Welcome to the Leith Rules Golf Society website

Last update to site:  11 February 2021
 

The first recorded rules of the game of golf were created by the golfers playing at Leith Links in 1744.  Leith is the famous port of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, the country called the "Home of Golf". The Society seeks to ensure that this important milestone in the history of golf is appropriately recognised today.  

It's only a wee drop of snow, take more than that to deter John Rattray ......
               (Is this ball from 1744?)

AGM 25th January 2021 ....
We held our meeting via Zoom, never the same as meeting face-to-face but was all we could do this year. The new Committee will be looking at what is feasible events-wise in the coming months, as well as putting the final stages to the Rattray Statue project.

Statue Update

Seems a long time ago now, when life was "normal", the unveiling took place on 11th September 2019, the culmination of ten years work. Please click here for a report on this historic event.  
 

The fencing protecting the Rattray Precinct was removed in September 2020. It has been gratifying to see so many people, young and not-so-young, viewing the work and reading the explanatory plinths. Plans to get the site onto City Tours and into the schools has been affected by current times, but will be progressed when this is possible.

There are over 20 varieties of wildflowers in the mounds. The site inspection with the City’s Parks Department included in the consulting team, Dr Heather McHaffie, consultant to the Royal Botanic Gardens; she was impressed with the density and variety of the native flowers and grasses and even identified one she thought was extinct – Lady (Sweet) Bedstraw.

Dr McHaffie identified many of the plants; here is a complete list of the wildflowers and grasses (PDF document)

Miniature Statues Available

Miniatures of the Rattray Statue set on a polished wooden base (11”) or on a slate base (16”) are still available to purchase from David Anderson at www.golfandthistle.com   Profits from the sale helped significantly in funding for the Statue and Precinct.  Future profits David is continuing to dedicate to Leith Rules Golf Society for support of the history of golf in Leith.

Further details can be seen in an update to our original film, which can be viewed through this link

Tim Bell, one of our founder members, interviewed our Secretary, Brian Graham, on his regular radio show.
Please click here for the show
Tim has also written various articles for magazines - 
The Leither (Pages 16-17)
Insiders Edinburgh

Background information on the Society
Find out more here
 

Become a member of the society ?
Join here. Our membership encompasses much of the world, from Australia, USA, Japan, as well of course from all over Britain.

The first rules of golf created by the golfers at Leith in 1744 tell us something about the challenges faced by these early golfers and the society they lived in. View them here.