Disappearing links....

[Robert Thompson]

There's a story in the Scotsman today about the chance that many of Scotland's links may start disappearing because of coastal erosion and global warming:

"According to senior authorities on coastal erosion, some of the guardians of golf's seaside heritage have their heads buried in the sand. The irrefutable arrival of climate change makes it not a question of whether Scotland's famous links courses might be lost to the sea, but when."

The situation actually sounds kind of grim:

"Many courses on the exposed East Neuk of Fife have invested in protective measures and are, as Crail's David Roy says, "keeping their eye on the situation". Royal Dornoch last year spent £300,000 of membership revenue on defences that might last up to 50 years. But Dornoch admits that if there was a devastating storm next year, the defences - and the money - could be washed away. There are, broadly, three ways of dealing with coastal erosion. The first is to install hard defences, such as rock armour and gabion baskets - stones wrapped in wire, which will be familiar to most beach-combers."

The entire story is here:

http://sport.scotsman.com/golf.cfm?id=1558652006

[David_Tepper]

Robert -

The 9th, 10th & 11th holes at Royal Dornoch sit right along the water and are not protected by the ridge of dunesland that guards the heart of the course. In the winter of 2004-05, a seawall of large rocks & boulders (about 5-10 yards wide and at least 400 yards long) was laid to protect the 10th & 11th holes. The seawall has yet to be tested by a really bad storm. Hopefully, it will do the job for many years to come. The 9th hole remains very vulnerable.

A similar seawall was built many years ago up the coast at Golspie, to protect holes #3 thru #7 there. So far, it has protected the course, but there is not much breathing space at high tide, even when the sea is relatively calm.

Looking out 25-50 years, the picture is not encouraging.

DT    

[Doug Ralston]

Mr Thompson!

How dare you speak such blasphemy? Global Warming is a liberal plot, as any good American radclone will sell you!

Bah, humbug  

Doug

[Tyler Kearns]

Paul Daley's "Links Golf" has a chapter dedicated to the measures taken to protect links courses from coastal erosion. It is certainly a problem that needs to be addressed, and is unfortunately quite costly. Further, the money spent is not "seen" by the membership like a bunker or green renovation is, therefore there may be some hesitation from some clubs to spend it.

TK

[Brad Klein]

The distribution of sand is oviously a complex and powerful phenomenon. While the coastal links in Scotland and western Ireland are, as noted, getting clobbered, elsewhere in Great Britain there is considerable sand accretion.

In recent decades, Rye GC in Kent has been the beneficiary of so much sand build up along the southeast coast of England that it has been able to lay claim to enough newly deposited land to have built a second 18-hole golf course between its historic links and the high-tide line.

[Mark Chaplin]

In both 1938 and 1949 Royal Cinque Ports at Deal lost the planned Open Championship due to freak Easterly winter storms depositing ten of thousands of tons of shingle across the course. Now a 15 foot wall of shingle extends the entire length of the course preventing a repeat performance....we hope!

[ForkaB]

Interesting, Mark

One of the reasons for Dornoch's recent expenditures out at the 10th and 11th was to repair two seasons of "freak" winter storms, as well as prepare for the next one.  I always thought Deal's seawall was due to WWII considerations.  Was I misinformed?  Did the course used to link more closely with the sea?

David T

To my knowledge the 9th at Dornoch is not at all at threat.  The vulnerable areas are near the two rocky points on in the inward 1/2 (10/11 and 16) and not the beaches.  Must have something to do with hydrology.  Also, the beach is less being eroded than moving.  There is a huge amount of accretion at the sandy point out by the mouth of the Firth on the low links (Struie).

Rich

[ForkaB]

I don't know, Sean.  Mine is just a vague memory, which I hope that Mark (or Noel) might be able to clarify.

R

[Mark Chaplin]

Rich

The sea wall wasn't built until 1981, I've just checked David Dobby's excellent "Golf on the Kent Coast" and the sea also flooded the course in 1953, 1978 & 1979. The only hole affected to my knowledge was the short par 4 6th where the green used to be "on the beach" with shingle around 3 sides.

The 11th back tee is on top of the sea wall and plans are afoot to put the 7th and 9th back tees up on the sea wall.

www.royalcinqueports.com  members area; news ; Donald Steele report 2005 shows some of the current work either started or due this winter.

[Bill Gayne]

I'm reading " Royal Portrush Golf Club A History 1888 1988" and the need to protect the course from coastal erosion was first identified in 1966 by a government commissioned report. Extensive work was done in 1976/77 with intensive planting of marram grass and brushwood fencing to stabilise the dunes. Government cutbacks in 1979 prevented any further progress being made. In 1982/83, an estimated 25  feet of ground in the fifth green and sixth tee was lost. Emergency action was taken with the placement of large boulders at the base of the damaged area. It was feared that the next winter storms would cause continued erosion and extensive flooding of the Valley Course. Portions of the Valley course are below sea level.

1983 the club launced a fund with the aim of raising 200,000 pounds. The money came from contributions from other clubs and the sale of overseas memberships for $500 US dollars. I believe Ballybunion had to go a similar route.

Portrush has been dealing with this issue for forty years now.

[Robert Thompson]

In Canada, Crowbush Cove lost an entire dune section to a winter storm and Highlands Links' lower holes on the front nine are constantly in peril....

I don't want to get all Al Gore here, but this appears to be a significant international golf issue.

[Richard Phinney]

Massive problem (erosion has affected probably half the links in Ireland, for example) but also exacerbated man's activity along the coast, including harbours and fortifications, which greatly increase the intensity of wave activity on unfortified areas, such as sandy beaches and links.  A different case in England, but scientists say global warming having little impact on sea levels so far in many parts of Scotland, where the land has continued to rise.