Prestwick Golf Club was founded in 1851 and in 1860 hosted the first ever British Open Championship.
Tom Morris Snr, the four times Open Champion was the first Keeper of the Green, Ball and Club Maker at the new club.

The golf course dips and winds amongst the sand dunes of the Ayrshire coast.
The first hole presents a particularly challenging start, while the 17th is probably the course signature hole.
Unchanged since the 1850s it has a blind second shot over a high ridge with the infamous 'Sahara' bunker waiting just in front of the green.

The origins of Prestwick Golf Club can be traced to the Red Lion Inn, which still stands at Prestwick Cross. Attended by a number of local gentlemen, this meeting marked the foundation of the club.

Forever remembered as the birthplace of the Open Championship, Prestwick and has hosted 24 Opens in all, the last one being 1926, after which the crowds were deemed too large. The original 12-hole layout played host to the first Open Championship in 1860 (won by Willie Park) for which the prize was a red Morocco leather belt with silver clasps costing the sum of £25. Over the next 12 years at Prestwick, the belt had been won 4 times by Old Tom Morris and 3 times in succession by Young Tom Morris, who subsequently became owner of the prized belt.

Expanded to 18 holes in 1883 with seven original greens remaining to this day, Prestwick has not changed much over the years. It's often controversial blind shots and misleadingly initial unkempt appearance bear witness to the members' aspirations that the course remain true to its origins.

Protected by the meandering waters of "Pow Burn", Prestwick boasts a unique array of holes with significant amounts of heather and gorse, which when combined with some typically hellish Scottish bunkers can often ruin an otherwise respectable score. Prestwick's fairways are for the most part narrow and its generally small and undulating greens, given certain pin placements, can make for some interesting approach shots. While Prestwick can be forgiving on calm days, when the wind rolls in from the Firth of Clyde, the golfer would be well advised to lower their aspirations to a low score.

Probably the best known hole at Prestwick is the par 5 third hole, which incorporates the infamous "Cardinal Bunker" — a vast expanse of sand divided by fairway and faced by railway sleepers or ties. However, whatever your woes at the end of the day — whether Pow Burn, Cardinal, Willie Campbell's Grave or the undulating greens, you are advised to try the best known local cure — "a brim-full schooner of Kummel"!

DESIGNER: Old Tom Morris
CHAMPIONSHIP LENGTH: 6,544 yards
PAR: 71
TYPE: Links