Alnmouth Village Golf Club has long entranced visitors with its collection of holes nestling up against the North Sea. The club, which sits about 30 miles north of Newcastle-on-Tyne on the northeastern portion of England, was originally established in 1869, making it the oldest 9 hole links in England.
Designed by 1874 Open Championship Mungo Park, who was also the club’s first greenskeeper, the course has views of Alnmouth Bay and Coquet Island.
Unfortunately, the proximity to the ocean and climate change might be too much for this once-proud club to overcome.
According to a story by the BBC, large sections of turf have started to fall into the sea, and many of the club’s members are starting to worry this problem might be insurmountable.
Fears as coastal erosion caused sections of a historic golf course to fall into the sea. The 150 year old Alnmouth Village Golf Club was affected by spring tides. More 1830 BBC Look North. pic.twitter.com/T3LoYKklsL
— Julie Smith (@julies749) March 19, 2024
In fact, the club’s secretary, Ian Simpson, told the news station, “We will eventually lose the golf course if nothing is done.”
Here’s more from the story:
Treasurer John Graham, who has been a member of the club for 65 years, said: “We had a big problem in the early 1960s near the boathouse. The sea got in and it destroyed about 15 yards.
“There was more trouble in the 1990s, but we had some pipes buried and we had marram grass planted and that stabilised that area.
“But where the problem is now – what we call link end – we’ve never had an issue there before.”
Councillor Gordon Castle said the situation is “very concerning.”
“I’ve contacted the cabinet member for the environment at Northumberland County Council to see if it is possible that money allocated for coastal erosion could be used to protect this spot,” he said.
“It is worth noting that there has been many changes to the coast over the years, and not all of it can be prevented.”
