The Area of Interest – The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland

In July, the 150^th British Open Golf Championship will be held at the Old Course at St. Andrews. In 1552 the Archbishop of St. Andrews, John Hamilton, officially established the 22-hole golf course that still remains there today. Prior to that, the grounds had been used by farmers since the late 1470’s; and as such, it was the first area golf was played in the world. In 1764 the Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews reduced the number of holes from 22 to 18 as the golfers decided the first four holes and last four holes were too short and should each be made into two holes instead of four. As more golf courses sprang up around the countryside, 18 holes became the standard format. In 1797, the St. Andrews Town Council lost control of the links due to financial issues and allowed rabbit farming on the course. After twenty years of fighting for the course to return, the locals got their wish as James Cheape bought the land and saved the links from rabbit farming.

The Old Course at St. Andrews has hosted the British Open 27 times. The Old Course held its first British Open in 1873 when Tom Kidd won the tournament; he was paid £11 (British Pound) for his victory, the equivalent of just £727 today! Last year’s winner of the British Open, Stewart Cink, won nearly £800,000 for his championship performance. The Old Course is legendary and is a favorite of current and past professional golfers: Jack Nicklaus was quoted, "I fell in love with it the first day I played it, there’s just no other golf course that is even remotely close;" Tiger Woods recently said, "Without a doubt I like it the best of all the Open venues, it’s my favorite course in the world."

The Old Course is a links style golf course as there are no trees and holes are lined by natural grasses that are deep and typically unplayable. The course is also known for its large double greens that are shared on most holes; only the 1st, 9th, 17th and 18th holes have their own greens. It can also be played in either direction, although for the 150th Open it will be played counter-clockwise. Sunday is reserved for grass recovery on the Old Course; and play is only allowed for a select few golf tournaments each year such as the Open.

The Old Course is located on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, just outside the town of St. Andrews. It is approximately a one-hour drive from Edinburgh and a half-hour drive from Glasgow. St. Andrews has a latitude of 56 degrees, 18 minutes North which is quite far north for golf to be played as Moscow is actually south of the Old Course. Warmed by the Gulf Stream in the winter and then moderated in the summer, the weather is typically rainy and windy with temperatures in the mid-60s during July, leaving golfers chilly after 18 holes on the links.

Sky Rubin
Senior Sales Manager
eMap International

Below are several high-resolution images of the Old Course at St. Andrews collected by GeoEye-1 on November 13, 2009. Image provided courtesy of GeoEye, 2010.

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