Golf has been played on the links at St Andrews since the 15th century, and the Old Course is known throughout the world as the birthplace of golf. The game grew in popularity over time and by the 19th century was part of the way of life for many locals, whether as players, caddies or ball or club makers. Golf continues to play an important role in the culture and economy of this Scottish town about an hour’s drive from Edinburgh. There are currently seven public golf courses in St Andrews, which attract hundreds of thousands of golfers from all over the world each year in a sort of pilgrimage. St Andrews Links, with its six 18-hole courses and one 9-hole course, is the largest golf resort in Europe.
GOLF PROHIBITED
Golf was becoming very popular in the Middle Ages when the game was banned, in 1457, by King James II of Scotland, who thought that young men were distracted from archery. This ban continued under successive monarchs until James IV threw in the towel and in 1502 became a golfer himself.
18 HOLES AND DOUBLE GREENS
In 1764 the Old Course had 22 holes – 11 outward and 11 return holes – but golfers played the same green on the outward and return, since each green was shared by two holes, except for holes 11 and 22. They even shared the same hole until 1850, when it was decided to place two separate holes on each green, marking them with a white flag for the outward round and a red flag for the return round.
The golfers decided that the first four holes – and therefore also the last four – were too short and should become two instead of four. This reduced the number of holes in the round from 22 to 18, and this is how the round that became the world standard and is still in force today was created. The reduction to 18 holes preserved the double greens to this day, so the current Old Course has 11 greens, 7 of them doubles, and 4 singles, on holes 1, 9, 17 and 18.
GAME MANAGEMENT
When Old Tom Morris created a single, unshared green for the first hole, it was possible to play the course counterclockwise, contrary to what had previously been the norm. For many years and in order for the grass to recover better, the course was played alternately every week in either clockwise or counterclockwise direction, but now the counterclockwise course predominates. Many of the 112 bunkers on the course, however, are clearly designed to catch the wayward shots of golfers playing the course the other way.
CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
The British Open (its real name is The Open Championship) was first played on the Old Course at St Andrews in 1873 – 13 years after the first edition of the tournament – and the last one in 2010. St. Louis St. Andrews has been the course where the famous Grand Slam event has been played the most times (28).
THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB
In 1754 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was founded under the original name of Society of St Andrews Golfers. This club, initially composed of 22 aristocrats, professors and landowners, now governs the rules of golf in the world with the exception of the United States. The club also hosts the British Open and major amateur championships. The New Course was built by the R&A in 1895.
THE RABBIT WAR
In 1797, due to ‘time poverty’, i.e. bankruptcy, St Andrews Town Council lost full control of the links, allowing rabbit farming to challenge the dominance of golf. Twenty years of legal and physical warfare between golfers and rabbit breeders ended in 1821 when James Cheape of Strathtyrum, a local landowner and keen golfer, bought the land and, in his own words, “saved the golf course.”
THE FIRST LAW OF LINKS
St Andrews Council regained ownership of the course in 1894 following the enactment by Parliament of the first Golf Courses Act, thus safeguarding public access to the courses for locals and visitors alike. The Council built the Jubilee Course in 1897 and the Eden Course in 1914.
ST ANDREWS LINKS TRUST
In 1974, with the demise of the Town Council following local government reform, the St. Andrews Links Trust was created by another Act of Parliament to continue to oversee the Links as public golf courses open to anyone. There are now six 18-hole courses and one 9-hole course, Balgove. A large driving range opened in 1993. In 1995, St Andrews’ first clubhouse, the Links Clubhouse for the Old, New and Jubilee courses, was opened to visitors. In 2000, a second clubhouse, the Eden Clubhouse, was opened for golfers on the Eden, Strathtyurm and Balgove courses, creating the largest public golf complex in the world. In 2008, the seventh course of the complex, the Castle Course, was inaugurated.
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