A GOLF course in St Andrews named after the disgraced royal and former prince Andrew is to be rebranded.
The Duke’s Course, located in the coastal town in Fife, will be renamed to the Craigtoun Course following a takeover from the St Andrews Links Trust.
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The Duke’s, which was opened by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 1995, will be rebranded in January next year, with the new name inspired by its location at Craigtoun Country Park.
The club’s logo will also be changed, removing the royal association, with an illustration featuring trees.
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In October, it was announced that Andrew would lose his title of prince and vacate the 30-bedroom Royal Lodge mansion amid revelations regarding his friendship with notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
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The disgraced royal is known now as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor after he relinquished use of his other titles, including Duke of York and Earl of Inverness following the publication of the memoirs of the late Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was sexually assaulted three times by Andrew including when she was 17.
Andrew paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with her in 2022, despite insisting he had never met her.
It also emerged earlier this year that Andrew had emailed Epstein in 2011 saying “we’re in this together”, three months after he claimed he had broken all contact with the convicted sex offender.
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Neil Coulson, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said he was delighted that the course will be taken over by the trust, adding demand for golf in the area has risen to “unprecedented levels” in recent years.
He said: “The agreement for The Craigtoun Course will see the first new course added to the Home of Golf’s portfolio in 18 years and presents an ideal opportunity to expand the golf experiences we offer.
“We are delighted to have reached agreement with the Old Course Hotel and look forward to taking over what is already a significant asset for St Andrews and Scotland and building on its reputation.
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“Demand for golf in St Andrews has risen to unprecedented levels in recent years, with more rounds played by ticketholders and visitors than ever before.
“The Craigtoun Course allows us to offer additional capacity and strategically invest in our facilities to offer more opportunities to play golf.”
The trust already runs seven public courses around St Andrews, including the world-famous Old Course.
The Duke’s is an 18-hole championship heathland layout designed by five-time Open champion Peter Thomson.
