McEwan: St Andrews is over-used. It’s time to cut back.

There’s very little I have in common with the Prince and Princess of Wales, and one is quite certain one doesn’t require a comprehensive list of ways in which we differ for one to be convinced.

Something we do share is a love for St Andrews.

It’s well-established that William and Kate met in the town whilst studying at the university there around the turn of the century. “It is just amazing,” gushed the future king. “A beautiful place.” I don’t disagree. Over the course of 20 years writing about golf, I’ve become a regular visitor, and it is always a pleasure.

From pegging it up on one of the courses in the town, to queuing down the street for a sorbet from Jannettas Gelateria, to celebrating the festive season in July courtesy of The Nutcracker Christmas Shop on Market Street, I absolutely adore the place.

I would, though, like to visit less frequently. Certainly in a professional capacity. I make at least one visit every year to cover a tournament in the ‘Auld Grey Toon’ and whilst I’m not suggesting the magic has worn off, I do worry that the Old Course is being used too often.

If my math is correct, over the last 20 years, St Andrews has played host to at least 30 high-profile events: four Open Championships, three Women’s Opens, a Senior Open, a Walker Cup, a Curtis Cup, and annual renewals of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Controversial take incoming: that’s far too much.

With no disrespect to any of the other events listed, wouldn’t it be better for this incredibly special, aspirational venue to be used solely for The Open and AIG Women’s Open?

It ought to exist as somewhere that the best amateurs in the game dream of playing, a dream they can only fulfill by reaching the very pinnacle of their sport: their respective Opens.

And for senior pros, it ought to endure as a fond memory of the time they were at the peak of their powers.

As for the Alfred Dunhill Links, it pains me to say this but it has become rather tired, a pale imitation of the event it once was. Hollywood A-listers have been replaced by reality TV Z-listers in the amateur pool. Not that they have a choice, the PR and comms team play it fast and loose with the expression ‘star studded’.

If I was being particularly unkind, I might be inclined to argue that the event is no longer worthy of the Old Course. Instead, why not use the New Course next door? Or the spectacular Dumbarnie Golf Links nearby? Because it might lose its lustre? Because it might struggle to attract as – here goes – ‘star studded’ a field. That, I’m sorry to say, is hardly St Andrews’ problem, nor should it be.

You are no doubt familiar with the belief that you can never have too much of a good thing. In its own little way, St Andrews is stress-testing that hypothesis. You might even call it ‘The Scarcity Charm Paradox’. The less you have of something you want, the more you appreciate it when you get it. Similarly, the more you have of something, the less ‘special’ it becomes.

It’s not that familiarity breeds contempt, necessarily. It’s more that it engenders a sense of ‘meh’.

Part of the reason why the Olympic Games and football’s World Cup are both so popular is because you only see them once every four years. Would they be as special if they took place every year? Probably not.

Likewise, Augusta National. Every golfer knows there’s a very small window of opportunity to see it in all its splendor each April. Beyond that, forget it. See you next year. As soon as The Masters is over, the countdown to ‘next time’ begins in earnest.

You could even make the case that the qualities of Pebble Beach would be exponentially reinforced if it dropped its annual PGA Tour pro-am and, instead, focused exclusively on staging the US Open and US Women’s Opens.

Given its status and station in the game, St Andrews should never become somewhere that people take for granted or become blasé about. It’s far too important for that.

Ensuring none of this comes to pass, however, means making people miss it. Because we all know what absence does to the heart, right?

Reserve it for the biggest events in the men’s and women’s games respectively. Put it on a pedestal and keep it there. Make playing there more of an ambition and less of a given. Make St Andrews great again.

Or words to that effect.

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Michael McEwan is the 2023 PPA Scotland ‘Columnist of the Year’ and ‘Writer of the Year’

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor