St Andrews Bay – the new £50 million golf resort currently being built in Fife – has teamed up with the University of St Andrews to carry out important research into the effects of global climate change on Scotland’s golf courses.
A team of university geoscientists has been given unlimited access to the St Andrews Bay site, where the construction of two championship golf courses is currently underway. The team are undertaking a series of experiments, funded by the resort, to investigate how climate changes may affect the condition of Scotland’s golf courses.
Iain Mackinnon, operations director at the St Andrews Bay site said “It is vital that the golf courses we are building at the St Andrews Bay development can stand the test of time. This research will help establish the long term future of our courses by ensuring we have measures in place to cope with any climate changes resulting from global warming.”
Dr Richard Bates, Sedimentary Systems Research Group, University of St Andrews said “Today the pressure to maintain quality courses despite rising number of users, changes in course conditions and changes in nature is greater than at any other time in the history of golf. Many of Scotland’s courses, in particular some of our most ancient ones, are in highly vulnerable coastal locations which are at risk from erosion and salt water intrusion into their ground water supply resulting from climate change. Being able to monitor the progress of the golf courses being built at St Andrews Bay will help greatly with our research into this problem.”
The St Andrews Bay development will feature two golf courses – the first, designed by “The Squire” Gene Sarazen and European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, will be open for play in July 2001. The second course has been designed by Sarazen and Bruce Devlin and will be open in 2002.