John Rattray Statue, memorial in City of Edinburgh

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What is recorded here

David Annand's bronze statue of John Rattray was unveiled on Leith Links in 2019, 275 years after Rattray won the first recorded competition held by the Company of Gentlemen Golfers. As captain, the Edinburgh surgeon signed the thirteen rules written for that 1744 match. Three nearby plaques reproduce the rules and explain the man, the game and the new memorial.

Why it was made

The Leith Rules Golf Society raised the statue to restore Leith Links and John Rattray to public memory as the setting and winner of a foundational golf event.

People and events

Rattray won the Silver Club competition in 1744 and signed its first rules; donors funded the new work and sculptor David Annand modelled the bronze golfer.

How it worked

The life-size figure prepares to tee off while three separate bronze plaques carry the original rules, Rattray's life and the story of the commission.

What remains

The statue and plaques form a small public precinct on Leith Links, the common ground where the early club played and the first recorded rules governed competition.

Why it mattered

The memorial makes an easily overlooked document and open playing ground visible as part of golf's organised beginnings, before later courses claimed the better-known story.