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Riding the Tiger
St. Andrews, Scotland
St. Andrews, Scotland, has a couple of claims to fame, though
you wouldn’t necessarily think it if you arrived on a quiet day. This being
Scotland – albeit not too far north – things can get pretty cold and rainy: the
town is right on the North Sea coast, and is regularly subjected to vicious
batterings by wind and water. The locals, although generally affluent and
middle class, are therefore a tough lot – disinclined to be bothered by the
sometimes persistent damp.
Claim to fame number one: Prince William. Ever since the second
in line to the throne of the United Kingdom announced his intention to study at
the University of St. Andrews the town has been the focus of intense media
scrutiny. The University of St. Andrews is undoubtedly prestigious, though
perhaps a little tarnished by its image as a bolthole for aristocrats who, in
spite of their expensive educations, aren’t quite smart enough to make it to
Oxford or Cambridge. William is studying the History of Art at the university –
which, founded in 1413, is Scotland’s oldest - and has been doing so for a
couple of years now: the media, if not exactly tired of ‘student prince’
stories, are relaxing their coverage somewhat. One of the positive effects of
the university’s presence is the enlivening effect it has on a town that might
otherwise be a little ‘dead’ in the off-season. During term time (September to
June, with breaks for Christmas and Easter) the town is backed with boisterous
but good-natured youngsters out for a good time. The pubs are always full, as
the legal age at which men and women are allowed to drink in the UK is 18. One
or two puritans in government have pondered that students might work harder if
this limit were raised to 21: wiser heads, knowing that the Brits like their
beer and that such a move as this would inevitably lead to bloody revolution,
have consistently blocked the scheme.
Claim to fame number two: golf. Most of the tourists who visit
St. Andrews do so because of the town’s Royal and Ancient Golf Club, home of
the British Open. Golf was invented in Scotland. But don’t be taken in by St.
Andrew’s claims: while the town is certainly ‘home’ to the Open, it is not its
birthplace. That honor belongs to the town of Prestwick, where the first Open
was held in 1860 with just eight competitors. The competition moved to the
Royal and Ancient a few years later. The club itself is certainly entirely
justified in calling itself both ‘royal’ and ‘ancient’. It has regularly been
patronized by monarchs down the ages – and ‘ages’ best describes the length of
time golf has been played in the town. The sport was so popular in medieval
times that it had to be banned for a while in the fourteenth century because it
was distracting local men from the more pressing business of archery practice.
More liberal attitudes eventually prevailed though, and the club
that was to become the R&A was formed in 1754. The club, recognized as the
oldest in the world, is considered the home of international golf and has
spawned affiliated R&A clubs worldwide. It is also recognized as the source
and arbiter of the game’s rules by all golfing nations – except the USA. Those
visiting from the States are always warmly welcomed, but are likely to find
themselves being ‘set right’ (as the Scots might say) about their homeland’s
golfing heresies. Such things will, of course, be meant in jest: the R&A
holds regular talks with its American counterpart, the USGA, to ensure that
transatlantic competition remains straightforward.
But the R&A is no museum: it is a living, working, evolving
golf organization. The layout of the Open course is changed regularly, and for
the 2005 Open has been lengthened slightly – so it will be a rather different
course from the one on which Tiger Woods so memorably won the Millennium Open
with his record-breaking 19-under-par score of 269. A full 164 yards have been
added, bringing the total distance to 7,279 yards.
If you’re a golfer yourself, you’ll be pleased to know that the
St. Andrews courses (there are six of them) are all, at varying times, open to
all who want to play. Bookings can be made online at
www.linksnet.co.uk
If you’re a golf widow (or widower), forlornly standing in the
rain as your loved one hacks from green to green, there are other delights open
to you. Just down the road from St Andrews, in the small seaside town of
Anstruther, is the world’s greatest fish and chip shop – and it’s got the
documents to prove it. A much better way, some would say, of spending a
Scottish afternoon.
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