Some history of golf in Fife and St Andrews
Golf has been played on the St. Andrews links since around 1400 AD.
Over the last 600 years what was one simple track between bushes and heather has developed
into six golf courses, including the famous
Old Course.
Over the Kingdom of Fife as a whole there are now 45 courses.
Golf was so popular in Scotland in the middle ages that it was banned in 1457 by James II
of Scotland who felt it was distracting young men from their archery practice.
This ban was repeated by succeeding monarchs until James IV decided to take the
game up himself. One of the most famous golfing Scottish monarchs was Mary
Queen of Scots.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club was founded in 1754, ten years after the
Honourable Company of Edinburgh golfers.
Crail Golfing Society was founded in
1786, the original
Kingsbarns in 1815 and
Scotscraig in 1817.
The Old Course, St Andrews
The Old Course layout
at St Andrews in 1764 consisted of 22 holes, 11 going out
and 11 coming back, with golfers playing to the same hole going out and back in
many instances. It was decided that the first four (and therefore also the last
four) were too short and should be turned into just two holes. This was the
first 18 hole golf course and is how today's standard round was created.
The Old Course, St. Andrews has hosted the Open Championship 27 times - more
than any other course. The Open Championship was most recently held here in 2005.
The course was lengthened to 7279 yards for the 2005 Open.
The current course record for the new longer Old Course is 65 - this was set
during the 2005 Open Championship by David Frost and equalled by Colin
Montgomerie in the Dunhill Links Championship in 2005.