Sports

Alexander Peddie (Number 14) was a member of The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh. Although golf has been played on the Bruntsfield Links from as early as the 1700s, it was not until 1735 that The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh was founded, so giving it a claim to be the oldest golfing society in the world. It was formed by the merchants, writers, bankers and other worthies of the time, who played their golf on Bruntsfield Links and drank their ale in the Golf Tavern. Sometime around the 1760s there was a schism over the Jacobite vs Hanoverian sentiments in the club, and one group left to form the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society.

It was another early Edinburgh golf club, the Gentlemen Golfers of Edinburgh, that drew up the first known Rules of Golf in 1744 for the first ever ‘open golf’ competition played over Leith Links. The trophy – a golf club with silver balls attached - was won by John Rattray, a physician, who was thus declared 'Captain of the Golf'. This portrait of William Inglis, the father of Dr Andrew Inglis (Number 25) shows him and his caddy on Leith Links, and behind them the trophy being paraded. William Inglis, c 1712 - 1792. Surgeon and Captain of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers by david Allan - collection national galleries of Scotland) As it was not until later that purpose-built clubhouses evolved, the golf clubs met in local inns. The Gentlemen Golfers usually met in a tavern called Luckie Clephan's near the foot of Leith Walk [now demolished] while the Burgess met at the Golf Hotel [now Ye Olde Golf Tavern] in Bruntsfield, which can claim to be the oldest surviving golf clubhouse in the world. The Gentlemen Golfers built their own clubhouse at Leith in 1768, the first purpose built clubhouse in the world. As both Leith and Bruntsfield Links continued to be used for other leisure pursuits, in 1790 the members of the Burgess Society adopted a uniform to distinguish the golfers and so 'give warning to pedestrians in such a way as to avoid injury.' By the early 19th Century, Bruntsfield Links had become so congested with people and traffic that the Club moved to Musselburgh. By the 1820s, as a result of a decline in the game’s popularity and the financial problems of the period, many golf clubs disappeared. In 1831,

James Mansfield (Number 10) was a keen sportsman when he was not working as an advocate. He also was a member of the Caledonian Curling Club, but it was golf that was his main passion, and he was a skilled player. He won the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers’ Gold Medal on two occasions, and in 1888 entered for the Amateur Championship. The first Amateur Championship was held at Hoylake in 1885, although earlier national amateur competitions had been played at St Andrews. It was hoped that the Championship would make the game more popular and lead to improved standards of play. The format was match play with knock out rounds, and in the first round Mansfield beat Mr Fairlie by 4 with 3 to play. However, in the next round he faced John Ball, Junior, a previous winner of the event. That year's Golfing Annual wrote: ‘Several years ago Mr. Mansfield's name and fame were known on most greens, but for a time his ardour cooled, and now, when once more buckling on his armour, he was set a high trial in being expected to successfully cope with the Hoylake marvel [Ball]. He nevertheless rendered an excellent account of himself, and so far this tie had produced the best golf of the tournament. Outward bound, Mr. Mansfield showed exceptional play at the second and fourth holes, at that point being two to the good. But Mr. Ball was equal to the occasion, and, playing in that miraculous style with which he now and again delights his admirers, took four of the next five holes, and turned home two up with the grand total of 36 for the outward journey. Tenth and eleventh holes fell to the Honourable Company's representative, and all even with seven to play was exciting enough for anything. Mr. Ball soon recovered his lead, and at the third last hole was one ahead. The antepenult he meritoriously halved, and by winning the next, became entitled to a place in the final four, on whom all eyes would be turned on the last, the great day of this golfing feast.’

Mansfield’s status in the golf world was such that, in 1881, he was one of a small group brought together to look at changes to the R&A rules. One area of dispute was over what constituted a removable hazard. In England more leniency had been the practice but some saw any change in Scotland unnecessary as ‘the framers of codes in England forgot that a mixture of luck and skill is the first condition of all good games.’ Yet such disputes over rules were not uncommon. As mentioned above, the first rules had been established in 1744, and one of these stated: ‘At Holing, you are to play your Ball honestly for the Hole, and not to play upon your Adversary's Ball, not lying in your way to the Hole.’ This referred to what is known as ‘a stymie’ whereby the opponent’s ball is between another player’s ball and the hole. The Burgess club followed this rule, which meant players had to play round the other ball or risk a penalty on hitting it, while other clubs allowed players to lift their opponent’s ball. In 1807, the winner of the Edinburg open golf competition had lifted an opponent's ball, thinking this appropriate, but there was an objection. The debate sparked such a divide of views within the Burgess club that for two years it split into two. When the sides agreed on a reconciliation they also agreed to destroy all Club minutes for the previous two years to ensure that there was no records of the insults that had been traded.