News from Carnoustie

According to Setanta, the course at Carnoustie is to be lengthened for this year’s Open in July. I confess to being distinctly underwhelmed by this revelation. We all know the pros can hit the ball a mile, but that’s not the only test of golf. I’ve also read somewhere that although St. Andrews was lengthened for 2005 to the extent of invading neighbouring courses, the length of the drives proved less critical than the need to get the right position in terms of the greens and greenside bunkers. And how much longer can courses get? As a one-time resident of St. Andrews, I’m beginning to wonder how long it will be before East Fife is one big golf-course. Even as a golfer that’s not something I would like to see.