Duncur Road, Muirfield
Gullane, East Lothian,
Scotland, EH31 2EG.
Tel: +44 1620 842123
Fax: +44 1620 842977
Website: www.muirfield.org.uk
Email: hceg@muirfield.org.uk
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Tee Yardage Rating Slope Par
Open 7,245 - - 71
Back 6,728 - - 70Forward 5,980 - - 76 |
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Golf
was first played at Muirfield in 1891 on 18 holes laid out by Old Tom
Morris. Restricted by stone walls that completely surrounded the course,
the original layout occupied 117 acres.
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Golf
was first played at Muirfield in 1891 on 16 holes laid out by Old Tom
Morris which was extended to 18 holes for the Open the following year.
Restricted by stone walls that completely surrounded the course, the
original layout occupied 117 acres. The turf was good in places but
there were areas of sandy wasteland and some of the lower points were
waterlogged. Over a period of thirty years, the land was drained and the
sandy areas were seeded and cultivated.
Muirfield
hosted the first Open Championship to be played over 72 holes in 1892
and then again in 1896. After each event, the course received some
criticism and improvements were made. It was evident that the
surrounding walls had limited the design and the first significant
alteration was made with the purchase in 1907 of an additional 13 acres.
The
Honourable Company was fortunate to have many leading amateur players
amongst its membership, which provided the Club with a useful source of
knowledge when course improvements were discussed. One such Member,
Robert Maxwell who was an outstanding player, made a valuable
contribution in the years leading up to the First World War.
In
1923, a further 50 acres were secured to the north of the course.
Renowned course designer Harry Colt was consulted and his
recommendations effectively produced the layout as it is today. He
introduced 14 new holes and his design included two loops of nine holes,
one played within the other in the opposite direction. After this the
Muirfield course stood shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.
Apart
from Tom Simpson's re-modelling of the 13th hole in 1935, the only
notable changes since then have been the provision of new tees to combat
improvements in equipment. Significantly and importantly Colt's
challenge has been preserved.
At
the time of writing, a comprehensive review has just been carried out
by golf architect Martin Hawtree, and a number of recommendations,
mainly with regard to bunkering, are presently being implemented.
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Since 1892 Muirfield has hosted 42 national and international competitions, averaging about one every three years.
Seven
of 13 Open Champions won their first 'major' over the course but only
James Braid and Sir Nick Faldo have won twice at Muirfield. Of those
golfers who have won four or more Opens, only Harry Vardon and Tom
Watson triumphed at Muirfield where Watson also won his third Senior
Open in 2007. Neither Sir Michael Bonallack (four times Amateur
Champion) nor Ronnie Shade (five times Scottish Amateur Champion) ever
triumphed at this East Lothian Championship test. Winning at Muirfield
required a certain flamboyance as exhibited by Walter "who's gonna be
second?" - Hagen or by Amateur champion Cyril Tolley who paid his caddie
the sum agreed for winning before stepping up to hole the winning
birdie putt on the 37th green against Robert A Gardner in 1920. Then
there was wise-cracking Lee Trevino whoever-so-casually chipped in from
behind the 71st green to save an unlikely par and go on to beat Tony
Jacklin in the 1972 Open.
There
has been just reward for careful thought and course management by other
winners at Muirfield. In 1966 when Jack Nicklaus won The Open he drove
throughout with his 1-iron in order to avoid the punishing rough. In
1987 Faldo played each hole of the final round in strict par to win and
Hagen and Dutchman Rolf Muntz hit across the practice ground to shorten
the dog-leg eighth hole. Only Braid and South Africa's Gary Player won
the Open by shooting progressively lower scores in each of their four
rounds. Emotion and tears took over when a 6 at the 72nd hole convinced
Player that he had lost the1959 Open - of course he had not - and there
were tears, of relief from Faldo when he staged a dramatic rally over
the last few holes to edge out American John Cook in 1992.
Ladies
have graced Muirfield in team matches for the 1952 and 1984 Curtis Cup,
the 1963 and 1975 Vagliano Trophy and, back in 1914, the Scottish Close
Championship. The Club has also twice hosted the annual Oxford versus
Cambridge match, the only occasions on which this fixture has been held
outside England.
In
the final of the 1920 Amateur Championship at Muirfield, the
sportsmanship and quality of play between Cyril Tolley and Gardner so
impressed the watching USGA President, George Herbert Walker that he
conceived the Walker Cup contest between the top amateurs in America and
Great Britain and Ireland.
Indeed
the 1959 Walker Cup match introduced Jack Nicklaus to Muirfield. He
developed such a life-long love and admiration for the course that he
named his own course in Ohio, Muirfield Village. Nicklaus and former
Masters' champion Tommy Aaron are the only two to have played at the
course in both the Walker Cup in 1959 and the Ryder Cup in 1973.
After
a four-man play-off and subsequently sudden death against Frenchman
Thomas Levet, South African Ernie Els triumphed in the Open Championship
in 2002. It is not surprising then that Muirfield remains the favourite
course not just of Nicklaus but also of countless other international
golfers around the world.
More recently, in June 2010, the Amateur Championship was won by Jin Jeong of South Korea who became the first winner of this prestigous event from Asia in beating James Byrne from Banchory. Open Championship
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