April Fool!
Previous April Fool Stories
1st April 2009
New Right of Way has been found in St Andrews
Historic Scotland have announced that a Right of Way, originally used by the fishermen of St Andrews between the West Sands and the centre of the town, has been found, and that preparations to restore it are underway.
The discovery was made when ancient records were uncovered by staff at the University of St Andrews, during the Library building's refurbishment which is taking place this year.
The Right of Way was well used in the 15th and 16th centuries but fell into disuse when the harbour near the castle was built. A spokesperson for the St Andrews University Library Special Collections Unit said "We were amazed to discover that this Right of Way existed, but the documents we found conclusively prove that the fishermen used this path to bring their catch from the shore up to Market Street. Although it has not been used for several centuries, we understand from the Land Registry of Scotland that the Right of Way is still in force and can be used by the general public"
The Royal and Ancient Golf club of St Andrews, whose clubhouse straddles the path, are making plans to build a tunnel under the building to allow pedestrians to use the Right of Way.
A spokesperson from the The Ramblers Association said that they welcomed the new path and the initiative of the R&A. An announcement for the re-opening of the path is expected next year.
1st April 2008
St Andrews limit players to seven clubs each
In a bid to speed up play, the St Andrews Links Trust have announced that, for a trial period over the summer starting on 1st May, they are going to limit the number of clubs permitted per player on all of the St Andrews courses to seven.
A Links Trust spokesman said "Slow play is a major problem here at St Andrews, and it was pointed out to us that a recent survey has shown that players score just as well with a half set as they do when they have the maximum 14 clubs in their bag. With fewer decisions on club selection, players tend to spend less time before they hit, and are more committed to the shot. Players will be expected to carry their clubs, and the time saved around the greens should take at least half an hour off a round of golf."
A spokesman for the St Andrews Caddies Association commented "We find this totally unacceptable... With only seven clubs in their bag, most players will decide to carry their own clubs. We should have been consulted first."
The British Association of Club Manufacturers and Retailers declined to comment, but it is understood that an emergency meeting of the major stakeholders is to take place at the Scottish Golf Show, which takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Ingliston Exhibition Centre, Edinburgh.
When asked if the R&A Rules of Golf committee would consider altering Rule 4-4 to reduce the current maximum of 14 clubs, the Director of Rules said "We will monitor the situation with interest. We constantly review the Rules, and if it is found that carrying fewer clubs make little difference to scoring, and speeds up play, then we would consider an alteration to the Rules."
1st April 2007
Shock News: Ryder Cup format to change
The American Professional Golfers Association announced today that they were in talks with the World Professional Golfers Association to discuss joining forces against the Europeans for the 2010 Ryder Cup, to be held at Celtic Manor Resort on the outskirts of Newport in South Wales.
The Americans, who have lost five out of the last six Ryder Cup matches, the last two by huge margins, admitted that the Europeans are now unbeatable. and that fielding a "Rest of the World" team against Europe is the only way to provide a fair contest.
A spokesman from the American Professional Golfers Association, said "In 1977, Jack Nicklaus approached the US and GB&I PGAs with the suggestion that GB&I should amalgamate with the rest of Europe to upgrade the competitive level. At that time, the US had won all but one outing from 1959 to 1977, and the Ryder Cup was beginning to look like a one-sided contest. In 1979 Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido were the first Europeans to play in a Ryder Cup team. It now looks like the tables have turned, and it is the USA who need some assistance against the Europeans."
A spokesman for the World Professional Golfers Association said "Five out of the current Top Ten in the World Rankings are from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Fiji. These players would dearly love to play in the Ryder Cup. Our discussions with the Americans are reaching their final stages, and we look forward to playing the Europeans at Celtic Manor."
Ist April 2006
1.8 inch golf ball likely to be compulsory by 2008
The R&A and USGA are considering making the minimum diameter of a golf ball 1.80 inches in the next revision of the Rules of Golf, due to take effect in January 2008.
A spokesman said "The enormous driving distances of the top players are making a mockery of some of our traditional golf courses. Hazards which were in play just a few years ago are now being carried by these long-hitters. By increasing the diameter and therefore the surface mass of the golf ball, the resistance through the air will also be increased, and therefore the flight distance will be curtailed. It was felt that altering the golf ball was an easier option than making changes to clubs".
A spokesperson for the Confederation of UK Golf Ball manufacturers said "We have been expecting this announcement for some time, and are already making plans to alter our manufacturing process to produce larger balls. The cost of production is likely to increase as the larger surface area will need more paint. We will try to keep these costs to a minimum."
Ist April 2005
R&A to make hickory round compulsory in the Open.
Return to an era where skill rather than equipment reigned supreme.
In a radical plan announced today, the R&A has stated that from next year at Hoylake, golf will return to its roots, as they intend to make play with hickory clubs compulsory in the third round of the Open.
A spokesman said "Today's golfers have lost the shot-making skills of their predecessors. Today's equipment makes it easy to hit a bad shot and still end up on the green.
"We feel that adding a hickory round to the Open will make the event much more interesting to the public, allowing them to see the artistry required to master the game played with hickory clubs.
"We've chosen the third round as we do anticipate that play will be slightly slower as some of the players will get into trouble on the way round."
Royal Liverpool Golf Club is no stranger to hickory golf. Every April the British Golf Collectors' Society hold their Presidents' day meeting over the Hoylake links. The BGCS members have offered to lend the players sets of hickory clubs for the Open.
A BGCS spokesman said "Who knows.... it could start a revival for hickory golf."
1st April 2004
 Announcement
from Titleist
Being left-handed myself (although I play right-handed), I
welcome the announcement from Titleist today that they are
about to launch a left-handed golf ball. A spokesman for the
company said. "We have been making left-handed clubs
for years, and have often received complaints that a right-handed
golf ball did not come off the face properly. If the left-handed
golfer's natural swing produced a draw, a right-handed golf-ball
would go further left, and if they had a natural fade, the
golf ball would drift a few degrees further right. Left-handed
golfers were being disadvantaged by playing with right-handed
golf balls."
"Golf ball technology has moved on in recent years, and
we have been able to move the centre of gravity to the opposite
side, so that a left-handed golfer can now tee the ball up
and eliminate this exaggerated effect."
Look out for the new Titleist Sinister golf-balls in your
local pro-shop. If you are left-handed like me, you'll be
playing them all the time.
Ist April 2003
R&A working on new Rule book for Ladies.
"We're fed up with all the complaints that we're misogynist pigs, so we've decided that we'll publish a Rule book for the fairer sex." said an R&A spokesman. "All references to "he", "him" and "his" in the text will be replaced with "she" and "her". We hope the Ladies will enjoy reading the Rules in this new format." The new Rule book will become available in January 2004, when the next revision of the Rules takes place. . Royal and Sun Alliance have agreed to publish it with two covers, blue for boys and pink for girls.
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