St Andrews roasted for 'maiming' iconic bridge

1 year ago 62

The St Andrews Links Trust has been forced to support changes made to the surrounds of the historical Swilcan Bridge astatine the Old Course successful Scotland.

The bridge, which is much than 700-years old, has been the country for affectional farewells for immoderate of the game's greats, notably Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

In 2022, the determination by Tiger Woods not to halt for a photograph connected the iconic landmark was seen arsenic a motion that the 47-year-old was intending to support playing, contempt the limitations connected his assemblage from his car crash.

Images emerged connected Sunday of changes made to the attack to the bridge, with a ample country of turf replaced by stone.

Former Australian pro Mark Allen described the changes arsenic "very poor", portion Sports Illustrated's Alex Miceli compared the changes to a "cobblestone chopper pad."

"What are the laws successful Scotland astir disfiguring oregon maiming a 700-year-old positive architectural marvel?" helium wrote.

"That question indispensable beryllium asked aft seeing what the Links Trust has done to the Swilcan Bridge, which makes you wonder, are they wholly retired of their minds?

"Please get escaped of the joker that thought gathering a ceramic runway made sense. It doesn't."

Four-time PGA Tour victor Tim Herron posted a meme which showed a spa being installed astatine the basal of the bridge.

In a statement, the Links Trust said the span itself wouldn't beryllium touched.

"The ongoing works are solely focussed connected the turfed attack country to the bridge, which regularly falls into disrepair owed to the important ft postulation by tens of thousands of golfers and countless different visitors seeking to person their photograph taken astatine the landmark," it said.

"In bid to debar having to adjacent the span to ft postulation during definite periods of the year, a fig of solutions person been attempted previously. These see installation of hybrid and synthetic artificial turf and the regular replacement, reseed and enactment of earthy turf, but nary person proven to beryllium palmy successful adequately protecting the country from the important deterioration and tear."

The connection said that works are ongoing and erstwhile implicit volition beryllium successful keeping with the historical quality of the bridge.

"We recognise that arsenic specified an iconic landmark successful golf, the Swilcan Bridge retains a peculiar spot successful the bosom of galore golfers and arsenic specified tin beryllium an emotive topic," it says.

"We are assured we volition find the champion ongoing solution to sphere the iconic quality of the Swilcan Bridge and its surroundings portion ensuring that arsenic galore radical arsenic imaginable tin proceed to sojourn the tract twelvemonth round."

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