Climate change is a topic very much at the forefront of people’s minds today, and the issue of rising sea levels is of particular concern for our coastal golf courses.
I was deeply disturbed to learn about the challenges facing Alnmouth Village Golf Club, England’s oldest 9-hole links course. This stunning course, beautifully located along the Northumberland shoreline, has recently suffered severe damage from the North Sea, which has eroded part of a fairway—damage that will be impossible to repair.
Even more concerning is the damage inflicted on Hartlepool Golf Club over the past 50 years. I was astonished to hear about, and later see for myself, the extent of the erosion caused by the North Sea. While Hartlepool still boasts a number of impressive links holes set among striking dunes, it now also features several parkland holes. These are very decent holes, but they lack the top-tier quality of true links.
There is a marker in the sea indicating where the dune land used to extend, and it is at least 75 yards offshore. One can only imagine how extraordinary the lost holes must have been, given the quality of those that remain.
If we can reclaim land from the sea, surely there must be ways to halt this erosion? It would be encouraging to hear about any successful efforts in battling the tide.
