A number of events to celebrate the anniversary are being planned by the Links Trust for 1 July 2003. A 9 hole evening competition for teams of adults and children is taking place on the Strathtyrum Course with a shotgun start at 5.30pm followed by an evening barbecue and ‘Snag’Golf at the Eden Clubhouse. The price for a bucket of balls at the Golf Practice Centre will be reduced to its 1993 level of £1.50. There will also be a surprise for players on both the Strathryrum and Balgove courses. In addition, Trustees and Links Management Committee members and staff who were involved in the projects will get together to review the facilities 10 years on.
“1993 was an historic year for the Links, heralding a range of improvements to the courses and facilities designed to meet the expectations of golfers coming to play at St Andrews,” said Alan McGregor, general manager of the Links Trust. “Our celebration is a tribute to the people who were here in the 1980s and early 1990s as they had the vision and commitment to embark on an ambitious programme of change, creating the first class golfing venue we have today.”
When it opened in 1993 the Strathtyrum Course was the first new course to open at St Andrews Links for 80 years. Designed by Donald Steel, it was seen as a welcome addition to the Links portfolio of courses and was aimed at medium and high handicappers.
The first 24 golfers to play the course were drawn from the winners of a competition in the St Andrews Citizen. First to tee off were father and son, John and Ian Steven. Their opening drives were co-ordinated with the opening drive in the Golf Practice Centre by Catriona Matthew (nee Lambert), who was then the Ladies British Open Amateur Champion. The timing of the drives was set by the firing of a cannon and a fly past by three tornadoes from RAF Leuchars.
The 9 hole Balgove course was also redesigned by Donald Steel and opened on 22 June 1993 by the members of the Children’s Golf Club. Originally laid out in 1972, the Balgove was transformed into a real golfing experience for beginners with hazards and a double green. The verdict of the first players to complete the course was “brilliant”.