What a surreal headline to type and one I've been looking forward to sharing with you all for a while.

While onsite at this year’s Open Championship my business partner Loren French and I received confirmation that we had officially closed the acquisition of the St Andrews Golf Co.

The acquisition includes the hickory club maker business which dates back to 1881, two of the oldest golf club maker brands George Nicoll and Tom Stewart, as well as a manufacturing facility on the outskirts of St Andrews. Did I mention our retail store at 8 Golf Place less than 50 yards from the 18th green on the Old Course - Old Tom Morris’ first shop in town, located in the centre of what was once called “club makers row”?

This is a links golf business. A showcase of Scotland’s rich golf heritage and an opportunity to keep it relevant and appealing. That is no easy task but one that I am incredibly passionate about taking on. A business that is rooted in the lineage of golf - its golf courses, clubs and spirit of the game which blossomed around the world from the Home of Golf - St Andrews. A chance for visiting golfers to connect with the golf courses and links golf on a deeper level. Not just through off the course education (which is very much in our plans) but from on course participation. Hickory golf clubs that encourage the use of the ball on the ground, on firm links golf courses that were designed for such clubs and features that come to life in ways the modern style doesn’t.  

I’ve had the fortune to spend time recently with author and renowned golf historian David Normoyle both on course and in our retail store. David’s encouragement and words of wisdom has been invaluable and while I have a list of his quotes saved on my phone, I wanted to share one David shared with me from Australian five-time Open Champion Peter Thompson.

“Peter Thompson sees golf as a game that exists in three dimensions: how far you hit the ball, how straight you hit it, and what happens to the ball when it hits the ground. Truly great golf only happens when you also have to determine what happens to the ball when it’s on the ground. That’s the third dimension of the game.”

This week we will reopen the retail store after a significant refurbishment before a ceremonial opening during the Dunhill Links. Lockers from Royal Burgess (the oldest golf society in the world no less) line our store walls while classic black & white pictures from the 1920s sit under soft lighting. It will very much look and feel like a heritage golf shop, with our collection of 700 original hickory golf clubs taking centre stage. We will have a fleet of hickory rental bags and a selection of thoughtful apparel and accessories which speaks to the rich heritage of Scottish links golf and our club maker brands. Oh and Cooper the shop dog.

Follow 8 Golf Place on Instagram here.

More on our plans for the growth of the St Andrews Golf Co. on a future newsletter but for the time being, come find us on 8 Golf Place next time you’re in St Andrews. 

Ru Macdonald