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Historic Golf Course Must Not Be Allowed To Close

By: Golfshake Editor | Wed 10 Feb 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


WHAT'S the oldest known golf course in the world? Here's a clue: it's in Scotland. No, it is not the Old Course at St Andrews, or any of the other fine links in and around the Auld Grey Toon.

It's not Carnoustie either. Or Prestwick. Or Muirfield. It is called North Inch and, shamefully, it may be about to close for good. Unbelievably, golf was first played at North Inch way back in 1450 - more than 120 years before the first golf was played at St Andrews. King James I of Scotland was one of the regulars at North Inch.

It is owned by Perth and Kinross Council, which is considering closing the course as part of budget cuts - this move would save £100,000, and the course would no doubt be sold to housing developers and would be lost to the sport forever.

The council should be ashamed of themselves for even thinking about such a thing. If you own the world's oldest golf course how can you not make money with it? It started life as a six-hole course and was extended to 18 by the legendary Tom Morris.

North Inch may only measure 5,400 yards but it is a gem, meandering through glorious parkland and around the River Tay. Think back to the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and you will get some idea of the beautiful countryside that surrounds the course, guaranteed to take your breath away. 

Is it really beyond the wit of the council to get out there and promote this wonderful piece of golfing history properly? Thousands upon thousands of golfers visit this part of the world every year to play Gleneagles and St Andrews. These are people who care about the history and tradition of the sport they play - and they would bite your arm off for the chance to play the oldest golf course on the planet, if only they knew about it.

You may find this impossible to believe, but the green fee is just £14, or £20 if you want to play at the weekend. It is golf for nothing!

I have been involved with golf for as long as I can remember, and I have to tell you that I had never heard of North Inch until I stumbled across the fact that it is on the verge of closure. Nobody I have spoken to has ever heard of it either. I am sorry, but that is just not good enough

The course's own website (one of the worst I have ever seen, by the way) says: "This is where it all began. Golf has been played on the ‘Inch’ for over 500 years.  Lying within the North Inch parkland and on the banks of the River Tay, North Inch offers an enjoyable challenge to players of all abilities. Only a short iron shot from Perth...the course is an enjoyable challenge at 5,442 yards off the medal tees, with a par of 68. This gives some hope to the beginner and high handicap players, but still offers a challenge to the low handicap player. Having started as a six-hole course, moving on to 12 and finally 18 holes, the additional holes being laid out by the legendary Old Tom Morris of St Andrews.

"The North Inch Golf Course is 45 minutes by road from Edinburgh, 30 minutes from Stirling and 20 minutes from Dundee."

Now it may just be that Perth and Kinross Council has threatened to close the course in order to kick up a fuss and see what happens. It is to be hoped that somebody with the good of the game at heart will step in and take North Inch off the local authority's hands and treat it with the respect it deserves. And tell the world all about it.


What do you think? post your thoughts and feedback on the Golfshake Forum: https://forum.golfshake.com/


Tags: North Inch



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