Montrose rewrites history
with landmark name change
For immediate release - Montrose Golf Links has announcedunprecedentedplans to rename one of the oldest golf courses in the world. The bid to relaunch therenowned Medal Course at Montroseas the 1562 Course is part of an enterprising plan to recognise the significantrole played by the ancient east coast course in the world of golf.
The rebranding exercise will be the first time the course has gone through such a process and will be completed during the 2018 season when the world’s oldest major; the Open Championship, returns to the Angus region.The historicchange will also be accompanied by a number of excitinginitiatives designed to celebrate 450 years of golf at the two-times Open Championship Final Qualifying venue.
Jason Boyd, PGA Professionaland Operations Manager at Montrose Golf Links, described the launch of the 1562 Courseas an exciting and positive move.“We don’t make enough of the fact that golf was first recorded in Montrose in 1562,” said Boyd who spearheaded the idea. “The name change will give even more credibility to our golf offering and by doing so will open up new doors. Bringing 1562 to the forewill make a huge difference. It’s the most important aspect we have and it is our biggest marketing strength - we need to make as much of it as we can.”
The renaissance of the Montrose course, which hosted the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters in June, will be unveiled through a series of events and announcements leading up to the formal relaunch at the start of the golfing season. The idea to rename the fifth oldest golf course in the world certainly breaks with convention and is believed to be unprecedented in modern times.
“This is a fairly bold move, especially in the world of golf,” noted Boyd. “Courses that have been around for 450 years don’t often receive makeovers like this, but we feel assigning the date to the course name clearly illustrates the extraordinary golfing heritage that exists here as well as the significance of Montrose in terms ofthe development of the game.”
The stunning east coast course, which features seven spectacular cliff-face holes and regularly appears in the most prestigious golf rankings, has been shaped by some of the foremost names in golf including Willie Park Jr, Old Tom Morris and Harry Colt. Indeed, with over four centuries of golf under its belt, the current layouthas a classic feel and iswidely regarded asone of the most natural links layouts in Scotland.
“It’s very natural. It has stuck to the same layout for more than 100 years,” said Boyd. “Changing the name gives us an opportunity to raise awareness of the course and reach out to a wider audience. As soon as you mention 1562, you open doors that haven’t have been open to us until now. Golfers realise the significance of dates in golf and they know how important they are. The fact we are celebrating the fabulous golfing heritage that is synonymous with Montrose will only serve to attract more people to visit this unique place and play one of the oldest courses in the world for themselves.”
Montrose Golf Links features two traditional links courses; The Medal and The Broomfield and is located a 30-minute drive from Carnoustie – host of the 147th Open Championship – and 1 ½-hrs drive from St Andrews.
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Notes to editors:
About Montrose Golf Links
1) The Medal Course at Montrose Golf Links is the fifth oldest golf course in the world. Golf has been played here for over 450 years.
2) Montrose Golf Links is made up of two courses; The Medal and The Broomfield. There are three associated golf clubs; Montrose Caledonia, Montrose Mercantile and Royal Montrose.
3) Although the land is owned by Angus Council, several years ago the management of the golf courses was transferred to Montrose Golf Links Limited.
4) The Medal course will be renamed to the 1562 course at the start of the 2018 season. The Medal Course is a classic, natural Scottish links which remains largely unaltered.
5) Montrose Golf Links has been designed and laid out by Willie Park Jr, Old Tom Morris and Harry Colt.
6) Montrose Golf Links is a two-times Final Qualifying venue for the Open Championship held at Carnoustie. It has also hosted prestigious tournaments including the World Hickory Open (2013); The televised Europro Tour (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and Final Qualifying for the Senior Open Championship held at Carnoustie (2016).
7) Montrose Golf Links is ideally situated – only 30-minutedrive from Carnoustie Championship which will host The Open in 2018 and 1.5 hours drive from St Andrews.
8) For more information about Montrose Golf Links, please visit
For further quotes, interview opportunities and images, contact the Montrose Golf Links press office at or call Yvonne Alexander on:
Office: +44 (0) 1337 858 807
Out of hours: +44 (0) 7976 369 260
Press release distributed by The Word Association