Golf fans around the world will have a chance to carve their name in history next month when St Andrews Links Trust runs a competition through its website to find a name for its seventh course which is under construction.
It will be the first time in 600 years of history at the Home of Golf that golf fans and the public will have the chance to suggest the name of a new course.
Visitors to www.standrews.org.uk will be invited to send in suggestions from November 1 to December 1. The best names will be submitted to the Course No 7 Working Party to select the winning name. The identity of the new course will be announced in January.
Competition winners will be invited to play one of the first rounds on the new course when it opens in 2008 and will be invited to the official opening ceremony along with VIP’s from the world of golf.
Course No 7 is under construction on a clifftop site to the south east of St Andrews centred on Kinkell Point and Brownhills Farm. The 220 acre site features spectacular views over the town of St Andrews and out to the North Sea.
Alan McGregor, general manager of St Andrews Links Trust, said, "The anticipation for what will be one of the finest courses not only in Scotland but in world golf has been building steadily and the mystery over its name seems to have captured the minds of golf fans everywhere.
"It is not very often that a new course opens at the Home of Golf and we have been acutely aware of the interest that Course No 7 has been attracting. We know that many golfers feel an emotional attachment to the birthplace of the game and we really wanted them to have the opportunity to become a part of the process of naming this new course.
"We have already received dozens of enquiries regarding the name from all corners of the globe and this competition promises to be fascinating. I would urge anyone who would like to be part of golf history to send in their suggestion."
The internet competition follows the success last year of an auction on the Links Trust website for the tee plaques from the Old Course which attracted bids from around the world. The sale of the tee plaques raised £15,000 for St Andrews Links Junior Golf Association.
Full details for the competition and weekly information bulletins regarding the history and nature of the land at Course No 7 will be provided at www.standrews.org.uk. To send in your entry please email namecomp@standrews.org.uk from November 1. The deadline for entries will be 12noon on December 1.
Contact:
Mike Woodcock
Communications manager
St Andrews Links Trust
01334 466610
E-mail mikewoodcock@standrews.org.uk
