The North Berwick Golf Club-West Links
北伯威克高尔夫俱乐部-西林克斯球场
Even in the glittering array of Scotland’s seaside golf courses, North Berwick’s West Links stands out as a rare gem. It has taken a long time to evolve to its present state of excellence, but it has been time well spent.
虽然苏格兰的海滨球场比比皆是，但北伯威克的西林克斯球场像一颗罕见的宝石一样脱颖而出。北伯威克西林克斯球场花了很长时间才发展到目前的卓越状态，但它花的时间是值得的。





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A classic seaside links course with stunning views of the Firth of Forth, it is a fair and challenging test of golf for all players. It is a true championship course having hosted many events over the years, including Final Qualifying for The Open Championship on 6 occasions, The British Ladies Amateur Championship in 2008, The Amateur Championship in 2010 and the inaugural 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open Pre-Qualifier.
一个可以看到福斯湾美景的经典海滨林克斯球场，这对所有高尔夫球员来说都是一个公平且极具挑战性的考验。这是一个真正的锦标赛球场，多年来举办了许多大赛，包括6次英国公开赛资格赛，2008年英国女子业余锦标赛，2010年英国业余锦标赛，以及2015年苏格兰公开赛预赛资格。





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Playing the course is all about imagination with the sea in play on 6 holes! The beach is just one long and sometimes wet hazard if the tide is in. You will find walls in the middle of fairways and in front of a green. All of these hazards add to the joy of playing the West Links, and are an important part of our history charting the development of the course.
在这个球场打球需要想象力，因为18个洞其中6个洞都沿海。海滩离球场很近，如果涨潮的话，水障碍区域会扩大。你会发现球道中间和果岭前面都有一堵墙。所有这些障碍区都增加了在西林克斯球场打球的乐趣，同时这也是历史演化的重要组成部分。





Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was a notable golfer who fell foul of the Church for playing golf over the fields of Seton in East Lothian just a few days after the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley in 1567 and later North Berwick became the first golf club to include women.
苏格兰女王玛丽·斯图亚特是一位著名的高尔夫球手，1567年她的第二任丈夫达恩利勋爵被杀几天后，她在东洛锡安的西顿球场上打高尔夫球，结果与教堂发生了冲突，后来，北伯威克便成了第一个容纳女性的高尔夫俱乐部。




Rudimentary golf (often discouraged by the authorities) had been played on North Berwick links land, as in other parts of the country, since the early years of the seventeenth century, and possibly earlier than that. But it was the formation in 1832 of North Berwick Golf Club that marked the beginning of organised golf over terrain which in time would be expanded to become the West Links which we know today.
从17世纪早期开始，甚至更早的时候，就像在英国其他地区一样，高尔夫开始在北伯威克林克斯(通常不被政府支持)。1832年北伯威克高尔夫俱乐部的成立标志着有组织的高尔夫运动的开始，随着时间的推移，逐渐扩展为今天的西林克斯球场。




In 1832 however the ground available extended only as far as the “March Dyke” which traverses today’s 3rd and 16th holes. What is more it was “common land” on which the Westgate Feuars (holders of property in Westgate, in the vicinity of the links) had some years previously established pasturage rights. Only six holes could be accommodated in the space available, and the members’ periodic medal competitions were played over three rounds (i.e. 18 holes altogether). Some time later it was found possible to accommodate a seventh hole within the “common land” parameters.
然而，在1832年，球场可用地只到March Dyke（专业术语，通常指的是农夫或者男爵的领地边界），它横穿现在的3号洞和16号洞。更重要的是，韦斯特盖特·福阿斯(位于球场附近的韦斯特盖特地区的地主)多年前就在这块公共土地上获得了放牧权。现有场地只可容纳六洞，会员定期举行的奖牌比赛分三轮进行(共18洞)。一段时间过后，人们发现有可能在这片“公共土地”上设置第7个洞。





Not until 1868 were steps taken to expand the course beyond the March Dyke to the west. That the Club was able to do so then was thanks to one of its members, the Right Hon. John Nisbet-Hamilton, proprietor of the land into which the planned extension would take the links. The extra ground allowed for three further holes to be laid out, and at the same time one of the existing seven holes was dispensed with. One of the new holes so acquired was the famous Redan, eventually after alterations to become the best known of all the West Links holes. With the course now comprising nine holes, two rounds became the format for medal competitions.
直到1868年，才采取措施将球场扩大到了March Dyke以西。当时，该俱乐部能够做到这一点，要感谢它的一名成员-约翰·尼斯贝特·汉密尔顿先生。约翰•尼斯贝特·汉密尔顿先生是这片土地的所有者，计划中的扩建项目就包括这座球场。额外的地面允许再挖三个洞，同时去掉了现有的七个洞中的一个。其中一个新的洞就是著名的Redan（现在的15号洞），经改造最终成为西林克斯球场中最著名的一个洞。目前球场包括9个洞，比赛形式为两轮。





After this boost to the Club’s expansion ambitions things began to move marginally more quickly. In 1877 another agreement with the Nisbet-Hamilton family resulted in a further westward extension of the links as far as the Eil Burn, and a full 18-hole course was established. No less than seven of these holes however were less than 200 yards long, and soon there was a consensus that (at a total length of 4841 yards) the course was altogether too short. One critic in fact designated it “a good 9-hole course which has been tampered with”!
在俱乐部首次得到扩建之后，事情的进展开始略微加快。1877年，与尼斯贝-汉密尔顿家族的另一项协议导致了林克斯球场进一步向西扩展，直到Eil Burn（现在的7号洞），一个完整的18洞球场才被建立了起来。然而，其中至少有7个洞不到200码长，不久之后大家就一致认为总长4841码的球场太短了。事实上，一位评论家认为这是一个被篡改过的九洞球场。










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The final major extension, taking the links yet further to the west, was completed in 1895 and resulted in a far more exacting challenge. The shortest hole was now 243 yards and the total length a respectable 6095 yards. Alterations to this layout, giving the course its present shape, were carried out under the supervision of Ben Sayers in 1932.
最后一个主要的扩建工程是在1895年完成的，它把林克斯球场又向西边延伸，这带来了更加艰巨的挑战。现在最短的洞是243码，总长度为6095码。1932年，在本·塞耶斯的监督下，对球场的布局进行了改造，使球场呈现出现在的形状。










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In the meantime the North Berwick Ladies Golf Club had been formed in 1888, and five years later a stretch of ground was made available by local benefactors for the ladies to play over. The nine-hole “Ladies’ Links” which ensued is today the Children’s Course, the venue for a series of under-14 competitions which are so delightful a feature of present day North Berwick golf.
与此同时，北伯威克女子高尔夫俱乐部于1888年成立，5年后，当地的资助人为女士们提供了一块场地，供她们在上面打球。当时的9洞女子球场就是今天的儿童球场。这里有一系列14岁以下儿童的比赛，这也是北伯威克高尔夫球场的一大特色。







The Childrens’ Course thrives to this day, and stands alone amongst Junior golf facilities in boasting an under-14’s competition and the Cree Medal that has been contested for over a century. As well as playing host to a series of events for this age group, the course provides an ideal venue for club members to deliver coaching to the next generation of North Berwick golfers. The clubgolf programme, an integral part of Scotland’s national junior golf strategy was embraced by the club in 2004, and now offers local primary school children an ideal route into golf.
儿童高尔夫球场发展至今，并在青少年高尔夫设施中独树一帜，拥有14岁以下的儿童比赛，设立了一个多世纪以来一直被争夺的克里奖。除了为这个年龄段的孩子举办一系列的活动外，该球场还为俱乐部成员提供了一个理想的场所，为北伯威克的下一代高尔夫球手提供指导。俱乐部高尔夫项目是苏格兰国家青少年高尔夫战略的一个组成部分，于2004年被俱乐部采用，现在为当地小学生提供了一个打高尔夫球的理想途径。





In 1953, the proprietor of the Westerdunes Hotel offered to purchase the ground west of the March Dyke from the landowner. The hotel proposed to alter the layout extending the course into the Archerfield Estate, using the land once occupied by the 9-hole Fidra golf course. These discussions were at an advanced stage before the Town Council intervened and purchased the land in January 1954 for £9,700, safeguarding the rights of the local Golf Clubs and community.
1953年，韦斯特登酒店的老板提出，要从土地所有者手中买下March Dyke以西的土地。酒店提议改变球场布局，要将球场延伸到阿彻菲尔德，使用曾经被9洞菲德拉高尔夫球场占用的土地。但是这个想法有点晚了，1954年1月，为了维护当地高尔夫俱乐部和社区的权益，市议会介入并以9700英镑的价格买下了这片土地。




Since then, apart from the comparatively recent installation of an automatic irrigation system, there have been no unduly significant changes. Bunkers have been added, moved and enlarged, medal tees lengthened and putting surfaces improved, but the West Links that members and visitors play today (length 6420 yards, par 71) is not so very different from the links their forebears played at the end of the nineteenth century.
自那时以来，除了最近安装了一个自动灌溉系统外，并没有发生非常重大的变化。沙坑被增加、转移和扩大，比赛发球台变长，果岭质量得到改善，但如今会员和游客打的西林克斯球场(长6420码，标准杆71杆)与19世纪末先辈们打的球场没什么两样。


图片来源：www.northberwickgolfclub.com


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