Golf as a sport has its origins in the Scottish highlands. Its exact origins are lost to history, but it can stake its start on the northern country of the British Isles. This fact becomes very apparent when visiting a course like St Andrews. The only thing in the sport that’s older than this course and club is the sport itself. With its origins in the 1500s, this course has a lot to offer. However, with current equipment and how far professionals can hit their balls, Brandel Chamblee is worried that the Old Course, despite its significance to the sport, is outdated.
St Andrews Story
The course has its origins with the lifting of golf bans as Archbishop John Hamilton gave the locals the right to play on the fields. Only a few of the original holes in the Old Course have survived over the years, but the Old Course still has the standard 18. There is a long history of the course being renovated and the order being switched around to better accommodate the players. At one point, St Andrews links were sold and fought for in the courts in a 16-year-long event called the Rabbit Wars. That land was reacquired for St Andrews. Since then, the club has expanded with other courses, the latest of which was constructed in 1993. Despite this history, Brandel Chamblee has noticed something about the Old Course. The holes are too small for pros today.
Brandle Chamblee’s Concern
This relates back to the golfball rollback that the players aren’t exactly excited for. As equipment continues to improve, and players like Aldrich Potgieter are breaking records in their rookie year, the size of each hole is becoming a problem. A course can’t just expand and renovate on a whim, especially not all at once. This is what the golfball rollback is trying to address. Chamblee expressed these concerns on The Smylie Show as a guest.
“I turned 63 the day after I was playing it. And I drove it three feet from the front of the green at 18, then two putted for birdie. So, yes.” Chamblee goes on to detail what would need to happen to protect the Old Course. “If you really want to rein the ball back, you’d have to rein it back 30 or 40 yards. I don’t believe this rollback, which is going to come about in the next few years, is going to make that big a difference. Guys are coming out of college now, and they are swinging 130, 135mph. So to protect these designs, you would have to bifurcate the rules. You would have to have one set of rules for equipment for pros and another for the rest of us.”
Chamblee’s justified Concern
The future of the home of golf is concerning. At least if it is to ever host a tournament on the Old Course. Something the course has done as recently as 2022 with the Open Championship. However, the course was built in a time when golf clubs were made of wood, and golf balls were made from leather and goose feathers. Chamblee has a point, with current standards and how pros play, the Old Course may be outdated.
Main Photo Credit: © Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images
