Historians tell us that golf has been played on Links land from about 1350,
but surprisingly the first record of golf at St Andrews only occurs in 1552.
In that year Archbishop Hamilton of St Andrews was granted 'Rights of Warren
on the Links' but contained within this charter was the safeguard permitting
citizens of the Royal Burgh to play golf on these same links. It is, however,
reasonable to assume that golf was already a traditional game at St Andrews
by 1457, the year in which the game was banned by King James II of Scotland
because it interfered with the practice of archery and thus was a threat to
the nation's defence.
Rabbit farming on the links continued to cause problems into the 19th century
and it was not until 1821 that the battles, both legal and physical, came to
and end when St Andrews citizen James Cheape bought the links from the farmers.
In 1893 the R & A purchased these same links from Cheape for £5,000
and the following year an Act of Parliament formalised matters between the club
and the town. Parliamentary powers in force today were enacted in 1974.
Tom Watson plays from near the wall at the famous 17th "Road Hole". Allsport.
In 1754 when the society of St Andrews golfers (later to become the R &
A) was constituted, the Old Course consisted of 22 holes, eleven out and eleven
in. After the first eleven the player turned around, played over the same ground
and holed out in the same holes on the way in. Homeward players had the right
of way, as at that time the golfing ground was less than on third of its present
width.
Then years later the four holes to the east of the present R & A Clubhouse
were abandoned and the 18 hoes playing not only nine small greens with nine
pins, remained largely unchanged until 1830. Then, having suffered many years
of congestion and confusion caused by too many players playing to the same hole,
someone had the inspiration to propose bigger greens with 2 pins each and so
were formed the seven huge double greens which exist today.
There were still no tees, the player being required to tee his ball within
two club lengths of the hole just layered. Since sand on which to tee the ball
was obtained from the bottom of the hole, the holes became so deep that it was
difficult to retrieve the ball. Separate teeing grounds were introduced in 1846.
Late into the 19th Century the left-hand course (1st tee to 17th green etc.)
was the accepted way of playing the 18 holes and until 1890 there were records
for both the right-hand and left-hand courses, the latter being held by Willie
Auchterlonie with 71.
The Old Course has remained virtually as it was in 1821, as shown by a map
of the day, but for the addition of Championship tees which have increased the
length.
