Royal Montrose Golf Club Celebrates Bicentenary in 2010

One of golf's most historic clubs celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2010.  Royal Montrose Golf Club itself was founded in 1810 as Montrose Golf Club, and is the 9th oldest club in the world in continuous existence.

Golf has been played in Montrose since 1562, when James Melvill was 'teached to use the glub for goff' by the Reverend William Gray, establishing Montrose as the 5th oldest golf course in the world.

In 1845, with the assistance of future Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, the Club secured the Royal Patronage of Queen Victoria's consort Prince Albert, and was renamed the Montrose Royal  Albert Golf Club.

Montrose has played a key role in the development of golf, as anyone who has played there will know. The Club produced on of the earliest sets of written rules for playing the game in 1830, almost 60 years before a unified set of rules were laid down by the R & A. In 1866 the Club made history by hosting the only 25 Hole Open Tournament ever played - why not come and join them for only the second one ever played when Royal Montrose repeats the event in 2010!

In 1887 Montrosian Alex Findlay emigrated to Nebraska,  and went on to become the 'grandfather of golf in the USA' after creating the first 6-hole golf course. He went on to be affiliated to over 210 clubs worldwide, and was an honorary member of almost every golf club in the USA. Alex Findlay persuaded Royal Albert Club Professional Charles Burgess to emigrate to the USA, where he became the professional at the Woodland Golf Club for over 30 years, and coached celebrity members including Babe Ruth, Al Jolson, and Bing Crosby. Famously, he coached Woodland member Francis Quimet, who was the first amateur to win the US open in 1913. The ex-caddie's victory did more than any other factor to establish golf in the USA, and he became known as the 'father of golf in America'. He went on to become the first American to Captain the R & A in 1951, and his story was famously depicted in the book and film The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Merging with the Montrose Victoria Golf Club in 1986, and also welcoming the North Links Ladies Club  - Montrose Royal Albert became the Royal Montrose Golf Club we have today.

A full and fascinating programme of events has been scheduled for the whole Bicentenary Year - launching on Hogmanay with a Party and Flag-Raising Ceremony, and continuing immediately with a 7-hole competition using hickory shafted clubs with Club members dressed in period costume. Therefater, the programme develops with a Burns Supper, a Bicentenary Ball, an 1810 Commemorative Golf Competition, a 25 hole Open, the Angus Golf Clubs Bicentenary Invitation Foursomes, and a whole week of golf and activities from 30 August - 3 September when guests from around the world will join members to celebrate the Club's Bicentenary.

The Royal Montrose Golf Club website offers a detailed history of its origins, and a full itinerary for the 2010 events. The Bicentenary logo on this page links straight to the Club's Bicentenary newsletter. The Club invites everyone who is interested in golf at Montrose to join them in their celebrations - wherever you may be. Contact them via the website, or at Royal Montrose Golf Club, Traill Drive, Montrose, Angus DD10 8SW, Scotland, Tel: + 44 (0) 1674  672376 or email; secretary@royalmontrosegolf.com