Muirfield - New information for those into GCA. Muirfield Golf Course – that is the original one designed by Old Tom Morris in the latter months of 1890 was a 16 Holes course – many questioned why – but for some reason many could not understand why – perhaps it just shows how far we have moved from a designer confident in both mind and detail from undertaking a full site survey. Through that survey and with the knowledge gain a single individual came to the conclusion that the land and (lets never forget this) its condition was at that time more suitable for 16 Hole than a full 18 Hole. So Muirfield was designed subject to site conditions for 16 Holes, this design survived for the best part of 4-5 months when it seems it was decided that 18 was the final target. As with most quality designers the plan allowed for the additional Holes, but it was not the designers preferred layout. Some may remember certain unkind comments in 1891/2 about the course – one in particular from Andrew Kirkaldy mentioned it was - I quote “nothing but damned water meadow” – just perhaps he was referring to the land than was used to expand the course from 16 to 18 Holes around what became the 17th Hole. I have a copy of the original 16 Hole Course and am happy to pass on the information to those who find golf and golf course architecture of interest – I also attach the Muirfield official map by Hall Blyth which was not completed until December 1891 6 months after the course opened. I have, over time studied the two maps and have come to the conclusion that about 85-90% of the routing remained as the original design of 1890 and its subsequence drawing from Feb. 1891 of the 16 Holes. Let me elaborate a little and try to give you a heads up on the changes. First the 16 Hole Course measured 4,919 yards long compared to the 18 Hole course show on Hall Blyths’s December drawing which was 5,208 yards - an extra 289 yards for two additional Hole - seems to display a great degree of thought went into the design if the addition of two Holes can be accommodated with just the addition of 289 yds. So to the details 16 Hole Course -------- ready for adaption to a full------18 Hole Course 1st Hole-------372 yds--------------------------------------- 1st Hole----201 yds 2ndHole-------318 yds--------------------------------------- 2ndHole----370 yds 3rd Hole-------362 yds--------------------------------------- 3rd Hole----315 yds 4th Hole-------298 yds------Routing change------------ 4th Hole----324 yds 5th Hole-------338 yds--------------------------------------- 5th Hole----250 yds 6th Hole-------511 yds--------------------------------------- 6th Hole----291 yds 7th Hole-------254 yds------Routing change------------ 7th Hole----312 yds 8th Hole-------311 yds--------------------------------------- 8th Hole----475 yds 9th Hole-------322 yds--------------------------------------- 9th Hole----256 yds 10thHole-------331 yds-------------------------------------- 10thHole---311 yds 11thHole-------234 yds-------------------------------------- 11thHole---324 yds 12thHole-------293 yds-------------------------------------- 12thHole---333 yds 13thHole-------179 yds-------------------------------------- 13thHole---230 yds 14thHole-------219 yds-------------------------------------- 14thHole---291 yds 15thHole-------377 yds-------------------------------------- 15thHole---175 yds 16thHole-------200 yds-------------------------------------- 16thHole---214 yds -------------------- -------New Hole - Routing change-- 17thHole---165 yds -------------------------------------------------------------------- 18thHole---366 yds ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Holes------ 4919 yds-------------------------------------18 Holes---5203 yds I hope this explains much that was outstanding regards Muirfield and to the reason why 16 Holes were the original recommendation of the Golf Course Designer at that time, nevertheless to extend the course to 18 Holes would in fact not be a major problem. The Final decision to build a full 18 Holes came well after the production and publication of the February 1891 16 Hole drawing. Golf Course Architectural History at perhaps the cutting edge – as I keep saying the golfing history mainly relating to GCA is so rich and much more information is just waiting to be uncovered, thus further improving our knowledge. Which I hope one day soon will encourage architects/designers to finally realise the depth of quality that was Golf Course Architecture in the 19thCentury – The true Golden Age of Golf and Golf Course Architecture and Design.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 18:41:13 +0000
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