| Swilken Burn | |
|---|---|
 The Swilken Burn flowing under the Swilken Bridge. A view towards east, with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and Hamilton Grand in the background | |
| Location | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | North Sea |
• location | St Andrews |
• coordinates | 56°20′42″N2°48′12″W / 56.3451°N 2.8034°W |
The Swilken Burn is a 2+3⁄4 miles (4.5 kilometres) long burn (stream) in Fife, Scotland. It flows into the North Sea to the north of the town of St Andrews on the east coast of Fife.
The source of the burn is in a field to the north-east of the village of Strathkinness, located 3 miles to the west of St Andrews. [1] From there, the burn flows across farmland, then along the A91 road to the north of the North Haugh campus of the University of St Andrews, and finally through the Old Course at St Andrews, where the burn represents a water hazard. [2] The famous Swilcan Bridge spans the burn between the first and eighteenth fairways of the Old Course. Further downstream, the burn's mouth is a southern boundary of West Sand Beach of St Andrews.
The name may derive from a form of Scots word swelch which means ‘whirlpool, abyss in the sea’ and has a common root with the English verb ‘to swallow’. [3] Since the 18th century, both the burn and the bridge have been spelled in various ways, including Swilcanthe, Swilcauth, Swilkin, Swilken, and Swilcan. Many modern maps spell the bridge’s name as ‘’Swilcan’’ (this variant is also used by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club), but the burn’s name as ‘’Swilken’’. [4]
Approaching the sea and flowing through the golf course, the Swilken Burn used to change its course from time to time, until 1834 when the construction of retaining walls took place, fixing the course of the stream for the first time. [5] In 1879, the course of the burn within the golf course was changed as a result of a dispute between landowners. [6]
At least until the mid-19th century, the Swilken Burn was used by townspeople to wash their clothes [7] [8] The 1842 version of the golf rules adopted by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews stipulated that "When a ball lies on clothes or within a club-length of a washing tub, the clothes may be drawn from under the ball, and the tub may be removed. [9] "
Fife is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire. By custom it is widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer. In older documents the county was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire.
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf:
St Andrews is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, 10 miles southeast of Dundee and 30 miles northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 as of 2011, making it Fife's fourth-largest settlement and 45th most populous settlement in Scotland.
St Andrews Links in the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, is regarded as the "Home of Golf.” It has one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century. Today there are seven public golf courses: the Balgove, Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum, New, and the Old Course all on the links, and The Castle Course, a mile to the east of the town. The Old Course is widely considered one of the finest, and certainly the most famous and traditional course in the world. The courses of St Andrews Links are owned by the local authorities and operated by St Andrews Links Trust, a charitable organization.
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews clubhouse sits adjacent to the first tee, although it is but one of many clubs that have playing privileges on the course, along with some other non-clubhouse owning clubs and the general public. Originally known as the "golfing grounds" of St Andrews, it was not until the New Course was opened in 1895 that it became known as the Old Course.
Allan Robertson was considered to be one of the first professional golfers.
Thomas Mitchell Morris, otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died there as well. Young Tom Morris, also a golfer, was his son.
Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hinterland. The course is near the Prestwick airport, and some holes run along railway tracks on the eastern side of the course.
William "Willie" Auchterlonie was a Scottish professional golfer. He was a native of St Andrews. He won the 1893 Open Championship at the age of 21 years and 25 days and he remains the second youngest Open Champion after Tom Morris, Jnr, but it was to prove to be his only Open. His brother, Laurie Auchterlonie, won the 1902 U.S. Open.
Lawrence Auchterlonie was a Scottish professional golfer, a native of St Andrews. In 1902, representing the Glen View Club, he won the eighth U.S. Open at Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, New York.
John "Jack" Burns, a native of St Andrews, was a Scottish professional golfer for part of his life. He was the son of an Irish labourer, and started earning his living as a plasterer. However, there is reference to him being a professional golfer in the minutes of the St Andrews Golf Club in October 1885.
Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked villages of Elie to the east and to the west Earlsferry, which were formally merged in 1930 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. To the north is the village of Kilconquhar and Kilconquhar Loch.
Cambo Estate lies close to the village of Kingsbarns in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is within the East Neuk, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-east of St Andrews. At the heart of the estate lies the 19th-century Cambo House, the home of Sir Peter Erskine, Bt and Lady Catherine Erskine. The gardens of Cambo are open to the public, and include the walled garden and seasonal snowdrop gardens. Elsewhere on the estate is the Kingsbarns Golf Links golf course, which co-hosts the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship every year.
The 1888 Open Championship was the 28th Open Championship, held 6 October at the Old Course at St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Jack Burns won the Championship by a stroke from David Anderson Jr. and Ben Sayers.
The Swilcan Bridge, or Swilken Bridge, or Swilcanth as it was known, is a small stone bridge in St Andrews Links golf course, Scotland. The bridge spans the Swilcan Burn between the first and eighteenth fairways on the Old Course, and has become an important image in the sport of golf. The bridge had previously been known as the Golfers' Bridge for hundreds of years.
St Andrews Golf Club, originally known as St Andrews Mechanics Golf Club, is a private members’ golf club located in St Andrews, Scotland. The club is one of the oldest golf clubs in the world, having been established in 1843.
Henry Alexander Lamb was a Scottish amateur golfer who played in the late 19th century. He is most associated with Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Lamb finished second in the 1886 Amateur Championship, losing 7 and 6 to Horace Hutchinson in the finals. He placed seventh in the 1876 Open Championship and finished in eight place in the 1873 Open Championship.
Thomas Hodge was an English golf illustrator and painter. He became a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews in 1861 and via his thousands of golf illustrations of what were then the greatest golfers in the world he became known as "the golf artist of St Andrews".
The St Rule Club is a woman's golf and social club based in St Andrews, Scotland, and was established at the end of 1896, although it was not until 1898 when the golf section was established.