Prestwick golf links, Prestwick · Ayrshire, West Coast
V

The Register · Course V

PrestwickWhere the Open began.

Prestwick · Ayrshire, West Coast

The Course

The first Open Championship was played here in 1860, over twelve holes, for a red morocco belt. Twenty-four Opens followed. The course has been softened by time but never modernised out of itself.

The Cardinal bunker with its railway sleepers, the blind tee shot at the Alps, the Himalayas green hidden behind its ridge — these are the shots the game was built on, and they still ask the same questions.

We arrange play with a member's introduction where it helps, a caddie who knows the lines you cannot see, and lunch in a dining room that has not felt the need to change.

The Gallery

Prestwick, seen closely.

Stone boundary wall and railway-sleepered bunkers on the Old Links at Prestwick
Classic Scottish links turf and revetted bunkering of the kind found at Prestwick
The Ayrshire coast from the air, between Prestwick and Turnberry
A dram of whisky in the Prestwick clubhouse after a round on the Old Links

"Every championship links in the world is a footnote to what happened here in 1860."

Where Prestwick sits

Journeys that include Prestwick.

Every week we build is bespoke, but these sample journeys show how Prestwick is usually placed — the houses kept either side of it, and the pacing around the round.

Sailing journey · Islay, Jura & Arran

The West Coast Clipper

An Ayrshire round before the clipper takes the sea road west.

Read the journey →

6 days · 5 rounds · Fife to Sutherland

The Northern Passage

Begin on the Ayrshire coast, then run the length of the country north.

Read the journey →

Prefer to see the whole register? All sample itineraries.

Before you play

Prestwick — questions we are asked most.

Access, timing and the practicalities of arranging a round at Prestwick. If your question isn't here, the concierge will answer it directly.

Is Prestwick still played as it was in 1860?

The routing has changed since the first Open, but the spirit has not — blind shots, the Cardinal bunker, and a clubhouse that still runs a proper lunch. It is history you play rather than read.

How far ahead should we book Prestwick?

Nine to eighteen months for the summer months, and longer where a specific date matters. The club reserves specific visitor windows, so the date usually leads the itinerary. We hold provisional dates while the rest of the week is built around the round.

Are caddies and clubs arranged for us?

Yes. A senior local caddie is booked per guest as a matter of course, and premium rental sets are placed in the car if you would rather not travel with your own. Clubs can also be shipped ahead and waiting in the pro shop.

Do you handle transfers and accommodation as well as the tee time?

Always. A round is never sold alone — the private car, the house you sleep in, the table booked for dinner and the pacing of the day are arranged together, so the golf sits inside a week rather than beside it.

What happens if the weather closes in?

Scottish links play in most weather, and the round usually goes ahead. Where a course closes, we move the tee time within the week or substitute a comparable links nearby, and any unrecoverable green fee is returned in full.

By invitation & introduction

Request availabilityat Prestwick.

Tee times at Prestwick are secured privately, often a season or more in advance. Share a few details and our Chief Concierge will respond within forty-eight hours with the dates we can hold for you.

Or write · concierge@northofthewallgolf.com