James,
I am still unable to answer your question with any real conviction (you aussies know about 'convict'ion, don't you!?
) Harhar!
However, here's Randa's take on the subject:
"The creation of a separate first green in 1870 eventually led to the present course being permanently adopted for major events, although records for both courses continued into the last decade of the 19th century. In modern times the old left-hand course has occasionally been played for a few weeks in winter.
Constant use and natural erosion over hundreds of years forged a widening path through the dunes, heather and whin bushes. The inward holes of today's course mark the original line followed out and back by the earliest golfers and the gradual widening of the double fairways has brought more land on the seaward side into play.
Most bunkers are in natural hollows where the thin surface of topsoil was broken to reveal the sand beneath. Some have been refined for modern use and in the early 1900s additional bunkers were put in to the right of several outward holes to replace the bushes which had once flourished. A bunker in the wide expanse of the shared first and last fairways was removed in 1914 and six new championship tees have been created to cope with the onslaught of today's big- hitting professionals".
Fergawdsakes, don't let Shivvy-baby see this thread...
FBD.