CONTRIBUTION to THE GAME

1868 – The inaugural membership advises the local clubs and golfers that Dalhousie would take charge of the maintenance of the links. The first clubhouse is also built – at a cost of £600.

1872 – Old Tom Morris is invited to inspect the course and agrees to convert it from 10 holes to the first 18-hole course in the town.

1883 – Dalhousie Council appoints Robert Simpson, from Earlsferry, as clubmaker and greens superintendent. Robert was accompanied to Carnoustie by two of his brothers, Archie and Jack, and the three were soon making the name of the town stand out in competitive golf.

1886 – Dalhousie gets together with another 25 clubs from across the UK and founds the British Amateur Championship, which is still going strong today.

1926 – James Wright, the then captain of the Dalhousie Club, persuades the local golfing community that James Braid should be invited to examine and advise on the upgrading of the Championship Course – a vital point in Carnoustie’s development as one of the greatest courses in the world.

1930 – Following criticism by competitors at the Scottish Amateur Championship that the finish was “too easy”, Wright himself proposes further changes, which made Carnoustie’s four closing holes among the toughest and most respected anywhere. It was timed to perfection, as the first Carnoustie Open Championship took place in 1931 – and was won by Edinburghborn US citizen Tommy Armour.