Perth
Size: A5 with 1 inch border.
The origins of golf in Perth are obscure, as they are for the rest of Scotland, but it is likely they date to the fifteenth century. National bans on golf and football, designed to promote the practise of archery, were made in 1458, 1471 and 1491.
Size: A5 with 1 inch border.
The origins of golf in Perth are obscure, as they are for the rest of Scotland, but it is likely they date to the fifteenth century. National bans on golf and football, designed to promote the practise of archery, were made in 1458, 1471 and 1491.
Size: A5 with 1 inch border.
The origins of golf in Perth are obscure, as they are for the rest of Scotland, but it is likely they date to the fifteenth century. National bans on golf and football, designed to promote the practise of archery, were made in 1458, 1471 and 1491.
In 1502, the first recorded purchase of golf equipment, a set of golf clubs costing thirteen shillings, was bought by King James IV from a bow-maker in Perth.
The club takes its name from the tradition that King James VI had learned to play golf as a youth on the "Inches" - large public parklands along the River Tay provided for common use.
Golf was played on both Inches to begin with, but players began to favour the North Inch, and by about 1850 no-one played golf on the South Inch. The North Inch course later became a municipal public course and continues to operate under the local council.
The King James VI Golf Club was established in 1858. In 1860, what is believed to be the first inter-club golf match ever played took place when "King Jimmy" took on the Elie and Earlsferry Golf Club, which had also been founded in 1858.
In 1884 a team from King James VI took part in the first inter-club golf match played in Ireland, against the Royal Belfast Club.
King James members later set up some holes on a barren stretch of coastline near the village of Portrush, and were the first to play on what is now a world-famous links course.
King James VI shared the 10-hole North Inch course with various other local golf clubs until 1897, when it migrated to its current setting on Moncreiffe Island.
The new course was laid out by the famous St Andrews professional, 'Old' Tom Morris (1821-1908), a four-time winner of the British Open in the 1860s and prolific course designer.
He was noted for incorporating natural features such as walls, burns and heather into his designs, and players of his new Island course had to contend with many mounds and banks as well as some trees and bunkers.