Prince Andrew opens St.Andrews new Castle Course

2nd July 2008

The latest golf course to be built by the St Andrews Links Trust has been officially opened by Prince Andrew, The Duke of York.

The £12m Castle Course - on cliff tops to the south of the town - has been open to paying players since Saturday.

A ceremony has been held with about 150 invited guests at the seventh course to be created in the trust's 600 years.

Prince Andrew unveiled a commemorative plaque at the first tee of the 18-hole course. He is a former captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

Design and construction work began four years ago on the course, which has been made to look like a links.

The Duke of York was given a short tour of the course by designer David McLay Kidd.

Trust chairman Alastair Dempster said: "We are honoured to have the Duke of York conduct the official opening of the Castle Course.

"This is a historic occasion not just for golf in St Andrews but for Scotland as a whole. It is the most substantial project undertaken by the Links Trust and we are very pleased with the outcome.

"We believe the Castle Course will be an excellent addition to the Scottish golf scene and will attract golfers from near and far for many years to come."

It has cost about £12m to design and build the course, which overlooks St Andrews from cliff tops to the south.

Work first began four years ago to meet an increasing demand for additional golf facilities in the town.

Links general manager, Alan McGregor, told the BBC Scotland news website: "We're very fortunate at St Andrews. We are the home of golf and everybody wants to come here and play.

"That gives us an awful lot of customers and, in fact, we have more customers than we can cater for."

Designers have transformed an arable patch of gently sloping farmland into a very hilly course.

Golf architect Paul Kimber has been working on site for much of the construction period.

He said: "We came up with this ragged look and instantly we knew we could make that work.

"It's something unique in golf. No one else has tried it before and we're really pleased with the uniqueness we have managed to create here."

From: BBC