The “Previous” at Leven consists of holes from two neighboring golf equipment.
Sam Cooper
Think about a golf course worthy of the World Prime 100, a traditional Scottish hyperlinks, tucked alongside the coast simply 15 miles from St. Andrews that few individuals are conscious of, and even fewer get to play. Designed by Previous Tom Morris, this alluring structure has stunning, bouncy turf and an eclectic set of holes that imprint themselves in reminiscence. Its par 3s are crafty, its par 4s as unique as these of any hyperlinks. Its routing works harmoniously with the winds. Pot bunkers, humps and hollows thwart all however essentially the most crisply executed photographs.
Appears like a purist’s fantasy. However this course is actual. There’s only one catch: It exists solely at some point a yr.
What’s the story behind this unbelievable, ephemeral place?
The telling begins in 1848, when golf took root on a patch of frequent land in Leven, Scotland, on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, a fast hop from the house of golf. Shared by fishermen, sheep, and different sporting video games, the unique 9-hole course was fundamental however beloved. It swelled in recognition from its inception. Inside a number of many years, 4 golf equipment have been enjoying on the land.
As demand grew, the course did, too. Its enlargement was the handiwork of Previous Tom Morris, who got here down from St. Andrews and prolonged the routing to 18 holes, pushing previous the Mile Dyke, the dividing line between Leven and Lundin Hyperlinks, simply to the east. Celebrated from the beginning, this reimagined structure gained even higher luster when an inaugural match performed on it was received by one other golf legend: Previous Tom’s son, Younger Tom Morris.
The course, dubbed the “Previous” at Leven, turned often known as one in all Scotland’s golf treasures. However its recognition got here with a pitfall. Too many gamers wished a bit of it. By the flip of the century, competing pursuits pulled the course aside. 9 holes went to the golf equipment at Leven, and 9 holes for Lundin. From then on, golfers from all sides might solely think about enjoying the unique 18 holes, which have been now separated by the dyke.
Over time, each golf equipment added extra holes, creating two distinct 18-hole layouts, which proceed to fulfill their respective memberships. The Previous, in the meantime, was largely forgotten by the surface world.
And but.
For individuals who know its historical past, the dream of enjoying the “Previous” lingers. And it comes true, fleetingly, each summer time, in July.
On this present day, the golf equipment at Leven and Lundin unite, the gate on the Mile Dyke is opened, and the Previous is restored to its uninterrupted type for the enjoying of the McDonald Trophy, a pleasant particular person competitors.
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The expertise is magical. The holes movement naturally with the terrain. The inexperienced complexes provide a elegant number of rolls, tilts and humps. And the encompassing landforms all play their half to problem, confound and delight. There are photographs and lies of each nature; holes that tempt and holes that tarnish scorecards.
So inspiring is the design that the nice C.B. Macdonald primarily based one in all his well-known template holes on the seventh on the Previous, a par 4 that is still a masterpiece of strategic design. Now discovered at such luminous programs as Camargo Golf Membership, the Lido and Nationwide Golf Hyperlinks of America, the “Leven” gap is simply one of many items in a jigsaw that makes the unique course so particular.
Sam Cooper
For all its sizable affect, the Previous is intimate in scale. In contrast to the large, daring hyperlinks programs constructed right this moment, the Previous has an understated attraction. Whereas there are spectacular sea views, it’s a course richer in substance than it’s in model. Its attraction is timeless. However its lifespan is so temporary that even those that play it are invariably left wanting extra.
And people stay the lucky few.
There’s dialog among the many memberships of each golf equipment to permit restricted exterior play annually on the unique course, a lot as St. Andrews provides the general public a quick window to play the Previous Course in its reverse routing. Maybe, at some point, it is going to be performed extra continuously. Maybe it’ll reclaim its rightful place among the many world’s finest programs. However till then, it stays what it has been for over 100 years: golf’s rarest would-be Prime 100.
Timothy Gallant is a GOLF course rater who lives in Scotland.
