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Lowthers Golf Club, Leadhills, South Lanarkshire. (1888 - 1930s)
Founded 1888/95.
Known as both Leadhills Golf Club and Lowthers Golf Club.
Three courses serving Leadhills and Wanlockhead
Leadhills is an old lead-mining village high in the Lowther Hills in southern Scotland south of Glasgow. It has had a golf course since the 19th Century, although its present 9-hole course dates from the 1930s.
Competitions played in June 1891.
Hamilton Advertiser Saturday 27 June 1891.Image © Reach plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. Apologies for the slight distortion.
In the July 1891 monthly medal Mr Edmond of Wanlockhead completed the 18-hole competition in 82 strokes. This was the least number of strokes so far recorded.
The winner of the August 1892 monthly medal presented by Mr Noble was Daniel Gibson, runner-up, P Hastie. The ladies' medal was won by Miss Noble, Hopetoun Arms. The ladies' medals were played for on the third and the gentlemen's on the fourth Saturday of every month.
The Lowthers club played a match at Abington in May 1893. There were eight on each side in the 18-hole game which the home team won 40 holes to 2. The Abington course had been open for a year and had made good progress, the greens were particularly good and the drainage had improved.
Report on the course in August 1893.
Dumfries & Galloway Courier and Herald Saturday 26 August 1893. Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
From 1914 to its final appearance as Lowthers in the 1930s, the secretary was James McFarlane JP, Schoolhouse, Leadhills. A 9-hole course. In 1914 there was no entry fee and the subs were 3/-. The visitors’ fees throughout were 6d a day, 1/6d a week and 2/6d a month. Ladies paid half fees. Sunday play was not allowed. The station at Leadhills was ¼ mile away.
From the Hamilton Advertiser in May 1927 - "The new golf course was laid out by Mr Tennant at Woodbush is proving very popular, and is likely to be more so as it becomes wider known. We hear a well known Scottish golfer went over the course and was highly satisfied with it. Its close proximity to the station should make it very suitable for day visitors, and we hope to see it well patronised."
Regarding the above report a local historian writes - The golf course which used to be on the hillside behind the cottages was called Woodbush in the newspaper report. Whether this was a misprint or sounds better for a golf course than Wet Bush I don't know."
The above postcard is dated 1932
The current Leadhills club was founded in 1935.
The upper Google Map shows the location of the Leadhills/Lowthers course.
The lower Google and O.S. Maps shows the location of the 1920s Wet Bush (Woodbush) course.
Ordnance Survey Map showing the Wet Bush course.
O.S. Map Revised 1909; © Crown Copyright {year of publication 1912}.