A Day at Muirfield

A day at The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers Muirfield.

In 1744, Edinburgh Town Council agreed to present a Silver Club to the winner of an annual golf competition on the Links of Leith.  The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, codified and wrote the original Rules of golf as a pre-condition of receiving the Club.

Thus, the first formally constituted tournament took place on 2nd April 1744 and John Rattray, an Edinburgh surgeon, was the Victor.  Rattray became “Captain of The Golf” and attached a silver ball to the Silver Club, inscribed with his name.  Our predecessors authored the original Rules; they conceived the first formal competition; they established the role of Captain; and the Silver Club stands alone as the oldest trophy in the world of golf.

Leith was the physical and spiritual home of The Honourable Company for almost a century. …