The Lost Eden Holes

[Marty Bonnar]

I thought they looked so good from the air, it would be worthwhile to give them a thread of their own. I must have seen the holes as a wee boy, but I don’t really remember them. Was probably too excited at getting to see TOC! So, sometime in the 80s(?), the Links Trust, in their infinite stupidity, decided to bulldoze the opening and closing 4 holes to build the ‘golf academy’. Must have seemed like a good idea to someone, I guess.
I remember seeing a photo of, I think, Bing Crosby(?) teeing off at the First hole, but I can’t remember seeing any other shots of these holes. If anyone knows of any, or can find them, it’d be great to see them.







One and Seventeen Shared Green! Homage to next door!?

[Marty Bonnar]

Yep! Here’s a link to Bing at the Eden!:


https://cinemastandrews.org.uk/stars/bing-crosby-competes-at-st-andrews/


F.

[Ally Mcintosh]

Is the old second green still in existence as a practice putting / chipping green (was there in 2009 last time I played The Eden)?...


It was a cracking looking green and really made you wonder what else had been lost....

[Marty Bonnar]

Is the old second green still in existence as a practice putting / chipping green (was there in 2009 last time I played The Eden)?...


It was a cracking looking green and really made you wonder what else had been lost....

It is, Ally. They’ve bunged in a newer practice green beside it, but the old one is still right behind the tee for the new first. Interestingly, the old raised tee for that hole is still there further up the fairway, nearly on TOC.


Here’s the old par3 3rd:



I’m so gonna play that hole one of these days!
F.

[Tom_Doak]

Marty:


If you send me a reminder email next week, I will see what I have for pictures of the Eden course.  I know I've got a picture of the 16th green; don't remember if I have any of the starting or finishing holes.


17 was a tough par-4.  18, as I remember, was drivable in the prevailing wind . . . or at least I saw Walter Woods drive it once.  I don't remember if the tee was forward for some reason, or whether it had been shortened from 350 yards by that time.

[Mark Pearce]

Marty:


If you send me a reminder email next week, I will see what I have for pictures of the Eden course.  I know I've got a picture of the 16th green; don't remember if I have any of the starting or finishing holes.


17 was a tough par-4.  18, as I remember, was drivable in the prevailing wind . . . or at least I saw Walter Woods drive it once.  I don't remember if the tee was forward for some reason, or whether it had been shortened from 350 yards by that time.

Marty won't be the only one eager to see these.  The Eden is such a sad story.  So many really good/great holes and then the monstrosities they built when they lost these four holes.  Still a course I love to play when in Fife.

[Adam Lawrence]

Here's an article that writer and photographer Mark Alexander did for me some years back on the lost Eden holes, which he grew up playing.


https://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/content/the-origins-of-eden-at-st-andrews