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 Carnoustie Golf Club House
The following research extracts provide an overview of the early days of the club’s facilities culminating in the decision of club members many years ago to secure permanent premises in our current location.
1842
Crown Inn - Club members meet within a small white washed house owned by Mr D Balfour situated behind the present District Council’s offices in High Street.
1843 - 47
Club members decide to meet in Mrs Clark’s Inn which - very conveniently - had its own brewery attached! This was situated on the north side of Arbroath Road, east of the present road crossing the railway.
1848 - 98
Ferriers Inn. Club members again decide to meet in a different hostelry in the town. The following information from “Carnoustie and its neighbourhood” published by A Reid in 1874 provides us with details of the new location.
“It is a very old established port of call. It is rather a tavern than an inn. In connection with it is a well known hall, where public and private entertainment are given.”
Originally this hall was a covered shed for building boats. Indeed,
“vessels of thirty and forty tons burthen were constructed here”.
In order to facilitate their passage to the sea - which sixty years ago came north of where the railway now extends - the carpenter, Thomas Ferrier, dug a ‘rude canal’ into which the boats were launched at high tide.
“The house is one of the old fashioned snug little inns, with thatched roof, swinging sign board and loupin on-stane.”
It was considered that this inn was a more convenient meeting place in relationship to the home hole of the course where:
“thirsty golfers could refresh themselves and pay off their golfing deficiencies.”
This inn was demolished about 1882 and the present one -The 19th Hole - was built, and in which the club continued to hold their meetings until the present clubhouse was built.
Mrs Ferrier, the proprietor of the inn, whose great grandson was the late Australian professional golfer Jim Ferrier, and her family, were great friends and supporters of the club.
Her sons, James and Thomas, were both good golfers, James winning the Subscription medals in 1870, the Gold Cross in 1874 and 1876, and Thomas winning the Kinloch medal in 1875.
In 1876 Mrs Ferrier’s brother in law, James Stevenson, presented the club with the Stevenson Cup for annual play on the first Saturday in June to be gained by the lowest player and to remain the property of the club. She herself presented the Ferrier medal in 1877 to be played for on the second Saturday of May by average.
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