I guess I will surprise no one if I confessed that Iain’s latest post about the “First Day of Golf…” got me running to my stamp albums to see if I could find some stamps featuring Scottish golf courses.
You can imagine the smile on my face when I stumbled upon a Great Britain First Day Cover commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the world’s oldest known golf club – the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.
Scottish Golf Courses – First Day Cover – Issued by Great Britain (1994)
.The Scottish Golf Courses featured on the set of five stamps are: – The Old Course at St. Andrews“I fell in love with it the first day I played it. There’s just no other golf course that is even remotely close.” Jack Nicklaus
“Without a doubt I like it the best of all the Open venues. It’s my favourite course in the world.” Tiger Woods
The Old Course is the Home of Golf where golf was first played 600 years ago. It remains a real test of golf for today’s champions. The fabled original links course is synonymous with The Open Championship which it has hosted more times than any other venue and will host for a 28th time in 2010. Despite its reputation and status, it is a public course and is one of seven public courses at St Andrews Links. (Source)
– Murfield’s 18th Hole:
One of the great finishing holes in golf. Two bunkers cut into the fairway on the left side as the fairway reaches it’s narrowest point, but any tee shot hit too safely to the right is threatened by more sand on that side. (Source) – Carnoustie’s 15th hole “Lucky Slap” “Lucky Slap”, the 15th hole, is a 460-yard par four, where the fairway slopes from left to right into the path of two waiting bunkers and the approach shot must avoid a cluster of three bunkers sited to the right of the green. Hardest par three in golf; downwind it is difficult, into an easterly wind it is practically impossible” (Source) – Royal Troon’s 8th hole It is known as the “Postage Stamp” hole because it is the shortest hole (123 yards) and the most slippery, like the gum of a stamp 😉 “A pitching surface skimmed down to the size of a postage stamp” was how Willie Park Jr, Open winner in 1887 and 1889, described Royal Troon’s eighth hole, then called Ailsa. Since then, the philatelic moniker has struck fear into the hearts of visitors to the course and is one of the three most famous par three holes in the world, alongside Augusta’s 12th and the 17th at Sawgrass. (Source) – Turnberry’s Ailsa 9th hole.“The ninth hole (known as Bruce’s Castle) is Turnberry’s signature hole, it is one of the most photographed holes in world golf. The remote tee is set on a high rocky outcrop jutting out over the sea. From the tee you drive across the corner of the bay on to a narrow fairway when the wind is gusting you will need to be at your very best to find the fairway. ” (Source)
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