History of Saint Andrews Links: The Home of Golf
Posted on July 9, 2019
When reflecting upon the history of the game of golf, there has been no golf course more influential than Saint Andrews Links. Saint Andrews Links located in the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, is widely recognized as the “home of golf.” Golf was played upon the Links at St Andrews as far back as the early 15th century. The oldest course at the Saint Andrews Links is known as the Old Course. There are now seven courses at the St Andrews Links: the Old, New, Jubilee, Eden, Strathtyrum, Balgove and the Castle, which is the newest course added in 2007 and opened in 2008.
It all started with King David I in 1123 when his charter ratified that the Links land was common land which belonged to the citizens of the town of St Andrews. In the 1400s golfers were playing the Saint Andrews Links on a simple track upon the public land. While golf began to grow in popularity in Scotland during the 15th century, Kings James II of Scotland put a ban on the sport. In 1457, James II felt that golf’s popularity was detracting young men’s attention away from their archery practice. The preceding Scotland kings continued the ban until 1502, when King James IV repealed the ban after becoming a golfer himself. The people of St. Andrews were granted the right to play on the links by Archbishop John Hamilton in 1552.
St Andrews along with being the ‘home of golf’ is the home for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which was founded in 1754. Initially known as the Society of St Andrews Golfers, the R&A GC was started by 22 noblemen, landowners and professors. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club was the original governing body for the game of golf. In 2004, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club passed along its rule making authorities, one of only two golf governing organizations with the other being the USGA, to its offshoot organization, simply known as the Royal and Ancients or R&A.
At the time the Royal and Ancient Golf Club was founded the Old Course at St Andrews was made up of 12 holes. A golfer would play ten of the holes twice within a round, making it a 22-hole round. The player would play the course heading ‘out’ along the coastline and then head back ‘in’ towards the clubhouse. During those times once you finished play on one hole, the player would tee his ball up using sand from the hole and place it within 2 club lengths of the past hole. In 1764, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club, at that time still the Society of St Andrews Golfers, determined that some holes were too short and converted the first four holes into two holes. This created the now standard 18-hole round of golf.
St Andrews Links hit a dark time in 1797 when the St Andrews Town Council went bankrupt and sold the links to local merchants. The merchants turned the links into a rabbit farm. What would ensue became known as the “rabbit wars,” over twenty years of legal and physical war between golfers and the rabbit merchants over the links. The golfers would prevail when a local landowner and golfer James Cheape of Strathtyrum bought the links in 1821 to save it for golf.
In 1856, Old Tom Morris, the “grandfather of golf,” laid out the first “double greens” feature which became a defining feature for links golf courses. It was established that there would be two holes on every green except the 1st and 18th hole. Morris later became Custodier of the Links as appointed by the R&A. Old Tom Morris set the precedence for modern links courses.
The Saint Andrews Town Council would reclaim ownership of the St Andrews Links in 1894. James Cheape had sold the Links in 1893 to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club who outbid the Town Council. The Town Council petitioned Parliament and was able to have the Links be placed in common ownership. After several Acts of Parliament, the St Andrews Links were granted to the Links Trust who remain in ownership to this day. Making the town members of St Andrews the owners of the St Andrews Links.
In 1895 the Saint Andrews Links were expanded with the addition of the New Course, which was built by the R&A. The Town Council built the Jubilee Course in 1897, named in honor of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, and the Eden course in 1914. The Balgrove, a 9-hole course, was designed for beginners in 1972 but remodeled in 1993 when the Strathtyrum course was added. The Castle course was added in 2007, opened in 2008 and designed by David McLay Kidd.
St Andrews Links is one of the hosts to the first major professional golf tournament, the Open Championship. The first playing of the Open at the Old Course was in 1873, the winner was Tom Kidd. St Andrews Links has hosted the Open Championship more than any other course. It typically hosts the Open every five years. St Andrews Links provides unique challenges with its infamous bunkers, including the Old Course’s “Hell Bunker” on 14 and the Road Hole on 17. Many of the greatest Open Champions have crossed the famous 700-year-old Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of the Old Course.
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