Golf
Resorts Drive to Combat Global Climate Change
St
Andrews Bay – the new £50 million golf resort currently being
built in Fife – has teamed up with the University of St Andrews
to carry out important research into the effects of global climate
change on Scotland’s golf courses.
A
team of university geoscientists has been given unlimited access
to the St Andrews Bay site, where the construction of two championship
golf courses is currently underway.
The team are undertaking a series of experiments, funded
by the resort, to investigate how climate changes may affect the
condition of Scotland’s golf courses.
Iain
Mackinnon, Operations Director at the St Andrews Bay site said
“It is vital that the golf courses we are building at the St Andrews
Bay development can stand the test of time.
This research will help establish the long term future
of our courses by ensuring we have measures in place to cope with
any climate changes resulting from global warming.”
Dr
Richard Bates, Sedimentary Systems Research Group, University
of St Andrews said “Today the pressure to maintain quality courses
despite rising number of users, changes in course conditions and
changes in nature is greater than at any other time in the history
of golf. Many of Scotland’s courses, in particular some
of our most ancient ones, are in highly vulnerable coastal locations
which are at risk from erosion and salt water intrusion into their
ground water supply resulting from climate change.
Being able to monitor the progress of the golf courses
being built at St Andrews Bay will help greatly with our research
into this problem.”
The
St Andrews Bay development will feature two golf courses – the
first, designed by ‘The Squire’ Gene Sarazen and European Ryder
Cup Captain Sam Torrance, will be open for play in July 2001. The second course has been designed by Sarazen
and Bruce Devlin and will be open in 2002.
