The 13th oldest golf club in the world has teed off its 200th anniversary celebrations.
Scotscraig Golf Club members enjoyed a dinner in Dundee’s Apex Hotel, with guests including players from sister club, Race Brook Golf and Country Club in Connecticut.
Festivities during the bicentenary year will also include hosting the Scottish boys amateur championship, a series of grand matches and a tournament for members of 18 of the oldest clubs in Europe.
The Tayport club was founded in 1817 by members of the St Andrews Society of Golfers, which went on to become the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
In 1892 20-year-old carpenter Robert Pryde, a regular player on Scotscraig, emigrated from Tayport to the USA and became one of its most highly-esteemed golf course designers and coaches.
One of the courses he designed was Race Brook.
Club president George Anderson said: “The club is full of history.
“We play for one of the oldest medals in golf, the Gold Medal, which was first played in 1818.
“We are continuing to maintain the history of the club and the course.
“It is very important that we mark this occasion.”
Scotscraig course was originally laid out over six holes under the guidance of Old Tom Morris and extended to nine holes in 1888.
In 1923 it was redesigned with the assistance of James Braid, one of golf’s great triumvirate.
Restoration of the champion course to its original layout was completed in February in time for the bicentenary celebrations.
This included renovation of its 55 bunkers and widening of the fairways in the first 150 yards.
Scotscraig only discovered in 2012 that a former member had become a founding father of golf in America.
An unexpected invitation to the Race Brook centenary celebrations led to the partnership between the two clubs.
Pryde was also one of America’s most sought-after greenkeepers and made golf clubs.
Research into Pryde, son of a local coal merchant, also found that he was the uncle of the club’s former ladies captain, the late Gertrude Paton. A cabinet in Wormit was also discovered, still owned by his relatives, and said to be made from wood from a carriage of the train lost in the Tay Rail Disaster.
On Saturday, April 8, a tournament will be held for members of Scotscraig and Race Brook.
