Stanford scotland tour day 4: alan andrew taylor | Alan Taylor

Highlights of Stanford University's Scotland tour visiting Prestwick Golf Course followed by tour and evening meal at Edinburgh Castle. Stanford University's golfing history began in the 1920's when Stanford students wanted their own golf course. The Stanford golf team was using the Burlingame Course for practice being coached by Burlingame pro Harold Sampson. Good fortune lead to the team discovering a keen enthusiast, Almon E. Rith who was the University Controller of 1909. He was also a member of the Los Altos Country Club. It was in the February of 1929 that he managed to convince the Stanford University Board of Trustees to provide land and finance to begin the construction of a golf course. The design of the course was handed over to Al Masters, the manager of the Athletic Department to hire in George C. Thomas Jr. And William Billy Bell to design it. Early in it's design, Bell considered the possibility of incorporating San Francisquito Creek into the design. Construction commenced in May, 1929 and great care was taken to preserve the oak trees. Water was sparse with the only irrigation for the campus coming from Searsville Lake so the lake was enlarged to enable a capacity of 278,000,000 gallons. It was finally completed and opened on January 1st, 1930. The Stanford men's golf team''s history goes back to it's foundations in the early 1930's. The mens teams have managed to win eight national championships as well as it's players having won twenty four professional major championships which equates to more than any other team plus seven US and British Amateur titles. Famous names associated with Stanford include Lawson Little, Bud Brownell, Sandy Tatumand Bob Rosburg then post war times names were known such as Tom Watson, Notah Begay and Tiger Woods. Featured in this video is the Prestwick Golf Club located in the town of Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Prestwick is a classic links golf course, built on rolling sandy land lying between the beach and the land further inland. The course is situated beside Prestwick Airport as well as a few holes running alongside railway tracks on the eastern side of the course. Golf has been played at this course since 1851 where the famous old Tom Morris was the club's keeeper of the green, ball and club maker from 1851 to 1864. Morris who originated from St Andrews took a leadership position here in 1865 but returned in 1882 to extend the Prestwick golf course from a twelve hole course to an eighteen. Key highlights of the course include the River Pow also known as the Pow Burn which flow's through the club's property with the river being a natural obstacle. There are many sand dunes at the centre of the course. The tallest of these being the Pow Hill followed by the Queens Jack and thirdly is Cearcevlock Hill. There are also blind shots from the tee at the fifth and also on the approach to the par four to seventeenth which adds to the course's mystery and charm. The remainder of Day 4 of the trip included a visit to Scotland iconic Edinburgh Castle, a fortress that dominates the skyline of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It's positioned above the volcanic Castle Rock. The castle has been in used here since at the very least the reign of David 1st in the 12th century. It continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603 where by the 17th century it's principal role was as a military base with a large garrison. The castle was involved with many historical conflicts; the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The castle has been besieged on several occasions. Few of the buildings standing today pre-date the Lang Siege of the 16th century, when the medieval fortifications were largely destroyed by artillery bombardment. Notable exceptions are St Margaret's Chapel, which dates back to the early 12th making it the olfest surviving building in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle also is home to the honours of Scotland, the Scottish National War Memorial and the National War Museum of Scotland.