PRESTWICK GOLF COURSE
DG SCOTLAND 2024 Editor, Kevin Markham
It is The Birthplace of the Open. It also happens to promise one of the most captivating rounds of golf you will ever play. It may be considered too short to accommodate the demands of today’s Open Championship, but that just makes it all the more playable
for golfers everywhere… especially with its eclectic qualities which have stood the test of time and make Prestwick a ‘must play’ links. Here golfers will encounter vast swathes of bunkering, some with railway sleepered sides and steps to reach the bottom.
There are blind shots which defy belief – the par three 5th is called Himalayas and the approach to the 17th is glorious fun, especially with the beach of a bunker short of the green. The all too small greens boast wicked slopes, both on the surfaces and
around them… so only a magical touch will do and you will be fooled time and again. All in all, Prestwick’s landscape of crumpled dunes is home to an intriguing variety of holes and you must always be on your guard. Little has changed on the course in over a century… revel in that experience, before spending an hour in the clubhouse: there is so much history here.
Did You Know?
In 2022, to celebrate the 150th Open Championship,
Prestwick recreated the 12-hole course that hosted the
very first Open, in 1860. It was in play for two weeks.
