A visit to The Links usually unveils improvements or interesting changes to our No 1 course. A project underway is opening up more of the wetlands which over the years had become overgrown with tall bulrush and reeds, hiding any sign of water. The project is revealing more wetland areas than I had thought there were. These aren’t natural but were created to help remove storm water from the property, as well as encourage an influx of birdlife. An amphibious excavator is quickly removing the dense foliage, and water is now appearing between the 10th and 16th. The back tee on the par 5 plays directly over the hazard. Talking of back tees, there’s a new one on No 6 which has been built higher up in the mounding. It provides not only a better view of the short par 4; if you look around you can see the greens of six holes in total from that height — 5-6-7-8-10-14. You also cannot miss seeing Gary Player’s new design feature behind the par-3 eighth green, a highly visible white sanded bunker with wooden sleepers which is so far removed from the green that it is not in play. It’s purely an aesthetic addition, and the large splash of white is eye-catching. There’s a new wooden walkway connecting the tees on the fourth, but sadly I saw far too many weekend golfers using carts. They’re missing out on a beautiful walk in the dunes with a caddie. Would these golfers ask for a golf cart on the Old Course at St Andrews?
