Sea may claim Britain’s oldest golf club as coastal erosion eats away course
Recent storms have battered Britain’s oldest golf course, leaving staff fearful that it may soon erode to the point of disrepair.
Flood defenses at the 154-year-old Royal North Devon Golf Club were badly damaged during Storm Eleanor in early January.
Eleanor, which carried gusts over 90 mph, washed away roughly 15 meters of land behind the eighth tee.
Pebbles and boulders which once protected the site from waves and high tides were displaced across the course.
Meteorologists say the club isn't out of the woods yet, with windstorm season likely to continue into April.
“There remains opportunities for additional significant windstorms to strike the U.K. this year,” AccuWeather Meterologist Brett Rathbun said.
However, there is a low chance for any to impact Westward Ho! through the first half of February, he said.
The golf club is located on land classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, meaning any alterations would require permission from Natural England.
However, with spring's amateur championships fast approaching, General Manager Mark Evans said plans to protect the course from further damage were not being made fast enough.
He said they fear they will lose the seventh green in February if high tides and fierce winds return.
Evans told Devon Live: “We’re 154 years old and we are very concerned this erosion and the subsequent flooding will devastate this historic site.”
“Every few years we get some erosion, but the recent erosion is much more severe. When you are losing land at this rate, there is not a lot you can do.”
Thumbnail photo: (Flickr/
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