The Dalrymples, Leuchie and their role in the development of golf in East Lothian

Sir Hew Dalrymple, Lord Drummore

It is not widely known, but Leuchie & the Dalrymple family have made some important contributions to the development of golf in Scotland.

The story goes back nearly three hundred years when Sir Hew Dalrymple, Lord Drummore, was an early proponent of golf in Scotland.

Growing up in North Berwick, he featured in the world’s first golfing book, Thomas Mathieson’s epic poem of 1743, ‘The Goff’, where he was referred to as ‘Unmatched Dalrymple’.

He was one of the founding members of the world’s first golf club, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and was the favourite to win the first recorded golf match on Leith Links in Edinburgh in 1744.

He was defeated by John Rattray, an Edinburgh surgeon, and had to wait another six years until 1752 to win the annual competition.

The Dalrymples & North Berwick Golf Club

North Berwick has an important place in the history of golf. North Berwick Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs in the world, and two Dalrymples, the fourth Sir Hew and his brother, The Major were founding members of the club in 1832.

Since then, four family members have played their part as Captains of the club. Sir Walter (9th Baronet) probably made the biggest contribution. He patented his own golf club design, the rare ‘dupex hammer’ golf club, designed the original 9 hole East links and edited the 1895 ‘Golfers Guide to the United Kingdom’.

The family owned the first third of the iconic North Berwick West Course up to ‘the wall’ for the first 100 years of its history and actively encouraged the development of golf in the town, also providing land for the development of the East Links. In 1959, they gave the West Links ground to the town.

Leuchie Hosts Scottish Open Players

More recently, in 2022, we were delighted to host Hideki Matsuyama, the recent Masters Champion, when he took part in the Scottish Open at the nearby Renaissance club.

And this year Bob McIntyre, who came second after being narrowly beaten by Rory McIlroy, also stayed at Leuchie.

Luxury Golf Accommodation East Lothian

East Lothian is known as ‘Scotland’s Golf Coast’. It boasts some of the best links courses in the world: North Berwick, Gullane and Muirfield lead the way.

There are 12 excellent golf courses within 20 minutes drive of Leuchie.

If you’re planning a golf holiday in East Lothian, Leuchie Walled Garden is the perfect place to base yourself.

Banner image courtesy of VisitScotland / Kenny Lam