Golf’s Original Fairways tells the stories and characters of Leith Links, Bruntsfield Links and Musselburgh Old Course, the overlooked Scottish courses that helped shape the modern game. Challenging the traditional St Andrews-centred narrative, it reveals how golf’s earliest competitions, innovations and communities developed on these historic fairways.

For more than a century, the story of golf’s origins has largely been told through St Andrews. Yet before the game’s rise to global prominence, the fairways of Leith Links, Bruntsfield Links and Musselburgh Old Course were at the heart of its development and played a pivotal role in shaping the modern game.

Golf’s Original Fairways uncovers the remarkable stories, characters, matches and innovations that emerged from these historic courses between 1744 and the end of the nineteenth century. From John Rattray and the Silver Club competition to the emergence of golf clubs, clubhouses, caddies, the gutta-percha ball and the Open Championship, it brings to life the people and events that helped define the sport.

Combining engaging storytelling with meticulous historical research, Golf’s Original Fairways restores these overlooked courses to their rightful place in golf history, challenging conventional narratives and revealing how Scotland’s earliest fairways helped create the game the world knows today.

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