History
| The Prestwick St. Nicholas club
was formed on the 3rd November 1851, with 28 founder members,
including the man who later was to become known as the ‘Grand
Old Man of Golf’, greenkeeper, club and ball maker, Tom Morris.
The club shared the original twelve hole links with Prestwick Golf Club, located at the northern end of Prestwick beach. During this period the Open Championship was born and played for the first time in 1860 over the Prestwick course.
With a steady increase in membership a new clubhouse, fronting the seashore, designed to accommodate 500, was opened on 24th December 1892.
A professional competition was arranged in June 1898, won by Harry Vardon against other famous participants like James Braid, Willie Fernie and Ben Sayers.
Henry Cotton played the course in the 1930’s, who remarked ‘I would not be far wrong if I described the Course as a miniature championship course’. Indeed the course continued to be used as a qualifying venue for the Open Championship until recent times. |
In
1877 the St Nicholas club moved to a new course to the south-east
of the town. This course later became the ladies course of the
club in 1893. Unable to expand, the club moved to a new links,
opened in May 1892, situated on the shore between Prestwick
and Newton- on- Ayr, which has remained the home of the club
to this day.