St.Andrews Links Trust back tracks and will remove new paved area at Swilcan Bridge
The St.Andrews Links Trust has come under fire for altering part of one of golf’s most iconic landmarks.
The Swilcan Bridge is believed to be over 600 years old and was originally built to get sheep and cattle across the small burn. In its present form, it provides a path for golfers to get over the burn on the 18th hole at The Old Course at St.Andrews and is a popular place to get a photograph.
But greenkeepers have struggled to properly maintain the area of turf leading to and from the bridge, often it’s just a bare patch of dirt.
In an attempt to neaten things up and mitigate the turf erosion, the decision was made to pave the area.
The image from October 2022 highlights the issue of wear & tear in the area and the problem we are seeking to resolve to ensure the bridge remains accessible for all golfers and visitors throughout the year. pic.twitter.com/Fln8jqP9gg
— St Andrews Links (@TheHomeofGolf) February 5, 2023
But when the golf world found out how they tried to fix the problem, golfers took to Twitter to express their outrage. Nick Faldo was one of the first to express his disgust.
https://twitter.com/NickFaldo006/status/1622378447342534657
A number of golf fans have been sharing images of the construction for a few months now…
I was there in December helping open the new Topgolf in Glasgow. Got some good photos but seeing this was kind of like going to Disney World and the castle being under construction. pic.twitter.com/lT9JfT4HPv
— Craig Cox (@craigdcox17) February 4, 2023
And of course, then the memes came…
https://twitter.com/KayRoss96/status/1621937096184193025
Settle down, everyone.
There's still work to be done on it. pic.twitter.com/g52KpR2iwj— Tim “Lumpy” Herron (@PGALumpy) February 4, 2023
And although I could imagine this looking fine once it is turfed in with grass growing over most of it, St.Andrews has decided to backflip on the whole idea and rip it out.
The Home of Golf clearly has trouble maintaining the patch of dirt on either side of the bridge, just as many golf courses do across the globe. It seems on this occasion, in their misguided search for perfection, The St Andrews Links Trust got this one wrong.
The people have spoken and they have admitted the error of their ways.
Further to recent communications about works in the area around the Swilcan Bridge, we have released an updated statement below.
The full statement can also be found on our website here: https://t.co/Xo3TXjBD3r pic.twitter.com/ZKCY2qty1j
— St Andrews Links (@TheHomeofGolf) February 6, 2023