London Scottish Golf Club near the windmill on

Wimbledon Common Wimbledon Common is a large open space in Wimbledon, southwest London. There are three named areas: Wimbledon Common, Putney Heath, and Putney Lower Common, which together are managed under the name Wimbledon and Putney Commons totalling 460 ...

is the third oldest golf club in England. It was founded in 1865 by members of the London Scottish Volunteer Rifles (later the

London Scottish regiment The London Scottish was a reserve infantry regiment then a company of the British Army. In its final incarnation it was A (The London Scottish) Company, the London Regiment until, on 1 April 2022, soldiers in the company transferred to foot ...

), who were stationed on the common. Some of the holes were laid out roughly along the lines of rifle ranges. There is evidence to suggest that golf was played on the course for at least two years before the club's formal foundation, which would make London Scottish the longest continually played upon golf course in England. Originally consisting of seven holes, it was redesigned as an 18-hole course by the club professional Tom Dunn in 1871, thereby becoming only the fifth golf course in the world – and the first in England – to have 18 holes. The redesign came in the same year that the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act took the common away from the ownership of the 5th Earl Spencer and into public hands. The land over which the course was laid out is heath and woodland. The London Scottish course hosted the first ever Oxford v Cambridge University golf match in 1878, and the annual fixture was played there for almost two decades until 1896, after which it moved to Royal St Georges in Sandwich. In 1881 a split within the club between military and civilian members, including

Laidlaw Purves William Laidlaw Purves MRCS, LRCP (16 April 1842 – 30 December 1917) was a Scottish-born surgeon who worked in London as an aural and ophthalmic surgeon. He contributed specialist articles to the medical literature but is mainly remembered for ...

, led to the creation by the civilians of what is now

Royal Wimbledon Golf Club Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

. The two clubs shared the course until 1907, when Royal Wimbledon members built their own new course just off the common. The following year Wimbledon Common Golf Club was founded, and began to share the old course on the common with London Scottish. That arrangement has continued to the present day. Although the clubs are entirely separate, with their own clubhouses and different starting points, they work together and jointly employ the course green-keeping staff. Notable members of London Scottish Golf Club have included

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...

, British prime minister from 1902 to 1905, and

Willie Dunn Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

, the first unofficial champion of America in 1894 and runner-up in the first US Open of 1895. George Duncan, Open Champion at Deal in 1920 and victorious captain of the 1929 British

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team, was also a member. In 2015, the club's 150th anniversary year,

Colin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 23 June 1963) is a Scotland, Scottish professional golfer. He has won a record eight European Tour PGA European Tour#Order of Merit winners, Order of Merit titles, including a stre ...

was captain. The club has had a strong tradition of professionals who have been renowned golf club makers, including John Butchart, Hugh Logan, David Wilson, Spen Attwood and, in the more modern era, Matthew Barr. The former European Tour pro Steve Barr, Matthew's brother, was professional at the club from 1992 to late 2021, and Matthew returned to the club on Steve's retirement. Unusually, due to local byelaws, all golfers playing on the London Scottish course must wear a pillar box red upper garment. Because of its age and its positioning on a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, the course is one of the few in the world to have no sand bunkers. Its wood-panelled clubhouse, which was built in 1897 and is a listed building, is a rare remaining example of a purpose-built Victorian golf pavilion. The fictional

Wombles ''The Wombles'' are fictional pointy-nosed, furry creatures created by Elisabeth Beresford and originally appearing in a series of children's novels from 1968. They live in burrows, where they aim to help the environment by collecting and recycl ...

of Wimbledon Common, created by the British children's author

Elisabeth Beresford Elisabeth Beresford, MBE (; 6 August 1926 – 24 December 2010), also known as Liza Beresford, was an English author of children's books, best known for creating The Wombles. Born into a literary family, she took work as a journalist, but strug ...

, often played golf on the London Scottish course. In ''The Wombles to the Rescue'' (first published in 1974) Tomsk, the most accomplished of the golfing Wombles, is reported to have once played the course in level par.Beresford E. (2011). ''The Wombles to the Rescue''. Bloomsbury. London. p74

References

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External links

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Golf clubs and courses in London Sports clubs established in 1865 Scottish diaspora in Europe