Royal North Devon Golf Club

51.046°N 4.226°W / 51.046; -4.226

Royal North Devon Golf Club, Northam

Royal North Devon Golf Club, commonly abbreviated as RND, was founded in 1864,[1] and is the oldest golf course in England.[2] The course was designed by Scottish golfer Old Tom Morris.[3]

Geography

RND is located on Northam Burrows between Northam and Westward Ho! Northam Burrows is common land and was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1988. Golfers share the environment with sheep, ponies and walkers.[4] In January 2018 part of the seventh green was washed away during Storm Eleanor and there is disagreement between the golf club and Natural England on the management of the coast. There are no plans by Natural England to build coast defences here and point out that the golf club can build two new greens elsewhere and relinquish two existing greens.[5]

History

Three leading British golfers of the late 19th and early 20th were known as the Great Triumvirate. One of them, J.H. Taylor, learned his golf at RND[6] and was invested Honorary President of the Club in 1957.[7] RND was also the home course for the noted amateur golfer Horace Hutchinson,[8] who won the British Amateur in 1886 and 1887. The course has hosted The Amateur Championship on three occasions, in 1912, 1925, and 1931.[9] The Club provides facilities for one of the largest Junior Sections in the country.

Conservation

The club was the first to ban plastic tees over fears that they were being eaten by wildlife.[10]

See also

References
  1. Telegraph – Golfing holidays in the West Country The Telegraph, 15 December 2010, retrieved 30 January 2012.
  2. Dowell, Phil, The English Golf Coast, Melrose Books, 2006, ISBN 1-905226-43-8.
  3. Old Tom Morris Golf Course Architecture, 1 July 2006, retrieved 30 January 2012.
  4. The Draft North Devon AONB Landscape Assessment, The Countryside Agency, May 1999, retrieved 30 January 2012.
  5. "Royal North Devon Golf Club course at risk from erosion". BBC. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. MacWood, Thomas, A Round of Golf Courses: Bernard Darwin – Inward Nine, Golf Club Atlas, August, 2007, retrieved 30 January 2012.
  7. The oldest Links in England – RND History, Royal North Devon Golf Club, retrieved 30 January 2012.
  8. Stevens, Mike. "The Father of Golf Instruction". usgtf.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  9. Amateur Championship History The R&A, retrieved 30 January 2012.
  10. "England's oldest golf course first to ban plastic tees over fears they are being eaten by wildlife". The Daily Telegraph. London. 28 November 2019. p. 15.

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