St Andrews; The evolution of the Old Course

[Scott Macpherson]

HI,

I am brand new to GCA, but have been directed here to try and respond to anyone who may have questions about my new book; 'St Andrews, The Evolution of the Old Course- The Impact on Golf of Time, Tradition & Technology'.

Sorry, it has taken me a while to get connected, but if any members still have questions about this book, I would be delighted to try and answer them.

cheers,

Scott Macpherson

[Jason Topp]

Welcome Scott!

Where can I pick up your book in the US?

[Scott Macpherson]

HI Jason,

It is a limited edition book of only 3000 copies worldwide, and sadly only available though our website (www.tmgolfdesign.com) at the moment, or at bookshops in St Andrews....

scott

[BCrosby]

Scott -

Your book is terrific. Expensive, but terrific. I strongly recommend it to all at GCA. Bite the bullet and buy it. It is the best design evolution I have seen.

Congratulations on a wonderful, thorough job. I hope it is the first of many more similar histories on worthy courses.

Bob

[wsmorrison]

Scott,

Congratulations on a wonderful book.  My brother bought two copies and sent me one.  Next time I see him I'll have to pay him back.

A few weeks ago, I posted two Joshua Crane drawings from the book (I hope you don't mind) showing a proposed change to the first hole to improve strategic demands off the tee.  Were there other suggested changes (improvements in Crane's mind) to the course elsewhere in the GI article?  Bob Crosby and others are looking for information on Crane and his debate with MacKenzie and Behr on the merits of The Old Course and the direction golf architecture was moving at that pivotal time.  If you have any copies of the articles, I know at least one Georgian that would be very pleased.

I like the way you handled the architectural evolution of the golf course and the impact on technology.  It pertains to all golf courses and using The Old Course as an example was a perfect choice.

I think this book will soon sell out.  Any folks interested should bite the bullet and buy a copy.  Scott, any other projects in the works that you'd care to discuss?

[Adrian_Stiff]

Scott- Maybe you could put your book on ebay with a buy it now price. im sure you'd get a lot of takers... the paypal system is very easy for the buyer. Id like a copy, maybe you can send me your address and I will send a cheque.

[Brian_Ewen]

Scott
It was originally announced that Waterstones would be carrying it in the UK .

That has'nt happened has it ?

[Bradley Anderson]

Scott,

When did they begin the practice of stacking sod on bunker walls? Was this practice developed at The Old Course?

With reference to the bunkers that are in the middle regions of the fairways: were these a part of the bunkering that had evolved through forces of nature along the unkempt edge of the holes, left intact after the clearing of vegatation in the 1800's, or were they man made  features that were added later?

With reference to the dimensions of the hole cup: was this developed at The Old Course, and if so is there a story behind that?

How much of the putting surfaces are built and how much are what originally lay there.

[Sean_A]

Scott
It was originally announced that Waterstones would be carrying it in the UK .

That has'nt happened has it ?

I (my wife actually went to buy it but ordered it because the book wasn't on the shelf locally) ordered the book through Waterstones.  The local store gets the book shipped from the St Andrews Waterstones, but it was very quick.

Ciao

[James Bennett]

With reference to the dimensions of the hole cup: was this developed at The Old Course, and if so is there a story behind that?

Bradley

you may already know this, and Scott is likely to be a reliable source.  Last time I mentioned this, I didn't get that good a response so the validity may be doubtful, but ....

I understand that the water mains in use under the Old Course serving St Andrews are 4.25 inches in diameter.  I understand that the hole used to be excavated by hand (also about 4.25 inches when in 'wide' digging mode).  Perhaps the water pipe was used as a better method.

Looking forward to Scott's responses.

James B

[Bill_McBride]

Scott, my copy just arrived and I am excited about digging into it.  It is really a beautiful presentation, and makes me look forward to my return trip next June even more!

After playing in the reverse program last March, I am looking forward to learning more about when the alternative routing was used on a more regular basis.  The Links Trust did a very good job of setting up the course for the reverse but it would be a lot of work to do so on a regular basis if they went back and forth.

Thanks for coming to GolfClubAtlas for discussion.

[Brian_Ewen]

Sean
Thank you .

Sorted  

Waterstones in St.Andrews is the place to order it from in the UK [01334 477 893]

[Pete_Pittock]

Scott,
  Loved your book and highly recommend it. It is now my main reference for the Old Course. I got mine through  http://stetsongroup.com/ in NZ. Your parents?
  Here is a link to an earlier thread
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=31031;start=msg608082#msg608082

[TEPaul]

"Congratulations on a wonderful book.  My brother bought two copies and sent me one."

Wayno:

Which means I basically own half the rights to the one he sent you, right?

Scott:

Welcome to GOLFCLBUBATLAS.com.

You'll probably get some hard questions and some arguments on your conclusions from at least one on here who lives over there who'll remain nameless for the time being.  

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Scott,

The review on your site says the books, "dispels many widely accepted 'truisms' along the way.

Can you please list a couple of examples?

Anthony

[Scott Macpherson]

HI Guys, just running out the door, but thanks for your kind responses. I will reply to the questions very soon, but in the meantime...

Bob,

I did a lot of my research in the SNL. The Field provided some good material. Apart from what I used on Crane, I didn't get much else, but I recall seeing quite a bit more.

Thank for buying my book. Hope you like it.

regards,

scott

[Scott Macpherson]

HI Brad,

You had some good questions. To try and answer them, nobody seems to know when the whole bunker 'revetting' happened. There are very old photos of 'Hell' bunker with a revetted bunker about 1875, but I didn't find an reference to when or where it started. Sorry.

As regards the bunkers that are now in the middle of fairways- many of these were bunkers that had to be crossed or sat on the outside of the line to the green (remember, fairways are relatively new things). As the course got wider, some of these bunkers found there way into the middle of the fairways. Additionally however, some bunkers have been added into the middle of holes- e.g. Boase's bunker on the 9th hole.

The story about the hole Cup goes that Old Tom developed the hole cup on the 11th hole because it was notoriously sandy and kept filling with sand. So one day he got a tin cup and put it into the hole to try and keep the edges of the hole from collapsing. (ref p33 of my book)

Lastly, It would be purely speculatively for me to say what area of the greens are natural, and what were man-made, but the I think I have learnt that more are 'man-made' than what most would realise.

Thanks for your comments,

scott

[Scott Macpherson]

Dear James B

In relation to your question "I understand that the water mains in use under the Old Course serving St Andrews are 4.25 inches in diameter.  I understand that the hole used to be excavated by hand (also about 4.25 inches when in 'wide' digging mode).  Perhaps the water pipe was used as a better method.

I got permission to print the first known plan of the irrigation system on the Old Course (ref p 66) but I don't think it had any pipe sizes on it. As regards the possibility a cross section of the pipe may have been used to create the cups (or as a template for the cup), this I doubt, but who knows??? Tom morries just said he used 'a sheet-iron case'.

regards,

Scott

[Scott Macpherson]

HI Pete

As regards your question, Yes the folks at Stetson Group are my Parents. They are kindly handling the web orders while I am away on-site. I however, usually have the priviledge of sending out the books when I get back to the office. So thanks for your purchase, interest and kind words.

regards,

scott

[Scott Macpherson]

Dear Anthony,

You asked "The review on your site says the books, "dispels many widely accepted 'truisms' along the way.

Can you please list a couple of examples?"

This was a quote from a review of the book... so not my words. But I can tell you that I moved to St Andrews in 1998, and started the research in 2000. It started because many people, (especially locals and caddy's) kept telling me 'the Old Course has never changed'. I found this hard to believe, but I also found it hard to disprove. So I started buying ever book on the Old Course I could. No book really provided the meaty ammo I wanted... so I went to the library and started the spreadsheet (which is the heart of the research and features as the foldout at the back of the book). The book is the result- and it essentailly describes the spreadsheet + I added plans and photos) So, to answer your question, What I have since come to understand is that in 1998, there had not been any significant change to the OC since maybe 1955. So in most peoples lifetime (memory), they could not remember much change. So as happens, fiction had become fact (sic), because it was repeated so many times.

Thanks for your question

scott

[Ken Moum]

What I have since come to understand is that in 1998, there had not been any significant change to the OC since maybe 1955. So in most peoples lifetime (memory), they could not remember much change. So as happens, fiction had become fact (sic), because it was repeated so many times.

That pretty much describes the world of GCA alterations.

From adding trees, to moving bunkers, to narrowing fairways, if it didn't happen while you were there, it must have always been that way.

Ken

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Scott,

Did you trace the evolution of turf on the Old Course? I just chatted with someone who was part of a three-man team that put 12,000 plugs - yes, 12,000 plugs - of fine turf into the 12th green alone to replace the ryegrass that had been put in over the years.

Anthony

[ed_getka]

Scott,
   Congratulations on the great book you put together. Your book really covered the material well. I saw Ron M's copy and was very impressed. The only other book I've seen that provides as good an evolution is the Royal County Down one done in the last year or so.

[Yancey_Beamer]

Scott,
As I have posted before,that book is a joy to read and read again.
Yancey

[Brian_Ewen]

Just a heads up for those who havent got a copy yet :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/St-Andrews-The-Evolution-of-the-Old-Course-GOLF-BOOK_W0QQitemZ250187338695QQihZ015QQcategoryZ274QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem