St. Andrews Golf

The small university town of St. Andrews, in Fife, Scotland is known worldwide as the home of golf. With a tradition of more than six centuries in playing golf, St Andrews Old Course, the oldest golf course in the world, is, on a regular basis, the host of The Open Championship, the oldest major golf championship. The Old Course is owned by the famous St Andrews Links trust, acquired by the Town's Council in 1894 through a Parliament Act and, additionally, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A), also based in St Andrews, has been recognized since 1897 as the game's authority worldwide, except in the United States and Mexico.

St. Andrews Golf

History

The tradition of playing golf at the Old Course in St Andrews dates back to 1400; however the earliest evidence dates from 1552. In 1457, however, King James II of Scotland appears to have banned the game of golf because he saw it as a distraction from practicing archery. Golf continued to be banned repeatedly until King James IV, who became a golfer himself. As a result, in 1552, Archbishop John Hamilton recognized "the right to play golf" and founded the Links. In 1797, due to a rough financial situation in the region, the Town Council of St Andrews decided to drop the control of the Links and allow rabbit farms development on the surface of the golf course. After twenty years, in 1821, the land was bought by a rich landowner and golf passionate in order to save the game. The game has gained popularity worldwide and, by the 19th century, it became part of the way of life of the local community.

Game changes

Back in 1764, the golf course was comprising 22 holes, half out and half back, golfers using all of them both going out and in, except for the 11th and 22nd. Because the first and the last four holes were too close to each other, golfers decided that it would be best to reduce their number. This is how the contemporary standard golf game, with 18 holes instead of 22, was born. As the game became more popular, the golf course got more crowded with players meeting at the same hole. Therefore, a compromise was made to cut two holes on each green and mark the outward holes with white flags, and the inwards with red flags. This is how the double greens were invented.

The Home of Golf today

Now-a-days, St Andrews Links became the biggest complex of golf courses in Europe, expanding from the Old Course only to six public golf courses. The town of St Andrews counts in total 11 courses, being the largest concentration of this kind and, therefore, gathering golf players and fans from all over the world. Also, besides the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, there are many other clubs in St Andrews that have the privilege of using the Links facilities, as well as the other private or public courses in town.