Carnoustie’s first golfer is considered to be a local landowner named Sir Robert Maule.
The clan Maule of Scotland claim descendency from Gaurin, son of Pierre de Maule who left France for England during the Norman invasion of 1066. During the following 100 years the Maule family were linked to the kings of England which resulted in William de Maule being given lands at Fowlis in Perthshire in 1138.
In the following centuries the Maule family were closely linked to the Scottish Kings and in 1646 Charles I created the Earldom of Panmure for Patrick Maule who was one of his staunch supporters. It was his son George the 3rd Earl who built a mansion house on the Panmure estates, immediately north of Carnoustie. George was succeeded by his brother James who became the 4th Earl a supporter of James VII the Old Pretender who was later to go into exile in France. James followed him and spent the rest of his life in a town not far from the town of Maule. Because of his support for the Old Pretender James the 4th Earl forfeited his lands but these were later bought back by his nephew and so the Panmure estate returned to the Maule family. The estate later passed by marriage to the Earl of Dalhousie and was finally sold by the family in 1950 to pay death duties. The mansion was last lived in about 1860 and was demolished in 1955. Since then the estate has been resold on several occasions up to 2001 when its final sale lead to the estate being broken up.
He was described as ‘a gentleman of comlie behaviour, of hie stature, sanguine in colour both of hyd and haire,’ and who was ‘given to sports such as hawking, hunting and the gawf.’
He ‘exerciset the gowf and oftymes past to Barry Lynks on which occasions the wadsies [financial rewards] were for drink’.
The first recorded game of golf in Scotland supposedly took place on Barry Links at Carnoustie about 1527.
Robert was tall and well-spoken but subject to sudden anger, and “given to lechery”. Although he never learned to read and write he was an expert in the laws of Scotland and in the genealogy of his family. He was Sheriff of Angus.
Always pugnacious, he was involved in an attempt in 1526 by the Earl of Lennox to rescue King James V from the Earls of Angus and Arran. In 1527 he was seriously injured trying to prevent several lords making their way over the land on which he was playing golf. In 1547 Panmure House was besieged by a force of English and some traitorous Scots, he was shot, captured and held prisoner in the Tower of London until his release in 1549.
He married, firstly, Isobel (d. 30/04/1540) the daughter of Sir Laurence Mercer of Aldie. They had sons Thomas, John and Robert and daughters Margaret, Elizabeth, Janet, Agnes, Isabel, Geils, Jean and Catherine. Secondly, Robert married Isobel the widow of David Ochterlony of Kellie and the daughter of James Arbuthnott of that Ilk. They had three sons, Henry, Andrew and William and a daughter Marjory.
Late in life Robert became religious. He died on 02/05/1560 and is buried in Panbride Church.
Carnoustie has been twinned with the town of Maule in France, due to common historical links to the Maule family. More information can be found here.
Like so many of the older Scottish golf towns, the early history of Carnoustie is not well recorded. The exact site where the first golfers played is unknown.
Almost 300 years after the first records of golfing on the links, in 1835 Robert Chambers, the Edinburgh publisher and golfer, was invited to Carnoustie to advise on a course on the Balskelly Estate (later to be known as Pitskelly). The course was probably on ground used for the first 5 holes of the present-day Burnside course as well as land further north. Unfortunately, the railway arrived in Carnoustie in 1838 and cut right through the Balskelly course.
The impact of the railway was to reduce the course to probably 5 holes with each of the holes being played twice, sited on the land between the present day sports and leisure centre and second green of the Championship course. The first green was at the corner of Links Parade and Ferrier Street.