THE CLUB was formed in 1888 on land leased from the third Marquess of Bute who was responsible for re-building Mount Stuart, the stunning stately home on the east coast of the island, after the original house was burned to the ground in 1877.Founder members engaged David Cuthbert of St Andrews, who was greenkeeper at the Millport club at the time, to design nine holes. Officials of the Cumbrae Golf Club, as Millport was known in those early days, allowed Cuthbert to spend a week at Bute GC’s expense to ‘lay off’ the course. He has created a layout which, although short by modern-day standards, provides a true test of golf with subtle challenges. Natural features of linksland including drystane dykes, whins, ridges and burns have been used to good effect as was the case with the origins of the game.