From Asylum to Golf Course

Historical Trivia: Why many 19th century asylums became golf courses.

In the 19th-century, the word ‘asylum’ was associated with degradation, dread, and fear. Supposedly a safe-place in which to restrain the mentally unstable, an asylum was also the place where a husband could send an ‘inconvenient’ wife, or adult-children could dispose of a troublesome parent.

The conditions inside these institutions varied, with the poor being detained in degrading conditions in the Bethlem Hospital for the insane (which gave its name to Bedlam), whilst the well-off could afford more comfortable institutions, set away from the public gaze in the countryside.

For the wealthy, the outlook was less grim, because there was a belief that greenery aided recovery and The Commissioners in Lunacy made recommendations in line with this. For example, the establishment should be located in an isolated or semi-rural space, to spare the inmates from scrutiny by the curious and prevent strangers causing disturbance. This meant the better institutions were often situated in the countryside. In addition, Commissioners advised the building should be on raised ground with a good view “commanding cheerful prospects” (to lift the spirits of the inhabitants) and with plenty of land to afford outdoor occupations and exercise for male inhabitants.

In a hint of things to come, some country sanatoriums even had small golf courses, which were seen as therapeutic exercise. One example is Scotland’s Leverndale Golf Course (now closed) which is likely to have started as the Leverndale Hospital, with a nine-hole course established for the recreation of staff and patients; another is Craighhouse Asylum, nr Edinburgh, that had a nine-hole golf course.

So fast forward in time to more enlightened time when these hospitals, sanatoriums, and asylums had outlived use for their intended purpose. But many were situated on land which made an ideal location for a golf course…hence why many long-established golf clubs are actually on the site of old lunatic asylums!