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Jan 23rd, 2018
England's oldest golf course at risk to erosion
As Royal North Devon gets battered in recent storms
Words: GolfPunk
Parts of Royal North Devon GC, famously England's oldest golf course, have been washed away by recent storms, and more damage is feared by staff according to a report on the BBC.
Storm Eleanor ripped 49ft (15m) of land away from behind the eighth tee at the Royal North Devon Golf Club in Westward Ho! earlier this month.
General manager Mark Evans said "we could lose the [seventh] green in early February with the high tides predicted with the wrong wind conditions".
The tee marker for the eighth green has been washed on to the beach, which is alongside the 154-year-old course.
The seventh green is now within 49ft of the shoreline and boulders are strewn across that part of the low lying links course.
The land the golf course is built on is designated as a site of specific scientific interest. Natural England, which controls the land, said it had no plans to improve the sea defences.
It said in a statement: "The dunes and shingle ridge are naturally dynamic coastal features and subject to constant change."
It also said the golf club can build two new greens, but must relinquish two existing ones within three years if it does so.
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