Mary Queen of Scots was known to be playing golf in the area of Longniddry in 1567 - ‘over the fields of Seton’ - shortly after the murder of Darnley and was admonished accordingly!

It was another two hundred years, however, before the 7th Earl of Wemyss & March bought land at Gosford ‘to be nearer the golf’ and a further one hundred and fifty years before the 11^th Earl of Wemyss invited Harry S. Colt to design and build 18 holes.

150 acres were made available and thousands of trees were cleared to create a course measuring some 6,369 yards. Some of the felling occurred in (what was) the Boglehill Wood, thought to be a site of worship for local witches and warlocks and now the site of the 6^th and 10^th greens.

There have been a number of alterations to Harry Colt’s original layout. In 1936 James Braid was invited to advise on the second hole, following which a number of changes were made to the course, although none, it would appear, to the second!

The course now occupies a modest 106 acres and measures a modest 6,230 yards, but with four of the most celebrated course architects having left their distinguished mark, it is always a joy to play.