's club making skills in the Museum of Golf at St Andrews,
including a jigger c 1904; a mashie-niblick c 1915; and a mid-iron c
1935.
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