THE MAJOR irrigation works due to take place at St Andrews will see parts of the Old Course CLOSED for months.
It was revealed yesterday that the St Andrews Links Trust will splash out £10million on a new sprinkler system to protect their iconic links venues from future dry spells.
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The Trust operates six 18-hole courses at the Home of Golf – the Old, the New, the Jubilee, the Eden, the Castle and the Strathtyrum – and the nine-hole Balgove.
Of course the Old is the most famous of them all and is regularly ranked among the UK and indeed the world’s best.
But the links turf suffers during severe dry spells, much like we saw in Scotland last month.
The project will see the number of sprinklers on the Old Course more than double from 800 to 1,500.
Work is scheduled to begin in November this year and the aim is for it to be completed in March 2026.
Management has vowed to keep the course open for play during this time, with the installation taking place in stages to minimise disruption as much as possible.
But parts of the course will be shut off as a result.
The Scottish Sun understands that at least two holes on the iconic course will be closed at any one time, with a ‘mole plough’ used to lay new pipework and cable.
But there could be as many as FOUR holes out of play during certain periods.
To reflect this, the Trust will reduce green fees from the normal rate.
Neil Coulson, chief executive of the Trust, said: “Over the next five years we are making a significant investment in our courses, not just to improve the experience for all those playing on our iconic courses, but to safeguard their future.
“As the Home of Golf, we take our responsibility to protect this land seriously and want to lead the way in securing a more sustainable future for our sport.
“The project was one of the first we discussed early in 2022 as we set out a strategy to increase surplus to enable reinvestment into our facilities.
“I am pleased this work will soon be underway as we continue to ensure we have the best facilities available for all our local and visiting golfers.”
The Open Championship will return to St Andrews in 2027.
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