St Andrews’ Jubilee Course “at risk of erosion”

The 8th hole on the Jubilee Course at St Andrews is at risk of falling into the sea according to a report on the BBC’s The One Show.

“Research has shown that in the next 20 years there may be a risk that some parts of these courses [at St Andrews Links] will disappear completely,” said the reporter.

“The reason is coastal erosion. At St Andrews, it’s the 8th hole on the Jubilee Course that’s the worry.”

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“If you look at the landscape we’re in, it’s quite low lying, it’s quite near the sea,” Ranald Strachan, St Andrews’ environmental development officer, told the program.

“It is going to be vulnerable. Back in March 2010 we had a storm surge and there was a little bit of flooding on the course. Golf has been played here for 600 years, it should still be played hundreds of years from now.”

The venue has been working on sand dune rebuilding to try and counteract the effects of rising sea levels, he added.

By taking sand from lower down the beach and placing it onto the eroded area, Strachan hopes to put up an extra line of defence against the waves.

The One Show also spoke to the head of the research group responsible for forecasting coastal erosion in Scotland.

Dr Jim Hansom from the University of Glasgow said: “If the sand dunes are eroded away, then the flood envelope becomes much more threatening.

“Generally throughout Scotland we are running out of coastal sediment.”