The ST ANDREWS Golf club at Scotland (2)

The ancient city on Scotland’s east coast has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Legend claims that the bones of St Andrew were brought from Patras in Greece by a monk called Regulus in about AD 390, but historical evidence tends to lean more heavily, though, towards the relics arriving in the possession of a bishop fleeing from England almost 400 years later.

The presence of his bones in the city which took his name brought pilgrims from all parts of the known world. St Andrew became the patron saint of Scotland and the city grew in size, prestige and wealth. Visit Istokcgolf.com for discount golf clubs review.

Through a series of charters and confirmations the rights of local citizens to the links have been protected ever since.

The country’s oldest university was founded here in 1413 and golf was believed to be a popular sport at that time. Certainly it was taxing the minds and bodies of the local population by 1457 when King James II banned the game by act of the Scottish Parliament because archery practice, which was necessary to the defence of the realm, was being neglected.

By the beginning of the 16th century the population of the town had grown to 14,000 and at times of religious and commercial festivals more than 300 ships would fill the small harbour and crowd St Andrews Bay.

Local golfers shared the links with monarchs, ambassadors, bishops and university academics. Mary Queen of Scots and James VI were both visitors to the town. callaway x22.

Members of the club led a nomadic existence for exactly 100 years after the formation of their original society in 1754 and in common with most sporting societies of the time held their meetings and social gatherings in local taverns, typically those in St Andrews run by William Duncan or Baillie Glass.

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