St Andrews chiefs splash millions to improve Old Course

The St Andrews Links Trust has pledged £10.5million towards an irrigation project across a number of its venues – including the iconic Old Course.

Bosses at the Home of Golf will begin work this winter to install 1,500 new sprinklers on the Old Course, insisting a new water system is required to safeguard the world-famous layout.

There are currently 800 sprinklers across the 18 holes, but management will break ground in November to install ‘hidden’ pop-up sprinklers that will stop the course drying out in the summer months.

The work is expected to be completed by March 2026, in time for the new playing season and, of course, the return of the Open Championship in July 2027.

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The full £10.5million outlay will also be spent on improving the irrigation system by five other Fife courses that are looked after by the Links Trust.

The Old Course’s current irrigation system was installed 25 years ago and a new and more effective water usage system will help the putting surfaces and allow for new pin locations on the course.

A number of holes are expected to be closed during the maintenance work and the Old Course will not be sold as part of the Links Trust’s three-round package in recognition of the disruption.

Instead, the course will only be able to play via the ballot with a reduced green fee.

Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links 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.

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“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.”

Sandy Reid, director of greenkeeping at St Andrews Links Trust, added: “We will be better able to irrigate specific parts of the courses, which is particularly useful during dry spells such as we’ve experienced recently as it ensures all irrigation gets to the areas most in need.”

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.