By Daniel Rapaport
The Home of Golf could be underwater as soon as 2050, according to a new climate-change study.

The study, released by Climate Central—an organization comprised of leading scientists and journalists who study climate change’s impact on society—and analyzed by The Herald predicts large swaths of Scotland’s coastline could be submerged due to increased annual flooding and sea level rise. This includes St. Andrews Links, located in the town of St. Andrews on Scotland’s eastern coastline.

An image from Climate Central’s interactive map that predicts where the water levels will have overrun the coast in 2050 (areas marked in red) shows that the Old Course at St. Andrews would essentially be submerged.

Climate Central published an interactive map to show which areas could be affected. It predicts a widening of the River Clyde, which would impact areas to the west of Glasgow, as well as damage to Dundee, Fife, Stirling and a number of other Scottish metropolitan areas.

St. Andrews’ Old Course is one of five Scottish courses in the Open Championship’s 10-course rota. The map also suggests two other Scottish rota courses—Carnoustie and Royal Troon, both located on the coast—could be severely impacted.

Photo from Climate Central’s interactive map predicts water levels for 2050.

“As these maps incorporate big datasets, which always include some error” an explainer on Climate Central’s website reads, “these maps should be regarded as screening tools to identify places that may require deeper investigation of risk.”

This is not the first time Scotland’s coastal golf courses have been included in warnings about rising sea levels. In 2018, the Climate Coalition released a paper called “Game Changer: How climate change is impacting sports in the U.K.”

“Unchecked, the impacts of climate change could significantly affect the sport over the long term, particularly in Scotland,” the report states, noting that one in six of Scotland’s 600 courses are located on coastline.

The 2018 report used Montrose Links, a course that dates to 1562 and sits on the northeast coast of Scotland, as a case study. The North Sea has crept 70 meters closer to the course in recent years, according to research published by Dundee University.

“As the sea rises and the coast falls away, we’re left with nowhere to go,” Chris Curnin, director of golf at Montrose, is quoted in the report. “Climate change is often seen as tomorrow’s problem, but it’s already eating away at our course.”

The potential impact has drawn the attention of the R&A—the governing body of golf in the United Kingdom, and the organization that puts on the Open Championship—which started the Golf Course 2030 initiative in 2018. The goal of the project is to “consider the impacts, both positive and negative, of the changing climate, resource constraints and regulation on course condition and playability.”

In January 2020, the R&A pledged £650,000 to various sustainability projects in an attempt to proactively safeguard courses from the effects of climate change. The organization has also tapped Steve Isaac as its Director of Sustainability.

“The planet’s climate is shifting and we can all expect more extreme conditions and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns in the future,” reads a section on the R&A’s website dubbed “Planning for Climate Change.”

“This will have a major impact on the way golf courses must be managed and it is important to ensure that the management approach at your golf club can cope with whatever the weather throws at it. A sustainable approach to course management offers the best chance of stability in unpredictable times.”

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By Joel Beall
After two months of closure, the Home of Golf is back.

In a letter to its membership, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews announced it is re-opening four of its links on May 29. All courses in Scotland have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic since March 23.

The Old Course, New Course, Eden and Balgove will be in the first wave of openings, with the Eden turned into two separate nine-hole layouts to encourage nine-hole rounds. The Jubilee, Strathtyrum and Castle will not open at this stage but “will re-open in a phased manner in the future. The St Andrews Links will advise 2 days before these courses open,” according to Ford Horsfield, head of golf services.

It will not be business as usual. The letter states that “at this time all courses are available for Yearly Ticket holders only.” Tee times will be made in 12-minute intervals with two golfers per tee time.

There will also be no walk-ups, so if necessary there is a track and trace record of who is on the links.

Last week Scottish Golf confirmed that May 29 would be the earliest return date for Scottish courses. However, a number of courses, especially those in Edinburgh, are targeting June 8 for re-opening.

As of May 26, there are over 15,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Scotland, according to the NHS Board.

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We bring this up because someone had the bright idea that Scotland, known for being the Home of Golf, to keep, um, golf out of the country’s latest tourism endeavor.

The 110-page “insight findings” report from Lucid People Ltd. on a Scotland campaign video found golf to be too divisive to people. If that sounds ridiculous, know it’s not the only head-scratcher in this Powerpoint, which looks like it was put together by a drunk 19-year-old who found out 40 minutes before class starts that the semester-long project is due. Said report also warns of using Sean Connery, Scotland’s favorite son, because his James Bond role is “obtuse” and “facile.” Insert “curious emoji with hand on chin” here.

Oh, and God. No God references, according to Lucid People Ltd. Why? No idea. It just says don’t mention the Big Man. Okay, then.

You know what? Lucid didn’t go far enough. Scotland should throw out whisky and the Highlands. No mention of “Braveheart,” either. The tourism board should simply go on Getty Images, find stock photos of “innovation” and “people in the workplace” and work up a slideshow. That, or take the report from Lucid and toss it in the ocean.

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By John Huggan
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — He was a little less than convincing towards the end of his final round, but Miguel Angel Jimenez did just enough over the closing holes to hold off defending champion Bernhard Langer and claim the Senior British Open Championship at St. Andrews. The pony-tailed Spaniard, two shots clear of the rest of the field overnight, shot a three-under 69 in weather conditions that ranged from thoroughly unpleasant to relatively benign to win by one shot with a 12-under-par 276. For his trouble, he earned $314,330.

As well as being Jimenez’s second senior major title of 2018, it was surely one of the most emotional victories of his career. To win on the same green where his late compatriot, Seve Ballesteros, had indulged in one of golf’s most iconic celebrations was, for the 54-year-old, a clearly emotional experience.

“I didn’t play too good over the last few holes,” Jimenez admitted. “I didn’t hit many solid shots. And I missed short putts on both the 14th and 15th. At that stage I was feeling the stress. My heart was really pumping very fast. But it is such a great thing for me to win here at St. Andrews, the Home of Golf. This is the place where everyone wants to win and the place where Seve won his second British Open. It has always been my ambition to win here. It feels like I am part of history.”

As ever, Langer was generous in defeat. The man to beat every time he tees-up in a PGA Tour Champions event, he left disappointed but happy enough with the way he played during his closing 68. The three-putts he expended on the 13th green will surely live on in his memory though. The three-shot edge he gave to Jimenez was just too much to retrieve.

“Miguel played an awesome four days of golf, and he’s a very well-deserved winner,” Langer said. “I was pretty happy overall. It wasn’t easy in some of the conditions that we had.”

Related: Pro’s tee shot hits seagull on Road Hole, ricochets out of bounds

It could have been worse. As things turned out, the leading groups got by far the best of the conditions. At its worst, the wind and rain sweeping over the ancient links transformed the back nine into a procession of virtual par 5s. Despite the late improvement in the conditions, the 72-man field was a collective 136 over par.

And finally—probably literally—playing perhaps his final round over the only Scottish course on the Open rota where he did not claim the claret jug, Tom Watson closed with a disappointing round of 77. Only three strokes back at the start of Sunday, the 68-year-old fell into a tie for 21st place. None of which seemed to matter to the hardy souls braving the conditions. Many gathered to wave goodbye to one of the greatest links players of all-time.

“As ever, the fans were really very good to me,” said Watson, a three-time Senior British Open winner. “I gave it right back to them. I appreciate what they do for me. This is a unique setting in golf, probably the most unique. You come into the town on the last hole and finish amongst all the buildings with the people hanging over the rail up there. There’s no other place like it.”

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