Skip to main content

‹‹‹ prev (123)

(125) next ›››

(124)
84THEROYALBURGESSGOLFINGSOCIETYOFEDINBURGH
Linksandshowingbythewayinwhichheacquitted
himselfthatifheonlyhadpracticehewouldbeable
tohandletheclubsadmirably."
Sopopulardidthegameofgolfbecomeinthe
'eightiesofthenineteenthcenturythatMusselburgh
becameovercrowded,andtheHonourableCompany
migratedtoMuirfieldin1891,leavingtheBurgesswith
aheaviershareoftheupkeepofMusselburghcourse.
TomeettheextraexpensetheSociety,in189z,helda
bazaarintheEdinburghMusicHall,aimingat£i000
topayoffthedebtontheirclub-houseandtoenable
alargerportionoftheirincometobedevotedtothe
upkeepofthegreenatMusselburgh.Theobjectswere
laudableandsuccessful,butwithintwoyearsthe
BurgesshadtofollowinthewakeoftheHonourable
Companyandseekpasturesnew,whichtheyeventually
foundwithintheancientpoliciesofBarnton,fivemiles
tothewestofthecityofEdinburgh,formerlyknown
asCramondRegis—onceahunting-seatofthekingsof
Scotland.
TheaccountoftheSociety'sactivitiesatMusselburgh
wouldbeincompletewithoutreferencestosomefamous
caddies—indeed,characters—whowereknownfarbe-
yondtheconfinesoftheirowngreen.Intheclub-house
atBarntontherearepaintingsbythelateR.Gemmill
HutchisonofJohnCarey,"Fiery"(WilliePark's
famouscaddie),JockCampbell,andBobFerguson.
Last,butnotleast,isthesolesurvivorofthese
old-timecaddies,JamesBinnie,whoaccompanied
theSocietytoBarntonfromMusselburgh,andwho,
althoughdeservedlyinreceiptofaweeklypensionin
tokenofhislongandfaithfuladherenceandservice,is
stilloccasionally"carrying"roundthecourse,andinter-
lardinghiscustomarygenerousadvicewithmanyajoke
andquip.ThepaintingofBinniebyCursiterisrepro-
ducedherewithalongwithhisnotablepredecessors.

Images and transcriptions on this page, including medium image downloads, may be used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence unless otherwise stated. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence