EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Five British Open venues are part of an exciting new venture aimed at promoting links golf in Scotland.
St. Andrews, Muirfield, Royal Troon, Turnberry and Carnoustie have joined forces with VisitScotland and 35 of the finest Scottish links courses to provide a mouth-watering treat for lovers of the game at the Home of Golf.
Golfers worldwide will be familiar with such landmarks as the Swilcan Bridge and the "Road Hole" 17th on St. Andrews' Old Course and the famous par-3 eighth hole at Royal Troon nicknamed "the Postage Stamp."
But the Great Scottish Links Collection Web site has been launched to help raise awareness of some of the lesser-known links courses of the golfing world that lie in wait for players visiting the historic land where the game began.
And the project, which was unveiled at St. Andrews, has received the full backing of former Royal & Ancient Club Secretary and Captain Sir Michael Bonallack -- one of golf's most respected figures.
"Links golf is the truest test of the game. It brings out all the toughest characteristics in golf -- not just as a golfer but also as a person," said Bonallack, who also won five British Amateur Championships between 1951 and 1970 and appeared in nine Walker Cups. "You get good bounces and bad bounces on undulating terrain. It is all about how you deal with them. Scotland's courses offer the best test of them all."
The idea was developed by VisitScotland's Sector Development and UK and Ireland Marketing departments, with support from renowned Scottish golf writer and author Malcolm Campbell, who was very keen for golfers across the globe to discover Scotland's true golfing roots and heritage that dates back centuries.
"Scotland is not only the Home of Golf but where it all started and the collection will re-enforce that image," said Campbell, who joined Bonallack on the collection's six-man panel of experts. "We have the best collection of pure links courses in the world. We have more of them and they are better than any other place and the idea is that people can collect them by visiting them.
"There are dozens and dozens, and if you want to play links golf then Scotland is the place to be," he added. "Five of the eight Open venues are included in the collection but there are so many more courses waiting to be discovered.
"A lot of people won't have heard of most of them but they are all great in their own right. They are very old and inexpensive and very happy to welcome visitors."
"This is a very exciting development," said Jillian Swankie of VisitScotland. "We believe Scotland has the best collection of links courses in the world and this Web site will make it obvious to the consumer.
"The new web pages have been designed so, not only can golfers choose the course they want to play, they can also book accommodation nearby and decide on which restaurant they'd like to eat at later," she added. "Additionally, although the collection features only 40 of our links courses, there are many more to choose from, all of which can be found on www.visitscotland.com/golf.
"Some of the smaller courses are available to play for as little as [about $25], they are steeped in history and they are all true links courses," she explained. "For example, Shiskine Golf Club on the Isle of Arran is only a 12-hole course, but is in a great setting with views of the Mull of Kintyre.
"A little further on from the course you will come across the cave where we're told Robert the Bruce watched the tireless efforts of a spider whose persistence encouraged him to continue with his task and ultimate victory at Bannockburn."
The panel of experts and VisitScotland drew up the exclusive list of courses by adhering to the strict definition of links golf provided by the British Golf Museum.
The museum states: "The links are the strip of land that can be found between the beach and the agricultural land used for growing crops. It is a stretch of land that is characterized by bunkers of sand, poor soil quality and long, thick grasses. The land is considered to have few uses ... one use for this was to play golf on it and the tradition has stuck."
In addition to this, VisitScotland set further criteria for inclusion including:
--Courses must be true links and not simply coastal or sea view;
--As the collection will be consumer-facing via the proposed online presence, the courses must be visitor friendly;
--The courses selected have a reputation for working in partnership with other tourism-related organizations and bodies.
Every course participating in the project will also receive a personalized plaque stating that they are a member of the collection, supply of postcards to give to visiting golfers and the right to use the specially designed Great Scottish Links logo on their own golf club literature and website.
Full details of the courses included in the collection and further information can be found by entering the website link http://www.visitscotland.com/golf/gslcollection.
Copyright 2005 PA Sport. All rights reserved.
