True Links Courses

Isnt st andrews a links.
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Nope
Parkland
;)
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Since when? :D
http://www.standrews.org.uk/
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Awww. C'mon...

Everyone knows that the supposed "St Andrews" you see on the telly for the Open & stuff isn't the real one.
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I don't doubt you for one minute, but you are starting to sound like MVP & one of his conspiricy theorys.... rofl. :D

todles off to seach net & wiki'pedia....
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Little known fact

Golf was actually invented by a guy called Stan Drew, who struggled to catch rabbits until he found a way of hitting stones at them with a big stick. He used to find loads of them in a big field which was later named after him.

I than' yoo

:cool:
 
Found this quite interesting & amusing, not quite as C/Hacker would have anyone think in the little wind up. But Rabbits have been involved in St Andrew Links history.

Appologies for the blatant copy & paste From the www.standres.org.uk/ website

1797 St Andrews Town Council reported to be in financial difficulty. Robert Gourlay and John Gunn advance money to the Town Council on the security of the links. Gourlay and Gunn exercise their right to sell the links by disposing of part of the land to Thomas Erskine of Cambo.
1799 Links feu duties sold to Charles and Cathcart Dempster, who introduce rabbits on a commercial scale.


Chronology 1800-1900
1801 George Cheape, Captain of the Society of St Andrews Golfers, complains that rabbits are destroying the links.
1805 Court of Session decided that inhabitants of St Andrews have the right to kill and destroy rabbits on the links, and the Rabbit Wars begin.
1817 Thistle Golf Club founded.
1821 James Cheape of Strathtyrum buys the links and brings the Rabbit Wars to an end.
1834 Society of St Andrews Golfers becomes Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

It rather tickles me this thought of a Rabbit war. Sounds like something someone would make a film about.

1834 Society of St Andrews Golfers becomes Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
1842 Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair elected Provost of St Andrews.
1843 St Andrews Golf Club founded.
1848 George Cheape redeems the fee duty on the Links for £1,000. The gutty ball is invented in St Andrews by Robert Adams Paterson.
1850 Tom Morris's first son, Tom, dies aged four (April).
1851 Young Tom Morris born (20 April). Old Tom moves to Prestwick.
1852 St Andrews branch railway line opened.
1853 R&A and Union Club unite.
1854 R&A Clubhouse built.
1856 Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair appointed captain of R&A. Two holes cut on each green of Old Course.
1857 R&A spring meeting approves cutting of two holes on each green.
1859 Allan Robertson dies aged 44 (1 September).
1864 Tom Morris returns from Prestwick. Andrew Strath moves to Prestwick.
1865 Tom Morris takes over as Custodian of the Links.
1866 Tom Morris sets up his own club and ballmaking business.
1867 Ladies' Golf Club formed.
1868 Andrew Strath dies at Prestwick; Davie Strath turns professional. Rose Golf Club formed.
1869 A bunker disappears from the Old Course and is then reinstated and named Sutherland. Evening classes for caddies begin. Improvements at Links Road and approaches to Old Course. Eighteenth fairway returfed. Memorial to Allan Robertson erected in Cathedral burying ground.
1870 New green created west of Swilcan Burn, enabling the Old Course to be played on left- or right-hand circuits.
1872 R&A Clubhouse extended.
1873 Tom Kidd wins first ever Open over Old Course.
1875 Tommy Morris's wife dies in childbirth (11 September). Tommy Morris dies (25 December).
1876 Davie Strath leaves St Andrews to be Keeper of the Links at North Berwick. Davie Strath ties for Open at St Andrews but loses on a technicality. Tom Morris' wife, Agnes, dies (1 November).
1878 Memorial to Tommy Morris unveiled in Cathedral burying ground (24 September). Davie Strath dies on a health trip to Australia.
1880 The Links Road 'war'.
1893 St Andrews Town Council sets up a committee to examine golfing facilities on the links. R&A appoints a committee to confer with James Cheape with a view to purchasing the links. Dr.Thomas Thornton advises Town Council to seek parliamentary authority to acquire the links. Town Council offer £4,500 for the links; R&A offer £5,000. James Cheape attempts to sell the links to R&A. Town Council petitions Parliament for power to acquire the links. George Bruce plans Bruce Embankment reclamation. Jack Morris, youngest son of Tom Morris, dies (22 February).
1894 St Andrews Links Bill goes before Scottish Select Committee. Town Council and R&A tell Select Committee that agreement has been reached between them.


It does seem that the land has been quite heavily managed over time.Much work having been done. Many things being altered from their natural state. Fairways getting retrfed, greens being added, two holes on each green added. Seems as if the course layout has been swapped around.

Though the Old course does not seem to have been moved at any time from where it stood, it has most certainly gone through changes that would have changed it significantly.

I thought it was most interesting to look at the maps of all the courses laid out & where they are & the Old course is certainly not the closest of the courses to the sea in the dunes.

As to the initial Jibe about St Andrews being a parkland course, well, there maybe no trees, the course is on common land & the opening & finishing holes in that common land, are certainly not the wild type of links many would consider to be links, but that opening & finishing hole does have elements of both parkland & links. But I have little problem calling the Old course a links.
 
i think I read some where that there are only something like 160 true links courses in the world with about half of them being in Ireland.
Mike
 
Links is the infertile land between the sea and land that is usefull for agriculture.

Proper golf in my opinion.
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I think you meant ''useless for agriculture''. That's the origin of links golf. The land was of no use to the farmers.
 
Links is the infertile land between the sea and land that is usefull for agriculture.

Proper golf in my opinion.
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I think you meant ''useless for agriculture''. That's the origin of links golf. The land was of no use to the farmers.
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In my head this made sense. Your right with the useless for agri bit but then as i said " Links is the infertile land between the sea and land that is usefull for agriculture." so as I said its between the sea and the farmland. So you have the sea, infertile land(links), then farmland.
 
Ooohh, tricky.

I guess if you are west of Leeds, then you need to look at the West coast, either top/west of Wales or North of Liverpool.

Otherwise, head east to where "I know nothing".....

Blackpool area got to be a fair bet.....might need a good lottery ticket though.....
 
Get in the car and get above the border.

Come Ayrshire way and you'll be spoilt for choice.

Andy
 
i think I read some where that there are only something like 160 true links courses in the world with about half of them being in Ireland.
Mike
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80 Links courses in Ireland :eek: those leprichauns are a magical bunch t'be sure! :D
 
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