Prestwick Golf Club is located in the town of Prestwick

Prestwick

Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...

, South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire

South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is approximately 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Prestwick is a classic links

Links (golf)

A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect...

 golf course, being built on the rolling sandy land that "links" the beach and the land further inland. The course is located near the Prestwick airport and some holes run along railway tracks on the eastern side of the course.

History

Golf had been played over the links at Prestwick for many years before the Club was formally organized in 1851. Old Tom Morris was the club's "Keeper of the Green, Ball and Club Maker" from 1851 to 1864. He designed and built the original 12-hole course. Morris, originally from St Andrews

St Andrews

St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....

, returned there to take a leadership position in 1865, but extended the Prestwick course to 18 holes in the 1880s, when the club acquired more land.

Originates The Open Championship

Prestwick is famous as the initial originator and sponsor of The Open Golf Championship, the oldest of golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

's four major championships

Men's major golf championships

The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...

. Discussion of The Open's future concept began soon after the 1859 death of Allan Robertson

Allan Robertson

Allan Robertson was a golf player, considered one of the first professional golfers. He was born in St Andrews, Scotland, the "home of golf"....

, longtime professional at St Andrews

St Andrews

St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....

, who had been considered supreme for some 20 years until his death; the concept of the Open was to find the new 'champion golfer'. The first Open was held in October 1860, with three trips in one day over the course's 12 holes to make for 36 holes; the field consisted of eight leading professionals. The winner was presented with a red Morocco Belt with silver clasps purchased by the members at a cost of £25. The club annually staged all the Opens up to 1870, as well as the 1872 Open; cash prizes were also awarded to leading finishers. Young Tom Morris, son of Old Tom, learned his golf from boyhood at Prestwick, and captured four consecutive Opens held there from 1868-1872 (there was no Open in 1871). By winning the Belt three straight times, Young Tom was entitled under the conditions of the competition to keep it, so there was no prize to play for in 1871, and hence no Open.

Prestwick remained in the Open's rotation until 1925, hosting the championship 24 times in all, which is second only to the Old Course. In 1925 crowd control became very problematic, as thousands of people overwhelmed the marshals, which were far too few in number to control them, and this situation disrupted the play of the championship, affecting the outcome, since many players' shots hit spectators and were deflected. Bernard Darwin

Bernard Darwin

Bernard Richard Meirion Darwin CBE JP a grandson of the British naturalist Charles Darwin, was a golf writer and high-standard amateur golfer. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.-Biography:...

, the era's leading golf writer, reported from the scene that he doubted the Open should be held ever again at Prestwick, and such has proved the case. The course's cramped layout does make hosting of events with large galleries highly problematic, although the course's challenge remains intact to test the modern generation of players. Prestwick has also staged the Amateur Championship on eleven occasions, most recently in 2001.

Natural features

The River Pow, or the Pow Burn, flows through the golf club's property, and the river is a natural obstacle, there are fish and other species of rare nature in the river, so nature watchers are welcome there.

There are several sand dunes in the centre of the course. The tallest of the three is Pow Hill, the next tallest is The Queens Jack, and the third tallest is Cearcevlock Hill. Blind shots from the tee at the short fifth and on the approach to the par-4 17th add considerably to the mystery and charm of the course. The most famous hole is the third, a par 5, dogleg right, of 500 yards, where the fairway simply ends about 300 yards from the tee, as the land descends into a vast, deep bunker, nicknamed the 'Cardinal', about 50 yards across, which is buttressed by railway ties. Many championship hopes have died in this bunker. The Pow Burn flanks the hole down its entire right side. The Irish Sea

Irish Sea

The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

 / Firth of Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

 forms the western boundary of the course, flanked by sand dunes. The Royal Troon Golf Club

Royal Troon Golf Club

Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course located in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The club was founded in 1878, initially with five holes. Its Old Course is now one of the host courses for The Open Championship, one of the major championships on the PGA Tour and European Tour...

 sits immediately to the north of Prestwick's course.

Unlike some of Scotland's other leading courses, Prestwick is a private members' club, but visitors may book to play the course on most days of the week.

The Open Championship

This is the list of The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

 champions at Prestwick Golf Club.

Year	| Winner	| Score
		R1	R2	R3	Total
1860	Willie Park, Sr. 1st	55	59	60	174
1861	Tom Morris, Sr. Tom Morris, Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris, Sr. , otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, was a pioneer of professional golf. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links and died there as well. His son was Tom Morris, Jr...  1st	54	56	53	163
1862	Tom Morris, Sr. Tom Morris, Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris, Sr. , otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, was a pioneer of professional golf. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links and died there as well. His son was Tom Morris, Jr...  2nd	52	55	56	163
1863	Willie Park, Sr. 2nd	56	54	58	168
1864	Tom Morris, Sr. Tom Morris, Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris, Sr. , otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, was a pioneer of professional golf. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links and died there as well. His son was Tom Morris, Jr...  3rd	54	58	55	167
1865	Andrew Strath Andrew Strath Andrew Strath was a professional golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Scotland, which is known as the "Home of Golf".Like most professionals of his era Strath did not make his living from tournaments. He began his working life as an apprentice to a clubmaker and sometimes partnered Old Tom Morris in...  1st	55	54	53	162
1866	Willie Park, Sr. 3rd	54	56	59	169
1867	Tom Morris, Sr. Tom Morris, Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris, Sr. , otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, was a pioneer of professional golf. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links and died there as well. His son was Tom Morris, Jr...  4th	58	54	58	170
1868	Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. , known as "Young Tom Morris", was one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history...  1st	51	54	49	154
1869	Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. , known as "Young Tom Morris", was one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history...  2nd	50	55	52	157
1870	Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. , known as "Young Tom Morris", was one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history...  3rd	47	51	51	149
1872	Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. Tom Morris, Jr. , known as "Young Tom Morris", was one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history...  4th	57	56	53	163
1875	Willie Park, Sr. 4th	56	59	51	166
1878	Jamie Anderson Jamie Anderson (golfer) James "Jamie" Anderson was a nineteenth century professional golfer, who won The Open Championship three times.Anderson was born in St Andrews, Scotland. His Open Championships were at Musselburgh in 1877; Prestwick Golf Club in 1878; and St Andrews in 1879...  2nd	53	53	51	157
1881	Bob Ferguson Bob Ferguson (golfer) Robert Ferguson , was a Scottish golfer who won a hat-trick of titles at The Open Championship in 1880, 1881 and 1882. He was especially noted for his putting. He is one of only four men who have won The Open three years in a row...  2nd	53	60	57	170

Year	| Winner	| Score
		R1	R2	Total
1884	Jack Simpson Jack Simpson Jack Simpson was a Scottish golfer.Simpson was born Earlsferry, Fife, and was one of six golfing brothers. He played his golf out of Carnoustie. He was a powerful but erratic player. He won the 1884 Open Championship at Prestwick with a score of 160 for 36 holes, despite taking a nine at his...  1st	78	82	160
1887	Willie Park, Jr. 1st	82	79	161
1890	John Ball (a) John Ball (golfer) John Ball, Jr. was a prominent English amateur golfer of the late 19th and early 20th century.Ball was born in Hoylake, Merseyside. His father was the prosperous owner of the Royal Hotel, located near the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, in Hoylake...  1st	82	82	164

Year	| Winner	| Score
		R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1893	Willie Auchterlonie 1st	78	81	81	82	322
1898	Harry Vardon Harry Vardon Harry Vardon was a Jersey professional golfer and member of the fabled Great Triumvirate of the sport in his day, along with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. He won The Open Championship a record six times and also won the U.S. Open.-Biography:Vardon was born in Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands...  2nd	79	75	77	76	307
1903	Harry Vardon Harry Vardon Harry Vardon was a Jersey professional golfer and member of the fabled Great Triumvirate of the sport in his day, along with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. He won The Open Championship a record six times and also won the U.S. Open.-Biography:Vardon was born in Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands...  4th	73	77	72	78	300
1908	James Braid James Braid (golfer) James Braid was a Scottish professional golfer and a member of the Great Triumvirate of the sport alongside Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor. He won The Open Championship five times...  4th	70	72	77	72	291
1914	Harry Vardon Harry Vardon Harry Vardon was a Jersey professional golfer and member of the fabled Great Triumvirate of the sport in his day, along with John Henry Taylor and James Braid. He won The Open Championship a record six times and also won the U.S. Open.-Biography:Vardon was born in Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands...  6th	73	77	78	78	306
1925	Jim Barnes 1st	70	77	79	74	300

(a) denotes amateur