Muirfield

Scotland · Muirfield, East Lothian, Gullane

Major honours

16 timesThe Open hosted
1744First written rules
2022AIG Women's Open hosted
1973Ryder Cup hosted

Muirfield is owned by The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which drafted the first 13 written rules in Leith in 1744 and ranks as the oldest golf club still in existence. The club moved through Leith and Musselburgh before settling on its present Gullane site in 1891; Old Tom Morris laid out the course and Harry Colt refined it in the 1920s into today's form. Par 71 at roughly 7,250 yards, it uses a double-loop layout — the outward nine clockwise, the inward nine counter-clockwise — so wind hits every hole from a different angle. With almost no hidden trouble and every hazard visible from the tee, professionals rank it the fairest links test. It has hosted The Open 16 times; after voting to admit women in 2017, it staged the AIG Women's Open in 2022, won by Ashleigh Buhai.

Record comparison

Men's majors hosted
16 times
Years since founding
281 years
Championship yardage
~7,250 yards
Courses owned
1

Bars are scaled to the strongest team in this list.

Club legends

Harry VardonJack NicklausTom WatsonNick FaldoPhil Mickelson

Rivalry

Its relationship with St Andrews is rivalry and division of labour: St Andrews stands for history and public reach, Muirfield for pure fairness of test — which is why Nicklaus named a course he designed Muirfield Village after winning his first Open here.

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