Kingussie, Kingussie Golf Course, Clubhouse, Kingussie, Highland

Description

Alexander Mackenzie, 1911; mid-20th century addition to NE and late 20th century addition to SE. Single storey, 3-bay rectangular plan golf clubhouse pavilion with piended roof supporting overhanging eaves and forming cover to columned veranda at SW and NW. Gabled and piended dormers above veranda. Plate glass timber windows, with timber transoms and mullions.

Full-width canopy to veranda supported on timber posts with timber braces springing from capitals. Grey slate tiles to roof, with decorative clay ridging. Horizontal timber weatherboard, painted. Decorative timber fretwork to outer bay gables. Lead valleys and hips. One brick stack. Base course.

NE (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: full-width veranda and triangular gable feature with polygonal piended dormer to centre above veranda.

INTERIOR: (seen 2013). Modernised, no original floor plan extant. Non original fire surround fitted to original opening. Large, open plan room with modern bar to SE, including kitchen and locker room facilities to rear.

Statement of Interest

Kingussie Golf Course Clubhouse is a good example of a golf pavilion with a largely intact early 20th century exterior, set within the Glen Gynack landscape, north of the town of Kingussie. It was constructed at a time when Kingussie flourished as a summer resort, when public recreational activities were in demand, and is linked with a local pioneer of the game of golf.

The first pavilion was constructed in 1898, and appears on the 1903 OS map. Photographic and historic evidence indicates that this earlier clubhouse was of a more simple design: a ready-made, composite structure, with a distinctive mansard style roof, containing two rooms and rectangular in plan. By 1904 it had been enlarged by nearly three times its original size and appeared as a single storey timber boarded building with a projecting veranda.

Works commenced on the current clubhouse in February 1911, and the completed building was opened on 17 June 1911, and served the needs of a growing membership, providing a large central hall, separate club-rooms for ladies and gentlemen and further facilities such as a committee room, ladies' retiring room, lavatory accommodation, kitchen, scullery and cellar. The total cost of building in 1911 was £500.

The original course was laid out by Captain MacHardy and was opened in 1891 as a 9 hole golf course. Of this original plan, only the first and last holes remain extant. By 1908 the course was extended to 18 holes. This was designed by Harry Vardon (1870-1937), and is largely in the same condition as it was over 100 years ago.

Harry Vardon was a pioneer for golf in his day, setting many firsts for the sport. Vardon was the first player to wear knickerbockers, instead of the traditional golf attire, which helped with free movement. He developed the Vardon Grip, a technique of holding the golf club, which is still used to this day by golfers worldwide. He won the Open Championship six times, the U.S. Open once, and was considered one of the first celebrity golfers following the fame of Old Tom Morris. Vardon was inducted into the Hall of Fame after his death, and on both the European and U.S. PGA tours, the Vardon Trophy is awarded annually to the professional with the lowest stroke average.

Alexander Mackenzie was an architect and engineer practising in Kingussie between the late 1870s and circa 1910. He was also the architect for the bowling pavilion at Granton-on-Spey, circa 1906.

Scotland is intrinsically linked with the sport of golf and it was the birthplace of the modern game played over 18 holes. The 'Articles and Laws in Playing Golf', a set of rules whose principles still underpin the game's current regulations, were penned in 1744 by the Company of Gentlemen Golfers (now The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers). Improved transport links and increased leisure time as well as a rise in the middle classes from the mid 19th century onwards increased the popularity of the sport with another peak taking place in the early 1900s.

The sociable aspect of the game encouraged the building of distinctive clubhouses with bar and restaurant facilities. Purpose-built clubhouses date from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, previously clubs had used villas or rooms in an inn near to the course. Earlier clubhouses were typically enlarged in stages as the popularity of the game increased throughout the 19th and 20th century. The sport has grown further in popularity in recent years, especially overseas in places such as USA and Canada.

At the time of writing (2013), the governing body for amateur golf in Scotland, the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), reported around 550 golf courses in Scotland, representing a total membership of approximately 236,000 golf club members. Interestingly, 7 of the 14 venues where the Open Championship is held are in Scotland. Scotland has produced a number of famous golf sporting personalities - historically, Old Tom Morris (1821-1908) and James Braid (1870-1950) were the pioneers of their time.

Listed as part of the sporting buildings thematic study (2012-13).

External Links

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